Little Men book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Chapters 1 to 7

1. What might it feel like to gain respect through a skill while also needing care?
2. How might sharing eggs and tending a garden teach different kinds of kindness?
3. When might remorse teach Nat more than punishment could?
4. Does giving Daisy a kitchen answer her exclusion from football, or leave the main problem untouched?
5. What should guide the decision to separate Dan from the school after dangerous games and a fire?

Meeting 2: Chapters 8 to 14

6. What makes a settlement between rival clubs fair rather than merely peaceful?
7. When do gifts repair harm, and when might they avoid the harder work of making amends?
8. How should Dan's earlier separation matter when he returns injured and needs help?
9. How should the nighttime search affect the children's freedom on future outings?
10. What might make affection a stronger reason for gentler manners than rules?

Meeting 3: Chapters 15 to 21

11. What makes an offer of help strengthen someone's ambitions rather than take them over?
12. Why might useful work give Dan reasons to stay when restlessness pulls him elsewhere?
13. What does a gift for Dan that draws everyone into discovery suggest about giving?
14. How fair is it to judge the children's habits by their garden yields?
15. How do you weigh Demi's wish to help against the burden of earning money after loss?

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.