The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Book Club Questions

Ten discussion questions for L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) - written for groups who have finished the book and want an argument, not a summary. Full spoilers ahead. The first six are anchored to this novel’s specific turns; the last four keep the room talking when the wine runs low.

Print questions

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1. 1. Dorothy's companions ask the Wizard for what they already show: brains, heart and courage. Is that the book's main lesson, or only one of them?

2. 2. Baum's 1900 novel gives Dorothy silver shoes; the film made them ruby. How does knowing the adaptation change the way you read the original?

3. 3. The Wizard is a humbug, yet he helps the companions. Is he a fraud, a good performer, or both?

4. 4. Dorothy's journey is a series of encounters on a road. Which episode feels most like the book's central test?

5. 5. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Lion each believe they lack something. Which character sees himself least clearly?

6. 6. The book's politics have been debated: the Wizard, the Emerald City and the silver standard. Which reading is supported by the story, and which feels imposed?

7. 7. Toto causes Dorothy to miss the balloon departure. Is that a comic accident or a reminder that homecoming is not something another person can do for her?

8. 8. Glinda is the one who can send Dorothy home, but Dorothy must finish the road first. Why delay that help?

9. 9. What does the novel's ending say about home, given that Dorothy has seen a whole other world?

10. 10. If you knew the 1939 film first, what surprised you most in Baum's book?

11. 11. What did The Wonderful Wizard of Oz make you feel that you didn't want to feel?

12. 12. If you had to cut one plotline from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz entirely, which goes — and what does the book lose?

13. 13. Whose story in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz deserved its own novel instead of a chapter?

14. 14. The first line of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — does the book keep the promise it makes? Where best and where worst?

How to run the meeting

Don’t go in order. Open with whichever question matches your group’s mood - a quiet room starts with a character question, a lively one starts with an argument about the ending. Let one question run until it genuinely dies, then jump. Two rules keep it alive: every claim gets pointed at the text (someone will have the book on their phone), and “I hated it” counts as an opinion that must be defended like any other.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz runs about 40,000 words - roughly 259 pages - so a month between meetings is comfortable at 30 minutes a day; the full session math is on the reading time page. For a quicker take on who actually finished it, open the meeting with the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz quiz - scores settle grudges faster than discussion. The book’s famous quotes make good meeting-openers too, and if the group wants a next pick built like this one, the books like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz list is the handout.

Ground rules that save meetings

Three habits keep a club alive past the first bottle. First, the person who picked the book opens the discussion - they owe the group one sentence on why they chose it, which is usually the strongest prompt of the night. Second, silence is allowed to sit for a full ten seconds; the second answer is always better than the first. Third, end on the next pick while everyone is still arguing, because momentum is the only renewable fuel a book club has. The questions above are written to survive all three rules.

More book club question sets

The Odyssey questions, Moby-Dick questions, Don Quixote questions, Alice in Wonderland questions - or grab questions for all 133 classics. For the end-of-season meeting, the mixed-classics book quiz settles who read the most.

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