The Maze of Bones, Book 1 of The 39 Clues Series

Questions Just for Fun

The opening paragraph of this book draws the reader in right away: “Dan Cahill thought he had the most annoying big sister on the planet. And that was before she set fire to two million dollars. It all started at their grandmother’s funeral.” Take that same formula and write one or two openings to a book. For example, “Renita Washington thought she had the strangest violin teacher on the planet. And that was before she chased Renita around the park with a tuba. It all started at the Family Fun Day picnic.”

Which fact about Benjamin Franklin did you find most interesting and why?

Questions to Think Critically and Biblically

Throughout the book, Dan and Amy continually long to make their parents proud and to learn more about them. According to the biblical worldview, why is it that humans long to know and be accepted by their parents?
Discussion Guide - Read Psalm 103:13, Romans 8:15-17, and 1 John 3:1. Discuss how Christians have been adopted into God’s family. The earthly relationship between parents and children was designed by God to reflect His relationship with His children. We long to know and be accepted by our parents because our hearts truly long to know and be accepted by God (which we are through Jesus!).

When the hunt becomes difficult, Dan and Amy begin to doubt whether Grace actually loved them. This can easily happen in our relationship with God when things in our lives get difficult. What did Dan and Amy do when they began to doubt Grace’s love? Is there any connection to what we should do when we doubt God’s love for us?
Discussion Guide - Discuss how Dan and Amy thought back to the years of evidence of Grace’s character. They chose to trust what they knew to be true about her when they couldn’t understand why she sent them on the scavenger hunt. It is similar in our relationship with God. We look to the evidence presented in Scripture and confirmed in the historical evidence–that Jesus died and rose from the grave. This was the ultimate act of love, confirming God’s deep love for us.

While searching for the second clue, Dan and Amy learn that the Cahill family has been instrumental in shaping history. Grace even said that the fate of the world rested on the results of the Cahills putting together the 39 clues. While the Cahill family is fictitious, what are your thoughts on the idea that everything happening in history is part of one continuous story? Does this idea align with the biblical worldview or contradict it?
Discussion Guide - Discuss how the Bible presents one cohesive narrative of God’s creation, man’s fall, and God’s grand plan of redemption. We are part of that story (Psalms 139:16, Ephesians 2:10), awaiting the final chapter, the return of Jesus (Revelation 21:1-5).

Bonus Question -If you have gone through Foundation Comparative Worldview Curriculum, say, “Many of the Cahill family members lied, cheated, and stole in order to be the first team to find the clues. What worldview might their view of right and wrong come from?”
Discussion Guide - Discuss how the morality of some teams (the Kabras, the Wizzards, Alistair Oh) may have stemmed from a New Spiritualist perspective, following what their hearts were telling them to do. Other teams (Irina Spasky, the Holts) may have stemmed from a naturalistic perspective, following what their governments allowed (for Irina, the KGB; for the Holts, what Eisenhower Holt learned at West Point).