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Urashima Taro: book club questions by chapter
Meeting 1 of 2
🦉 Urashima Taro · meeting 1 of 2
Read: Part One, “The Turtle on the Sand”; Part Two, “Down to the Sea King” (pages 1–6, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.
- How did Urashima get the turtle away from the children?
The story's answer: He gave them coins for it - 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 "Down to the Sea King". 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
🦉 Urashima Taro · meeting 2 of 2
Read: Part Three, “The Four Seasons”; Part Four, “Home Again”; Part Five, “The Little Black Box” (pages 7–15, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 15, the end of the story.
- Who was the turtle really?
The story's answer: The princess Otohime - What was strange about the palace garden?
The story's answer: All four seasons were there at once - Why did no one in the village know Urashima?
The story's answer: Three hundred years had passed - What does the story suggest about promises?
The story's answer: Promises matter, even when we are sad - 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 Little Black Box". 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 story tell you about the place it comes from?
Listen for: Food, weather, animals, how people live: anything the story shows. - Does it remind you of another story you know?
Listen for: Many folk tales have cousins in other countries.
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/urashima-taro. Every child in the club can read it on any device, with no account.