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The Twelve Labors of Hercules: book club questions by chapter
Meeting 1 of 2
🦉 The Twelve Labors of Hercules · meeting 1 of 2
Read: Part One, “The Strongest Baby”; Part Two, “The Lion and the Hydra” (pages 1–6, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.
- 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 Lion and the Hydra". 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 Twelve Labors of Hercules · meeting 2 of 2
Read: Part Three, “The Deer and the Stables”; Part Four, “The Sky on His Shoulders”; Part Five, “The Dog with Three Heads” (pages 7–15, about 7 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 15, the end of the story.
- Why did Hercules have to do the twelve labors?
The story's answer: To make up for a terrible wrong - How did Hercules clean the stables of King Augeas in one day?
The story's answer: He sent two rivers through them - Why did Eurystheus keep hiding in a bronze jar?
The story's answer: He was afraid of Hercules and the beasts he brought - How did Hercules get the sky back onto Atlas's shoulders?
The story's answer: He tricked Atlas by asking him to hold it for a moment - What does this story suggest about being strong?
The story's answer: Strength works with patience and cleverness - 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 Dog with Three Heads". 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
- What does this myth explain, or try to explain?
Listen for: Many myths explain how something came to be: a season, an animal, a name. - Was the main character right or wrong? Was the ending fair?
Listen for: Myths are often hard on people; let the group disagree.
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-twelve-labors-of-hercules. Every child in the club can read it on any device, with no account.