Book Club Night Kit
The Fountain
Casey Scieszka
Cozy night
A warm, wish-tinged story built around a fountain and the people who gather near it, the kind of book that makes you want to sit closer to the lamp and read one more chapter. It is gentle enough for a relaxed night and rich enough that everyone arrives with something to say.
Bring your socks and your secret wishes
We are reading The Fountain by Casey Scieszka and spending an evening with soup, cider, and gentle conversation. Come as you are, finished or not.
Reading level: Easy
Best for: A club that likes feelings over footnotes, where people show up in socks and stay late talking
Discussion
Warm-up
- 1.Before we talk about the book at all: when was the last time you tossed a coin into a fountain, and did you tell anyone what you wished for?
- 2.Where were you while you read most of this one (couch, bus, bath, bed), and did the book's mood match the room you were in?
Digging in
- 1.This is a book about a place people keep returning to. What is your fountain, the spot you circle back to when you need something you cannot quite name?
- 2.Wishing in this book sits somewhere between hope and avoidance. Which of your own wishes have you kept private because saying them out loud felt too tender?
- 3.Scieszka is very good at small ordinary details. Which little moment in this book gave you that soft, recognized feeling of oh, I know exactly what that is like?
- 4.Who in this story did you most want to make a pot of soup for, and what would you have said to them while they ate?
Going deep
- 1.Somewhere in these pages the book asks whether wanting something counts as a kind of faith. Reading it, did you come away feeling more generous toward your own unfinished hopes, or more impatient with them?
- 2.Without giving anything away about where it all lands: what did this book leave sitting in your chest the next morning, and was that a comfort or an ache (or both)?
On the table & to sip
To eat
Big pot of brothy white bean and greens soup with torn bread
A fountain is a gathering place and so is a soup pot. One thing to stir, ladles for everyone, and it holds all night while people talk.
Coin cookies: thin shortbread rounds dusted with gold sanding sugar
A playful nod to wish coins, and they stack nicely in a bowl so guests can keep reaching for one more without any ceremony.
Skillet cornbread with honey butter
Warm, homey, and meant to be torn apart at the table. The kind of food that lowers everyone's shoulders before the first question.
To sip
Honey chamomile tea with lemon, served from a big kettle (no alcohol)
The non-alcoholic anchor of the night, soothing and refillable, perfect for a story that rewards slowing down.
Mulled apple cider with a cinnamon stick (no alcohol)
Warm, slightly indulgent, and it makes the whole house smell like an invitation. Keep it on low on the stove.
Spiked hot chocolate with a splash of bourbon or amaretto
The gentle indulgence for the second half of the evening, when the conversation turns quieter and more honest.
Run of show
7:00
Arrive and ladle
No seating chart, no agenda. Soup is already hot, mugs are out, people serve themselves and find a soft spot.
7:20
Coin bowl warm-up
Put a bowl of pennies by the door. Everyone takes one and answers a warm-up question before dropping it into a dish of water.
7:40
Theme talk, slow lap
Work through the theme questions in no particular order. Let silences sit, they usually end with someone saying the best thing of the night.
8:20
Read-aloud and refill
Invite two or three people to read a short favorite passage. Bring out the cider and cookies while they do.
8:45
The deep two
Dim the lights a notch and ask the two deep questions. Remind everyone to keep the ending unspoken for anyone still reading.
9:15
Scorecards and soft landing
Fill out scorecards together, read a few aloud, and let people drift out with a cookie in a napkin.
Host tips
- Say up front that nobody has to have finished the book. Cozy means no one gets quizzed.
- Keep the soup and tea self-serve so you are never trapped at the stove instead of in the conversation.
- If one person is carrying the conversation, ask the group a feeling question (not an opinion question) to bring the quieter folks in.
Playlist
Soft water sounds and warm acoustic hush, like a kitchen radio left on while rain starts outside
- 01 Re: Stacks - Bon Iver
- 02 Saturn - Sleeping at Last
- 03 The Water - Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling
- 04 Pink Moon - Nick Drake
- 05 Michicant - Bon Iver
- 06 Coins in a Fountain - Rilo Kiley
- 07 Harvest Moon - Neil Young
- 08 First Light - Hiss Golden Messenger
Trivia
- 1.Who wrote The Fountain? (Casey Scieszka.)
- 2.Casey Scieszka co-authored an illustrated travel memoir. What is it called? (To Timbuktu.)
- 3.Who illustrated and co-wrote To Timbuktu with her? (Steven Weinberg.)
- 4.Casey Scieszka's father is a famous children's author. Name him. (Jon Scieszka.)
- 5.Jon Scieszka is best known for which fractured fairy tale picture book? (The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.)
- 6.To Timbuktu is subtitled Nine Countries, Two People, One blank Story. What is the missing word? (True.)
- 7.A fountain where people toss coins to make wishes is called a what? (A wishing well (or wishing fountain).)
- 8.Jon Scieszka served as the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in which country? (The United States.)
Bookmarks
Print, cut, and tuck one at every seat, a small keepsake from the night.
“Every coin is a sentence someone could not say out loud.”
The Fountain
Casey Scieszka
bookclubnight.com
“Come sit by the water. The soup is still hot.”
The Fountain
Casey Scieszka
bookclubnight.com
“Some hopes keep best in the dark, like root vegetables.”
The Fountain
Casey Scieszka
bookclubnight.com
Rate the book
Comfort factor☆☆☆☆☆
Warmth of the characters☆☆☆☆☆
How much it moved me☆☆☆☆☆
Pages I read twice☆☆☆☆☆
Would reread on a rainy day☆☆☆☆☆
One word for how this book left me: ______________________
The moment I want to keep: ______________________
Who I would hand this book to next: ______________________
That's a wrap
Thank you for coming
We hope the company was good and the conversation even better. Until the next chapter.