Research and discussion topics

Topic #1: Cats in literature

One of the main characters in The Mountains of the Moon is a cat. Many stories feature cats. Some are “real” cats that look and act like the cats we see every day. Some are “fantasy” cats that are very different from everyday cats and may behave more like people. What are some of the characteristics people associate with “real” cats? What clues might tell you that you’re reading about a “fantasy” cat?

Name at least three stories in which cats are important. Are they “real” or “fantasy” cats? Some may be a little of each. Is BB a “real” or “fantasy” cat, or both? Explain your answer.

BB is nearly twenty years old. Do “real” cats often live to be as old as BB? What is the average life span of a house cat? Can you think of any reasons for BB’s long life?

Topic #2: Fictional worlds

Myths and legends may be written as if they take place in our world, but at some long-ago time when things were different than they are now. Many fantasy and science fiction stories are set in made-up worlds (or non-existent places in our world) which may be different than ours in many ways. Even though these worlds are created from the author’s imagination, they have to be internally consistent. For instance, if magic works in the fantasy world, then it has to always work according to set rules, or the story won’t make any sense. If people on this world are about six inches tall, then everything else has to be to scale, while keeping it close enough to what we know to be true to make it believable.

Name at least three fictional worlds you may have read about, and tell how they are different from the “real” world. Discuss possible reasons why an author would go to all the effort of creating a different world instead of simply using the one we already know about.

The Mountains of the Moon takes place partly in the “real” world and partly in a fictional one. Discuss the differences.

Topic #3: Trading places

Reading a fictional story, or an historical one, allows us to be someone else for a time. We can have adventures, experience hardships, face terrible dangers—and never actually leave the comforts of home. Besides being entertaining, looking at the world through someone else’s eyes can be a learning experience. Watching the hero solve a problem, we may have a better idea about solving our own problems. If the hero is interested in something, whether it’s baseball or rocket ships or bee-keeping, we may be inspired to learn more about the subject.

Name at least two books or stories that have had an effect on your life. Write a paragraph about each, telling how you were changed by this reading experience.

Imagine you are the one who had Sammy’s adventure. Would you have done everything the same way that she did? How would your actions in the fantasy world have affected your life in the real world?

Topic #4: Magic

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to snap your fingers or wave a wand and have whatever you wanted? Maybe not. Look at the story about King Midas, who got exactly what he asked for. And what about all the stories in which people had three wishes, and the results were terrible? In fiction stories, magic has to follow some sort of rules, or there wouldn’t be any story. If the hero could simply wish all his problems away, there wouldn’t be much to write about. Besides, most problems in stories, as in real life, have to do with other people. If your magic could make everyone do what you wanted them to, they wouldn’t be much more than robots, and life would be boring—and lonely. Not only that, you’d be working pretty hard, making everyone’s decisions for them.

Think of two or three stories you have read that used magic in some form. Did the magic have rules? Could it only be used by certain people in certain ways? Did it make life easier for the main character, or just create more complications?

Topic #5: Change

One of the characteristics of life in general is growth and change. Living things that aren’t growing and changing are probably dieing—which is a change in itself, but maybe not the most desirable one. Most fictional characters change in the course of their stories. They may acquire knowledge and experience, or emotional strengths such as courage, patience, and compassion. How does Sammy change in the story? What does she learn?

Can you think of at least two other stories in which the main character changes? Write a paragraph about each, telling how the character was different at the end of the story.