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Rip Van Winkle: a book club kit
Where it comes from. Washington Irving wrote this story about the Catskill Mountains in New York, and it came out in 1819. It is one of the first famous American stories.
In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). Rip Van Winkle is a kind, lazy man in a Dutch village in the Catskill Mountains who would rather help a neighbor than work his own farm. One day in the mountains he meets silent men bowling, takes a drink from their keg, and falls asleep. When he wakes his beard is white, and he learns that twenty years have passed and the American Revolution has come and gone.
Reading plan, by the story's parts. Meeting 1: Part One, “The Village by the River” and Part Two, “Thunder in the Mountains”, pages 1–8 (about 7 minutes aloud); Meeting 2: Part Three, “Twenty Years Later”, pages 9–14 (about 5 minutes aloud). Each stop's own questions, which never give away what comes next: Rip Van Winkle by chapter.
Questions to talk about
- Is Rip Van Winkle a true story?
The story's answer: No. It is a made-up story by Washington Irving. He framed it as papers left by Diedrich Knickerbocker, with a note insisting that it is true, but that note is part of the fiction. Irving said that he had never been to the Catskills when he wrote it, and the story is widely thought to be based on a German folktale called “Peter Klaus.” - Who wrote Rip Van Winkle, and when?
The story's answer: Washington Irving wrote it while living in England, and it was first published in 1819 in the first installment of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The story is set in New York's Catskill Mountains in the years before the American Revolution. - How long did Rip Van Winkle sleep?
The story's answer: Twenty years. In Irving's story Rip goes up the mountain before the American Revolution and comes down after it, and the village inn's portrait of King George has become one of General Washington. - 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. - 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.
Did you know?
- Written by Washington Irving and first published in 1819, in the first installment of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
- Irving wrote it in England and said that when he wrote it he had never been to the Catskills.
- He presented it as a “posthumous writing” of Diedrich Knickerbocker, and a note signed D. K. insists the story is true.
Activity: Cast the film
Choose who would play each character, draw the poster with your scene on it, and give the film a one-line tagline.
More to talk about
More facts for the leader
- It is widely thought to be based on a German folktale, “Peter Klaus,” by Johann Karl Christoph Nachtigal, about a goatherd who sleeps for twenty years.
- In the story, thunder in the Catskills is the sound of Henry Hudson's crew playing ninepins.
Words to teach before you start
- knoll: small round hill
- gully: narrow ditch
- ninepins: old bowling game
- flagons: big jugs
- scepter: king's staff
- bewildered: very confused
- revolution: war for freedom
Questions leaders ask
How long does a Rip Van Winkle book club meeting take?
Reading it aloud takes about 12 minutes in all, so plan 2 meetings of about 30 to 45 minutes each, with time left for the questions. The reading plan on the sheet says where to stop.
What age is Rip Van Winkle for?
It is written at Peabody level 12, a grade 7 reading level, so most children at that level can read it alone. Younger children can listen to it read aloud.
Do the children need to read it before the meeting?
No. Each child can read it free on Peabody, before the meeting or together at it, and the questions work either way. The sheet's short version gives the ending away, so keep it for the leader.
How do I use the questions?
Start with the story's own questions, which have answers in the leader's notes, then move to the open ones and listen for reasons. There is no wrong answer to an open question. Stop when the group runs out of things to say.
Club kits for stories like this
- Alice in Wonderland (level 11)
- A Christmas Carol (level 14)
- Peter Pan (level 10)
- The Case of the Missing Mangoes (level 10)
- The Wizard of Oz (level 10)
- How the Camel Got His Hump (level 8)
How this kit is made
The short version, the facts and the first questions with their answers are the story's own, written for its page in Peabody's library and checked against the sources named there. The open questions, the activity and the plan are Peabody's, written for this kind of story. No part of it is written by a computer model.
Running the meeting: the meeting plans (30, 45 and 60 minutes) and the sign-up sheet.