1. None of the King kids is particularly happy about leaving everyone and everything they know back in Pasadena to move to Pinedale. Have you ever had to move away from a place you loved? How did you cope?
2. Pasadena is part of a big metropolitan area. Pinedale is small and secluded. What can you do in big cities that you can’t do in rural towns? How about the opposite: What can you do in rural towns that you can’t do in big cities? Which do you prefer?
3. Xander loves movies—to the point that he relates a lot of what happens around him to something he’s seen in the movies. Do you ever do that with movies or books or something else? Does it help you understand situations better? Why?
4. When the Kings first find the big Victorian house, Xander gets an uneasy feeling. Have you ever had a bad feeling about something that you couldn’t explain? What did you do about it?
5. “Victorian” architecture became popular during and after the reign of United Kingdom’s Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. “Cape Cod” homes were named after an area of Massachusetts where they were popular. Do have a favorite house style? Do you know what style house you live in?
6. The Kings discover footprints in their new home. They search for an intruder or a place where people could slip into their house, but they find nothing. What would you have done if you were in their situation? What else could they have done to protect themselves?
7. Xander and David discover that the upstairs linen closet is more than a closet. What would you do if you found something so strange? Would you tell your parents? Why do you think the King boys decided to keep it secret?
8. Why do you think the guards in the Roman Colosseum threw spears at Xander? Was there anything else Xander could have done to save himself ?
9. A fter Xander’s bad experience in the Colosseum and Dad’s making the third-floor portals off-limits, why was David so insistent about experiencing “going over” for himself ? What do you think of his actions?
10. When David goes over, he runs into three tigers and a tribe of hunters. Where do you think he was? If you could go anywhere in history, where would you go? What would you do there? Who would you like to meet?
11. Why do you think the Dreamhouse portals to other worlds exist in the first place? In other words, what is their purpose?
12. The portals seem to continually shift around—for example, the first antechamber may lead to an Arctic world one time, but a pirate world the next time the Kings look. Why do you think the portals change?
13. The King children find out that Dad knew a lot more about the house than he had let on. Why do you think he kept his knowledge of the house secret? Xander and David have very different reactions to their father’s lying about the house and their real reason for moving to Pinedale. Would you have responded angrily, like Xander, or more calmly, like David? Why?