1. How does the first chapter of The White Mountains prepare you for the rest of the story?

2. What kind of a person is Will? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

What does he learn about himself on the journey to the White Mountains?

3. Describe Will's relationship with Henry at the beginning of the story. How does this relationship change? How do the boys feel about each other by the end of the book?

4. What are Beanpole's special contributions to the boys' quest?

5. The boys do not understand everything that they see when they visit Paris.

What do you recognize that they do not?

What does the Paris sequence tell you about the world of The White Mountains?

6. How do you account for the differing reactions of Will, Henry, and Beanpole to the temptation of the Chateau de la Tour Rouge? Compare life there with...