Do you think John has really learned his lesson by the end of the book? If so, what incidents with his ability do you think most strongly contributed to his understanding? If not, why do you think he might go back to being selfish and greedy about chocolate? What events could have been added to the story to ensure that John learned his lesson?

What do you think is the catalyst for John gaining his chocolate ability? Is it his love of candy, his finding the coin, the storekeeper’s offering him a box of candy, or something else? Why do you think it was this event, and how does it direct the events that follow John gaining his ability? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Choose three characters whom John’s chocolate ability affects. How did these characters not listening to John lead to undesirable effects on them? How might have listening to John sooner prevented these characters from experiencing negative outcomes? What lessons (if any) do you think these characters learned by the end of the book?