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The Brave Little Tailor: book club questions by chapter
Meeting 1 of 2
🦉 The Brave Little Tailor · meeting 1 of 2
Read: Part One, “Seven at One Blow”; Part Two, “The Giant on the Mountain” (pages 1–8, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 8, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.
- What had the tailor really hit with one blow?
The story's answer: Seven flies - How did the tailor win the stone-squeezing contest with the giant?
The story's answer: He squeezed a soft cheese - 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. - The part we just read is called "The Giant on the Mountain". 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. - 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.
Meeting 2 of 2
🦉 The Brave Little Tailor · meeting 2 of 2
Read: Part Three, “The King's Tasks” (pages 9–15, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 15, the end of the story.
- How did the tailor make the two giants fight each other?
The story's answer: He dropped stones on them while they slept - Why did the King's men think the tailor was a great warrior?
The story's answer: They read the words on his belt - What does the story teach?
The story's answer: Quick wits can beat big muscles - 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. - The part we just read is called "The King's Tasks". 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. - 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
- Who in the story was kind, and who was not? How do you know?
Listen for: Ask for the moment in the story that shows it. - Which part would you change, and how would the story end then?
Listen for: There is no wrong ending; ask what else would have to change.
How these questions are made
The questions with an answer are the story's own, from its page in the library, each at the first stop whose pages answer it and where everyone it names has already come in. The rest are Peabody's, and name nothing but the parts already read. Nothing here is written by a computer model. The story's club kit has the short version for the leader (it gives the ending away), three facts and an activity.
Read it free: peabody.kids/library/the-brave-little-tailor. Every child in the club can read it on any device, with no account.