The Velveteen Rabbit: book club questions by chapter

🦉 The Velveteen Rabbit · meeting 1 of 3

Read: Part One, “The Nursery” (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.

1. What did the Skin Horse say makes a toy Real?
   The story's answer: Being truly loved by a child for a long time
2. Why did the Skin Horse say a toy can still be Real when its fur is loved off?
   The story's answer: Because being loved matters more than looking new
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 Nursery". 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.

🦉 The Velveteen Rabbit · meeting 2 of 3

Read: Part Two, “The Boy's Bunny”; Part Three, “The Wild Rabbits” (pages 7–13, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 13, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why did the wild rabbit say the Velveteen Rabbit was not a rabbit at all?
   The story's answer: He had no hind legs and did not smell right
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 Wild Rabbits". 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 Velveteen Rabbit · meeting 3 of 3

Read: Part Four, “The Sack”; Part Five, “The Fairy Flower” (pages 14–21, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 21, the end of the story.

1. What grew from the place where the Rabbit's tear fell?
   The story's answer: A golden flower
2. Why did the Boy think the wild rabbit looked like his old Bunny?
   The story's answer: He had faint spots showing under his fur
3. 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.
4. The part we just read is called "The Fairy Flower". 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. 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.