Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did the narrator’s opening statement, which reveals that Katy’s life turns out differently but better than she planned, shape your experience of reading the story? Did you find this framing effective?

2. The guide mentions that What Katy Did was published shortly after Louisa May Alcott’s highly successful Little Women. How would you compare Katy Carr to a character like Jo March, who also struggles with 19th-century expectations for girls?

3. Does the novel’s moral about finding purpose through suffering and self-discipline feel timeless, or does it seem more like a product of its time? What part of Katy’s journey was most memorable for you?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Katy constantly makes what she calls “good resolutions” that she fails to keep. How did you relate to her cycle of making and breaking promises to herself, especially her final resolution to “begin tomorrow”?

2. Cousin Helen becomes Katy’s ultimate role model for grace and resilience. Who were some of your own role models growing up, and what qualities did you admire in them?

3. What role did imaginative places like “Paradise” or the loft play in your own childhood? Why do you think children create and value these private worlds?

4. Dr. Carr teaches Katy how small acts of carelessness can lead to major consequences using the proverb about the horseshoe nail. Can you think of a time when a small, seemingly minor choice had a much larger ripple effect in your own life?

5. How does the novel’s depiction of the Carr children’s relationship with Aunt Izzie, whom they only appreciate after her death, resonate with your own experiences of family?

6. Cousin Helen advises Katy to look for the “smooth handle” in any difficult situation. What do you think she means by this, and how do you try to apply a similar mindset when facing challenges?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel, specifically Katy’s transformation, reflects the 19th-century “Cult of True Womanhood,” which valued piety, submissiveness, and domesticity. To what extent are these ideals still present in American society today?

2. How does the portrayal of disability as a spiritually refining experience reflect the limited opportunities available to women in the 1870s? How has our cultural understanding of chronic illness and disability changed since then?

3. In what ways does What Katy Did succeed as a piece of “realistic girlhood fiction”? Where does it still feel like a sentimental or overly moralistic tale from a much earlier era?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Was Katy’s dramatic transformation from a heedless girl into a patient household manager believable? How does the author make this significant character development feel earned? In what ways is Katy’s character unrealistic?

2. Cousin Helen’s backstory involving a broken engagement and self-sacrifice creates the trope of the “good” victim. What other literary tropes exist within the narrative?

3. Foil characters like the prim Cecy Hall and the dramatic Imogen Clark serve to highlight Katy’s own traits. In what ways do these contrasting characters help shape our understanding of Katy’s journey?

4. The narrator often speaks directly to the reader, explaining the moral of a situation or a character’s internal state. How did this narrative style affect the reading experience compared to more modern novels that rely on showing rather than telling?

5. How does Katy compare to other classic characters who live with illness or disability, such as Colin in The Secret Garden?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Cousin Helen outlines five lessons for Katy in the “School of Pain”: Patience, Cheerfulness, Making the Best of Things, Hopefulness, and Neatness (114). What five lessons would you include in a curriculum for navigating today’s world?

2. What advice do you think Katy’s mother might have written in a letter for Katy to open on her 16th birthday, knowing her daughter’s spirited and heedless nature?

3. The children play a game where they imagine their futures. Projecting 20 years past the novel’s end, what life do you picture for each of the Carr siblings?