The Bishop's Candlesticks: book club questions by chapter

🦉 The Bishop's Candlesticks · meeting 1 of 3

Read: Part One, “The Stranger” (pages 1–3, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 3, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. 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.
2. The part we just read is called "The Stranger". 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.
3. 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.

🦉 The Bishop's Candlesticks · meeting 2 of 3

Read: Part Two, “The Silver” (pages 4–6, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why had Jean Valjean been sent to prison in the first place?
   The story's answer: He stole a loaf of bread for his sister's hungry children
2. 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.
3. The part we just read is called "The Silver". 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.
4. 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.

🦉 The Bishop's Candlesticks · meeting 3 of 3

Read: Part Three, “The Candlesticks”; Part Four, “Petit Gervais” (pages 7–12, about 8 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 12, the end of the story.

1. How did the bishop treat Valjean when he first walked in?
   The story's answer: He set a place for him at the table and gave him a bed
2. Why did the bishop tell the police he had given Valjean the silver?
   The story's answer: He wanted to give Valjean a chance to become a good man instead of going back to prison
3. Why did Valjean weep after Petit Gervais ran away?
   The story's answer: He saw at last what he had become, and how different the bishop's kindness was
4. What does the story suggest can change a hard heart?
   The story's answer: Mercy and trust that a person has not earned yet
5. 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.
6. The part we just read is called "Petit Gervais". 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.
7. 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. Which character changed the most from the beginning to the end?
   Listen for: Ask what changed them.
2. Which scene would you put on the poster if this were a film?
   Listen for: A way to find the scene that mattered most to each reader.
3. Is there a line or a moment you will remember? Why that one?
   Listen for: Let readers find it in the book and read it aloud.
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.