skip navigation links

Readers > Talk it Up! > Discussion guides > The Runt

The Runt by Marion Dane Bauer

Summary

Four healthy wolf pups—Leader, Sniffer, Runner, and Thinker—are born one spring. And then one final, undersized pup emerges—Runt. Despite his size, Runt manages to keep up with his brothers and sisters and learn the ways of the pack. But he finds it impossible to please his father, the pack"s leader, and gradually withdraws from the others. When he ventures into forbidden human territory, Runt at last comes to understand his mistakes and to recognize his own worth.

144 pages, 4th grade and up

Discussion questions

  1. Which pup do you most identify with?
  2. Describe Runt. What is he like? What his strengths and flaws?
  3. Why doesn't Runt fit in? Is that fair?
  4. Why does Runt interact with humans?
  5. What did you learn about wolves that you didn't know before?
  6. What do you prefict for Runt's future?

Created in part with funds granted by the Oregon State Library under the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library. Send feedback to Katie O'Dell, Reading Promotions Coordinator