Alice's Adventures in Wonderland book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Chapters 1 to 4

1. When Alice follows a rabbit underground, do you see curiosity, poor judgment, or something else?
2. How might locked doors change the appeal of the garden for Alice?
3. What does Alice shrinking into her own tears suggest about how feelings can shape a person's troubles?
4. When the frightened Mouse challenges Alice's ideas about friendly conversation, who should bear more responsibility for making the conversation work?
5. How should Alice respond when praising her cat frightens her companions?

Meeting 2: Chapters 5 to 8

6. What does Alice's use of mushroom experiments suggest about learning when advice or conversation proves difficult?
7. How might learning to control her size change Alice's sense of who she is?
8. What questions does rescuing a baby that changes raise about the limits of Alice's responsibility?
9. How does the violent kitchen shape your view of Alice's decision to rescue the baby?
10. What would make staying at a rude party worthwhile, and do puzzling hosts change your answer?

Meeting 3: Chapters 9 to 12

11. How do threats change the meaning of a game when they interrupt croquet?
12. Would shrinking lesson hours make a school more appealing or less useful, and why?
13. How might the creature's sorrow affect the way Alice understands its account of school?
14. What does Alice's struggle with recitation suggest about the difference between knowing something and being able to perform it?
15. How should threats against witnesses affect your trust in a trial?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.