The Gashlycrumb Tinies

For the month of October 2018, Dine & Opine read The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Although a few have mentioned that the book is more like a picture book than a “traditional” book; I have faith that the discussion will be one that we will all enjoy. Can’t wait to discuss this one!

Update: Let me start by saying “wow”. We read the book. I mean, seriously, it is not at all a tough book. Very much a cartoon/picture book style and very quick to read. I believe many said they read the book in about 30 seconds… lol. So with a book with little words, stretches and no main plot besides rhyming deaths…. what in the world would we discuss? Ah… Here is what I learned about myself… I wanted to find questions. I searched, read articles, background on the author and then it was as if the student in me jumped up and down and instead of searching… I began researching. Very quickly it became clear that although there are many articles and papers covering the book, the theories behind the book, etc. There were no exact “Discussion Questions”. That being the case, I decided to create questions based on the research that I had done.

The night of D&O’s meeting came. Those in attendance joked about the book. We thought it was cute. Then, I began to go through the questions. Slowly, the discussion went from this is cute and we were thrusted into a conversation regarding the darker material that can be found in the book, the author’s intent and strangers vs familiar people.

At the end of the night we agreed that the book was good. Amy, a fellow D&O, kept saying that she thought I “Made up these questions”. I told her over and over… “I did… based on my research”. Suhanti, a fellow D&O, asked to take the questions home to share with her daughter. My point is that even though a book can seem so easy… you can immerse yourself into the book and find that even the easiest book, many times, can have layers… like an onion… or an Ogre. (Yes, I am quoting a line from the movie Shrek. It seemed fitting).

And never fear… I am including the questions here. I hope you read them and if you have any input.. share! Would love to hear others view points/thoughts on this book!

Discussion Questions for The Gashlycrumbs Tinies