The Book of Fatal Errors: Chapter Book Discussion Guide

THE BOOK OF FATAL ERRORS: DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR BOOK CLUBS & CLASSROOMS

Best Users: Librarians, Educators, Home Learners, Book Clubs
Best Audience: Children Grades 02-06

BOOK TEASER FROM THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE DISCUSSION GUIDE

If only every grandparent had a mysterious farm close enough for a child to ride a bike up its hidden road. Feylawn, though, is a close as the library bookshelf. With this companion Discussion Guide, readers can go deeper into Feylawn and the feylings, goblins, umbrals, cotters, and horses that inhabit the enchanted (and dangerous) property. Through Rufus and Abigail’s adventures, readers can discover that “fatal errors” may actually be spectacular beginnings.
DOWNLOAD The Book of Fatal Errors: Discussion Guide (PDF)

Note: 99% of what you find on this site is created by Curious City. This Discussion Guide, however, was created by Dashka Slater in consultation with your friends at Curious City.
 

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Book of Fatal Errors
Series: The Feylawn Chronicles , #1
By Dashka Slater
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Hardcover ISBN-13: 9780374301194
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Available in Audio from Recorded Books
Listen to an audiobook excerpt!

Award-winning author Dashka Slater spins a tale of friendship, magic, and eternal life in this evocative and witty middle-grade fantasy.

Rufus doesn’t just make mistakes – he makes fatal errors. Clumsy and awkward, he feels entrapped by his teasing classmates and their constant laughter. But now it is summer. Rufus is free. He roams the wildlands of his grandfather’s mysterious homestead, blissfully unaware of the danger up ahead.

And there is much danger. Rufus and his snooty cousin Abigail soon become entangled in the tantalizing world of the feylings, mischievous fairly-like creatures desperate to find their way home. In helping the feylings, Rufus tumbles down a dark path rich with age-old secrets and difficult truths. Any move he makes might be his final fatal error.

Or perhaps, his most spectacular beginning.

“[A] fun, emotionally driven fairy story . . . recommended for any young fantasy fans.”
—School Library Journal
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“With mischievous feylings, goblins, and magic, this is an exciting, fast-paced middle-grade fantasy. A delightful read for anyone who loves magic.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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“[A]n entertaining, fantastical summertime story..sassy feylings and other rambunctious magical creatures make the tale feel fresh…Rufus’s self-confidence grows with every chapter, and realistic tension between his family members works itself out in a satisfactory, but not simplistic, way.”
—The Horn Book Magazine
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“A seamless combination of fantasy and mystery wrapped around a classical coming-of-age narrative, Dashka Slater’s The Book of Fatal Errors grabs the readers hand from the first page and tugs them along at a breakneck pace through twist after twist.”
—BookPage
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“With a dash of imagination and a heap of adventure, Slater’s middle grade fantasy debut, starring 12-yearold biracial cousins Rufus and Abigail, is certain to appeal to readers of varying ages. . . [A] twisting slide into human-versus-other politics, rebellion against authority, and wrestling with consequences.”
— Publishers Weekly

THE GIVEAWAY WINNERS

22 individual copies of The Book of Fatal Errors were given away to teachers, librarians, or literacy folks in October 2020. Our thanks to FSG for the generous donation!