Discussion questions for book clubs or classes

1. z
Emil and the
Detectives

2. z
Make up a
short response
from Grandma,
to this letter
from Emil!

3. z
Do you think
kids should be
allowed to run
around town
as long as they
promise they
won’t do
anything
“dangerous”?

4. z
Is it stealing to take
something that was
stolen from you?

5. z
Do you think it was right for Emil and the
other kids to take matters into their own
hands, or should they have told an adult or
the police?

6. z
Do you think kids get enough respect
from adults?

7. z
Do parents sometimes focus too much on
unimportant details?

8. z
What do you think
of Emil? Is he a
good son?

9. z
Pony the Hat chastises
her father harshly for
telling Emil he can’t do
what he wants with his
money. There’s kind of a
running theme of kids
vs. adults. Do you think
Emil has a right to do
what he wants with his
money? Do you think it’s
right that his mother puts
it in the bank?

10. z
At first the kids assume that if they just
have the thief surrounded, he’ll confess to
his crime and return the money. Is that
naïve of them? What if he didn’t want to?
He’s a thief after all.

11. z
The kids are heroes in this story, but they
do not act completely independent of
adults. When the thief refuses to hand over
Emil’s money, they need adults’ help to get
it back and bring the thief to justice. Can
you think of some of the adults who were
helpful to their investigation?