The Keeper of Hidden Books

Which character did you connect with the most and why?

If you were alive at the time, do you think you could have been part of the Warsaw Uprising?

What books read by the Bandit Book Club have you read? Are there any new ones you’d like to read?

Zofia initially doesn’t like one of the books they read in the Bandit Book Club, but when she reads it again at a later point in her life, she finds incredible poignance in the story. Is there a book you read that you didn’t care for at first, but then found significance and power in during a second reading later in your life?

What was something interesting you learned about Warsaw during World War II that you didn’t know before reading this book?

Do you think you’d be part of a secret book club if you were offered membership?

If your studies were cut short by the closing of your school during wartime, would you risk your life to finish your education—even if doing so yielded only a ticket and a promise that it would translate to a proper certificate once the war was over?

Hiding Jewish people was an incredibly brave—and incredibly dangerous—thing to do. Doing so put the lives of family members and even other apartment dwellers at risk. Do you think you could have helped hide those who were Jewish despite the risk?

Sadly, book banning still continues today in our public schools and libraries. Why do you think certain books are banned? What problems do you think can stem from doing so? Have you read any books that were banned? If so, how do you feel about the fact that they were banned?