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The Wizard of Oz: book club questions by chapter
Meeting 1 of 2
🦉 The Wizard of Oz · meeting 1 of 2
Read: Part One, “The Storm”; Part Two, “The Yellow Road” (pages 1–7, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 7, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.
- Why did Dorothy turn back before reaching the cellar?
The story's answer: She went after frightened Toto - How was the Wicked Witch of the West stopped?
The story's answer: Water was thrown on her - 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 Yellow Road". 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 Wizard of Oz · meeting 2 of 2
Read: Part Three, “The Witch and the Curtain” (pages 8–13, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 13, the end of the story.
- What does the Scarecrow hope to get from the Wizard?
The story's answer: A brain - What do we learn about the Wizard from behind the curtain?
The story's answer: He was an ordinary man using tricks - What did Dorothy learn by the end?
The story's answer: She had the way home all along, and home is where she belongs - 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 Witch and the Curtain". 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
- Which character changed the most from the beginning to the end?
Listen for: Ask what changed them. - 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.
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-wizard-of-oz. Every child in the club can read it on any device, with no account.