Book Club Discussion Questions for Middle Grade Readers (Works for Any Book)

A kids’ book club can be the best hour of the month, or a long silence while everyone stares at their snacks. The difference is usually the questions.

Good questions for middle grade readers are open, personal, and a little bit fun. They don’t have one right answer, and they invite kids to argue (politely) with each other. Below are 40 questions that work for almost any middle grade novel, grouped so you can pick a few from each section. At the end, you’ll find tips for running the club and a spoiler-light set for The Truth Seekers.

Getting started questions

1. Did you like this book? Give it a score from 1 to 10, and tell us why.
2. What’s one word that describes this book?
3. Which part made you laugh, gasp, or want to keep reading?
4. Was there a part you wanted to skip? Why?
5. If you could ask the author one question, what would it be?
6. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Which friend, and why them?

Questions about characters

7. Which character is most like you? Which is least like you?
8. Who would you want as a best friend? Who would drive you crazy?
9. Which character changed the most from the beginning to the end?
10. Did a character make a choice you disagreed with? What would you have done?
11. Was there a character you didn’t trust at first? Were you right?
12. Which grown-up in the story was the most helpful? The least?
13. If the main character kept a journal, what would they write on the last page?
14. What’s a secret one of the characters was keeping? How did it affect the story?

Questions about choices and big ideas

15. What was the biggest decision in the story? Was it the right one?
16. What do you think the author wants readers to learn?
17. Was anyone in the story honest when it was hard? How did it turn out?
18. Did someone in the book give bad advice that sounded good? How could you tell?
19. What does this book say about friendship? About family?
20. Was the ending fair? Would you change it?
21. Is there a rule in this story’s world that you’d like in real life?
22. What was the bravest thing a character did?

Questions about the setting and world

23. Where and when does the story take place? Would you want to live there?
24. If you could visit one place from the book for a day, where would you go?
25. How would the story change if it happened in your town?
26. What’s one object from the story you’d want to own?
27. If you could add one new place to this world, what would it be?

Questions about the writing

28. Who tells the story? How would it be different if someone else told it?
29. Find a sentence you loved. Read it out loud. Why does it work?
30. How did the author make you feel nervous, sad, or excited?
31. Did the book’s title make sense once you finished? What would you have called it?
32. What do you think happens after the last page?
33. If this book became a movie, who would you cast?

Questions for connecting it to life

34. Have you ever felt like one of the characters?
35. Did the book remind you of another book, show, or movie?
36. Did this book change your mind about anything?
37. What’s something from the book you want to try in real life?
38. If you could give one character advice, what would you tell them?
39. Who in your life would love this book?
40. What should our club read next?

Tips for running a kids’ book club

• Keep it small. Four to eight kids gives everyone a chance to talk.
• Pick five questions, not forty. Choose one from each section. Let the best one run long.
• Let kids lead. Rotate a “question captain” who picks and asks the questions.
• Use a talking object. A ball, a spoon, or a stuffed animal: whoever holds it talks.
• Add an activity. A themed snack, a character quiz, a word search, or coloring pages keeps hands busy and conversation flowing.
• Celebrate disagreement. “I see it differently” is a sign the club is working.
• Read aloud a favorite passage. Hearing a scene again often unlocks the best discussion.
• Mind the spoilers. If not everyone has finished, group questions by chapters.

Choosing a book for your club

Look for books with a strong narrator, at least one big choice, and characters kids will argue about. Family read-aloud books are great for mixed-age groups, since younger listeners can follow along while older kids lead. For ideas, see our lists of clean middle grade fantasy books and books like Fablehaven.

A spoiler-light set for The Truth Seekers

The Truth Seekers by R.R. Anders is coming soon. It’s a clean middle-grade fantasy-mystery about twin sisters who find a book in their attic with their own names on the cover. When it’s out, these are good openers for a club meeting:

1. Stella is street smart and Rylee is book smart. Which one are you?
2. Would you have opened the book in the attic? Would you have read the words out loud?
3. Stella’s gift is dreams. Rylee’s is knowing where to be. Which would you want?
4. Why do you think Stella keeps some things from her sister, even after they promise to work together?
5. A teacher in the book says, “The gift grows the girl.” What do you think he means?

Our parents and teachers page has the full set, grouped by part of the book so nobody gets spoiled, plus talk-about topics and family activities. Join the pre-launch list to hear when the book is ready.

FAQ

How many questions should a kids’ book club use? Five to eight is plenty for a 45- to 60-minute meeting. A great question can fill twenty minutes on its own.

What age is right for a book club? Kids as young as 7 can enjoy a read-aloud book club. Middle grade book clubs work best for ages 8 to 13.

How do I get quiet kids to talk? Start with a fun, low-stakes question (a 1 to 10 rating works well), use a talking object, and let kids write an answer down before they share.

Can these questions work for homeschool groups and classrooms? Yes. They work for any middle grade novel and for mixed-age groups. Teachers can assign one section per small group.

Is there a printable version? Our parents page has discussion questions and activities you can print for your group.