Tyr and the Wolf: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Tyr and the Wolf · meeting 1 of 2

Read: Part One, “The Wolf Grows”; Part Two, “The Chains” (pages 1–6, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why did the gods ask the dwarfs to make the third fetter?
   The story's answer: No chain made by the gods could hold Fenrir
2. 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.
3. The part we just read is called "The Chains". 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.

🦉 Tyr and the Wolf · meeting 2 of 2

Read: Part Three, “The Silken Cord” (pages 7–10, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 10, the end of the story.

1. Why did Fenrir demand that one of the gods put a hand in his mouth?
   The story's answer: He wanted a pledge that there was no trick
2. What does Tyr's choice show about him?
   The story's answer: He was bravest when he knew what it would cost
3. What do the old poets suggest is the problem with how Asgard was made safe?
   The story's answer: It was done by a lie, and the wolf would remember
4. Which things did the dwarfs use to make Gleipnir?
   The story's answer: Roots of stones, the breath of a fish and a cat's footsteps
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 "The Silken Cord". 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. 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.
2. Was the main character right or wrong? Was the ending fair?
   Listen for: Myths are often hard on people; let the group disagree.
3. If you could ask one character a question, who and what would it be?
   Listen for: A good last question: it shows what puzzled each reader.
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.