The Empress and the silkworm cover

The Empress and the silkworm

by Lily Toy Hong

A fictionalized account of the Empress of China's discovery, around 2700 B.C., that the cocoons of the worms in her mulberry trees were made of fine, shiny, silken thread which could be made into beautiful cloth.

More by Lily Toy Hong

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?