BOOK CLUB KIT

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How does Walters inability to speak shape his character? In what ways does his speech change throughout
the novel?

2. Did you have a favorite character? If so, who?

3. Lan tells Walter to make a sunflower seed friend (p. 113). What does she mean? Does his understanding of
friendship change over the course of the book? And does he ultimately make a sunflower seed friend? Do you
have any sunflower seed friends?

4. Walters ability to find missing items allows him to glimpse inside the lives of others without feeling vulnerable.
Have you ever helped someone find a lost thing? Is there an item you personally remember losing? What did
this item say about you? Did you find it?

5. Walter lights an oil lamp every day in the hope his father will find his way home. At the beginning of the novel,
did you think Walter would find his father? What does Walter end up finding?

6. The Lavenders is a beloved bakery, but the rising rents in the neighborhood threaten it. How does the novel
portray gentrification? Have you seen this in your own community? What do you think about the landlords
decision to close The Lavenders?

7. How does Walter deal with being picked on at school? How does his attitude toward Beaver and Todd change
by the end of the novel? Were you surprised by the way Walter treats them later in the book?

8. Many of the characters Walter encounters in his journey are lonelythe rat-man and rat-woman long for a
child, Karl misses his wife, and Junker wanders the streets of his abandoned city, searching for company. How
does Walter help the people he meets? What does he learn about loneliness?

9. Ruby gives Walter the first gift [he has] been given from someone who is not Lucy (p. 297). What does Ruby
show Walter about the world? How does her friendship change him? Do you recall the first gift you received
that came from a friend?

10. Much of this novel is about the power of stories to shape our lives. In what ways does the Book shape Walter?
How does he come into his own story? Were there stories you encountered as a child that have shaped you?

11. What is the kindest thing youve done for someone else, or that someone else has done for you? Do you wish
you had been kinder on some occasions?

Recipe Card
1 (18.25 ounce)
package W A LT E R S R A i N B O W C U P C AK E C O N E S
white cake mix
1 cup water Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3 eggs Stir cake mix, water, eggs, and vegetable oil together in a bowl until moistened;
cup vegetable oil beat the batter with an electric mixer set on medium speed for 2 minutes.

1 drop red food coloring Divide cake batter into 4 equal portions in separate bowls. Tint each bowl a different
color, stirring in red, green, yellow, and blue food coloring to reach desired shade.
1 drop green food coloring
1 drop yellow food coloring Set ice cream cones upright in 24 muffin cups.
1 drop blue food coloring Spoon about 1 tablespoons of each colored batter into cones, leaving about
24 flat-bottomed wafer 1 inch of room from the top.
ice cream cones Carefully transfer cones to the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into
in assorted colors
the middle of a filled cone comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
1 (16 ounce) container
prepared vanilla frosting Cool cupcakes thoroughly, about one hour.
Rainbow sprinkles Decorate with frosting and sprinkles.
 1
THE GREAT LAWN
Where Walter meets Karl
and his hang glider.
1
2
3
2. THE METROPOLITAN
MUSEUM OF ART
Where Walter goes with Ruby
to see an exhibition; their
4 friendship is kindled here.

W A LT E R S RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL

Where Walter meets Ruby.

J O U R N E Y T H RO U G H Where Ruby takes Walter

M A N H AT T A N
and they break into the Carousel.

14 STREET / 8 AVE 5
A subway station where the
Life Underground sculptures
5 are installed, including the
little bronze man where
Walter examines his reflection
in the opening of the book.

6
7

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

8

7
CARMINE STREET
10 A street in the West Village
where The Lavenders is located.

11

8. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

MULBERRY STREET BRANCH
Where Walter uses a computer
to search for the address of Rubys
school location and sees
the MISSING alert/flyer for himself.
10

CHINATOWN BROOKLYN BRIDGE 11

Where Lan,
DELANCEY STREET
A closed subway station where
the can collector, Where Walter meets Nico,
Walter meets Junker,
lives and the homeless man, and
the rat-couple, and mini-Walter.
deposits her where he interacts with
bottles. the food cart man.