The Snow ChildBook club questions, food & host guide
A cozy book club night for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Includes 8 spoiler-free discussion questions, food and drink pairings, a playlist, and a host guide, ready to print and share.
A club that likes to be moved rather than to debate, and happily lingers over a second cup of tea
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A childless homesteading couple in 1920s Alaska builds a little girl out of snow one evening, and the next morning a real child seems to be moving at the edge of their woods. It is a hushed, snow-lit fairy tale about longing, tenderness, and the stubborn hope of making a life in a hard place.
Why it works for clubs
- Fairy tale wonder braided into gritty homestead realism, so readers argue gently about what they want to believe
- Deep, warm feelings about marriage, grief, and the family you cobble together
- Alaska itself reads like a character, perfect for a snug indoor night
- Short chapters and clear prose mean nearly everyone finishes it
Warm-up questions
- 1 Where were you reading this one, and did the snow in it make you want blankets, a window seat, or a trip to Alaska?
- 2 When you were a kid, what did you build out of snow (or mud, or sand), and did you ever secretly half-believe it was alive?
Digging in
- 1 Mabel and Jack are quiet people who love each other badly and well at the same time. Which small gesture between them softened you most?
- 2 The Bensons arrive loud and generous into a very silent book. How did their warmth land for you, and who in your life is your version of Esther?
- 3 Ivey writes winter as both beautiful and genuinely dangerous. What did this book make you feel about cold, and about the comfort of being indoors while something wild is outside?
- 4 The fairy tale book from Mabel's childhood follows her north. What story from your own childhood has stayed with you in a way you cannot quite explain?
Going deep
- 1 The novel never forces you to choose between wonder and explanation. Where did your heart land, and did you find that choice comforting or a little lonely?
- 2 This is a book about wanting something very badly and loving whatever arrives instead. Without giving anything away, did reading it feel like being held or like being ached open?
On the table
To sip
Hushed and snow-muffled: solo piano, fiddle, and soft folk voices, quiet enough to talk over
Tap a track to play it. Full songs play when you're signed into Spotify.
Run of show
Host tips
- Keep one lamp off. Candles or string lights do more for this book than any decoration you could buy.
- Pass questions on cards and let people choose. Nobody should feel called on in a cozy room.
- Make the stew the day before. It tastes better and it frees you to actually sit down with your guests.
Bring your softest socks and your copy of The Snow Child. There will be stew in mugs, cranberry cider on the stove, and a very quiet Alaskan winter to talk about.
Trivia
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1
Which state does The Snow Child take place in, and roughly which decade?Answer: Alaska, in the 1920s.
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2
Eowyn Ivey's novel is a retelling of a folk tale from which country's tradition?Answer: Russia, the Snegurochka or snow maiden tale.
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3
Which major literary prize was The Snow Child a 2013 finalist for?Answer: The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
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4
What is unusual about the author's first name, Eowyn?Answer: She was named after the character Eowyn in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
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5
What job did Eowyn Ivey have when she wrote the novel, one that is famously close to books?Answer: She worked as a bookseller at an independent bookstore in Alaska.
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6
Was The Snow Child Ivey's debut novel?Answer: Yes, it was her first novel, published in 2012.
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7
Where does Eowyn Ivey live, and how does it relate to the setting?Answer: She lives in Alaska, the same landscape the book is set in.
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8
What kind of life are Jack and Mabel attempting when the novel opens?Answer: Homesteading, trying to farm and survive on a new Alaskan claim.
Rate the book
Print pack
- Question cards on heavy stock, snowflake corner, for passing around
- Bookmark set of the three lines, cut to tuck into a returned copy
- Trivia half-sheet with the answers folded under
- Scorecards with a mug ring printed in the corner
- A small recipe card for the cranberry cider to take home
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