Pecos Bill: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Pecos Bill · meeting 1 of 2

Read: Part One, “The Coyote Boy” (pages 1–7, about 3 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 7, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. How did baby Bill end up with the coyotes?
   The story's answer: He fell out of the wagon
2. What proof did the cowboy give that Bill was not a coyote?
   The story's answer: Bill had a thumb
3. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
4. The part we just read is called "The Coyote Boy". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
5. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Pecos Bill · meeting 2 of 2

Read: Part Two, “The Biggest Cowboy” (pages 8–15, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 15, the end of the story.

1. The story ends, "Who do you think dug it?" What is the storyteller doing?
   The story's answer: Joking, because a tall tale stretches the truth for fun
2. What did Bill do to the twister?
   The story's answer: He rode it until it was worn out
3. Why did Bill dig the Rio Grande?
   The story's answer: To bring water to dry Texas
4. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
5. The part we just read is called "The Biggest Cowboy". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
6. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. What makes the main character a hero? Would you want them as a friend?
   Listen for: Heroes of legends are brave but not always kind; ask for both sides.
2. Which part of this could have really happened, and which part grew in the telling?
   Listen for: Legends often start from a real person or place.
3. How would the story change if someone else told it?
   Listen for: Try the villain's side.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.