Teaching Guide — Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions for Liberty Books

The best conversations don’t happen by accident. They happen when you ask the right question at the right moment. This is your master list — organized by theme, ready to pull out the moment you finish a chapter or a book together.

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The Philosophy

Why the Conversation Matters More Than the Book

I used to think that if I just put the right books in front of my kids, the ideas would take root on their own. And to be fair, some of them did. But the moments that actually changed how my children think weren’t the reading moments — they were the dinner-table moments afterward. The car rides. The times when one of them asked a question and I didn’t have a clean answer, so we figured it out together.

Discussion is where abstract ideas become personal. When your child reads that Ethan and Emily discover why prices rise during inflation, that’s interesting. But when you ask “So why do you think the price of eggs went up so much last year?” — that’s when economics stops being a story and becomes a lens.

The questions in this guide are designed to spark that kind of thinking. They’re open-ended by design. There’s rarely a single correct answer. The goal isn’t for your child to parrot back the “right” response — it’s for them to practice the habit of thinking carefully about hard things. That habit, built early, is one of the most durable gifts you can give.

How to Use These Questions

You don’t need to work through all of them. Pick two or three that feel right for where your child is and what you’ve just read. A few guidelines:

  • Resist the urge to answer first. Let your child sit with the question for a moment, even if there’s an awkward pause. The thinking happens in that silence.
  • Follow curiosity, not the list. If a question opens up something unexpected, go there. The list is a launching pad, not a script.
  • Share your own uncertainty. “I’m not sure I know the answer either — what do you think?” is one of the most powerful things a parent can say.
  • Connect to real life. The best follow-up to almost any question is “Can you think of an example of that happening in real life?”
  • No wrong answers on values. You can (and should) gently challenge reasoning, but let your child form their own views. The goal is thinkers, not parrots.
Age-appropriate tip: For younger children (ages 5–8), simplify questions to concrete terms. “Was that fair?” is enough to start a valuable conversation. For older teens, push toward the harder edge — ask them to steelman the opposing view before sharing their own.
The Questions

Discussion Questions by Theme

Each theme includes core questions for any age, deeper follow-up prompts, and the Tuttle Twins titles that pair best with that theme.

Theme 1

Freedom & Rights

Understanding freedom requires more than knowing the word. These questions help children think through what rights actually are, where they come from, and what threatens them.

Core Questions

  1. What does it mean to be free? Can you think of something you’re free to do and something you’re not free to do? Is that difference fair? Follow-up: Who decides what you’re allowed to do? Should it always be the same person or group?
  2. Where do rights come from? Does someone give them to you, or do you have them automatically? What happens to rights if the people in charge decide they don’t want you to have them? Follow-up: Can a right be taken away? What’s the difference between a right and a privilege?
  3. When is it okay to tell someone what to do? Is there a difference between a parent setting rules at home and a government setting rules for everyone? Follow-up: What makes a rule fair? Does it matter whether you agreed to the rule?
  4. Can freedom ever go too far? If everyone can do whatever they want, does that make everyone more free, or does it make some people less free? Follow-up: What’s the difference between using your freedom and violating someone else’s?
  5. Why do some people trade freedom for security? Can you think of a time when you gave up something you wanted in order to feel safer? Was it worth it? Follow-up: Is there a point where a trade like that stops being a good deal?
  6. What does the word “law” mean to you? Are all laws good? How would you know if a law was unjust? Follow-up: What should someone do if they believe a law is wrong? What are the different ways to respond?
  7. What would happen if there were no rules at all? Would life be better or worse? Who would it be better or worse for? Follow-up: What’s the minimum set of rules you’d need for people to live together peacefully?

Tuttle Twins Books for This Theme

Ages 7–13
The Tuttle Twins and the Law

Based on Bastiat’s The Law, this is the single best introduction to what law should and shouldn’t do, and what happens when it oversteps.

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Ages 7–13
The Tuttle Twins and the Road to Surfdom

Adapted from Hayek’s landmark work, this book shows how small restrictions on freedom can compound over time in ways nobody planned.

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Affiliate links — see disclosure.

Theme 2

Economics

Economics is not just about money — it’s about how people make choices and how those choices shape the world around them. These questions help children see economics in everyday life.

Core Questions

  1. Why do things cost money? If someone worked hard to make something, why should you have to pay for it? Isn’t the work its own reward? Follow-up: What would happen if nobody had to pay for anything? Would people still make things?
  2. When something gets more expensive, what does that tell us? Think about a time when something you wanted cost more than you expected. Why might that have happened? Follow-up: If a price goes up a lot, does that mean someone is being greedy? Can prices go up for other reasons?
  3. Can two people both “win” in a trade? If I give you my apple because I’d rather have your orange, and you give me your orange because you’d rather have my apple, who got the better deal? Follow-up: Does every trade have a winner and a loser? When might someone walk away from a trade?
  4. Why do some people have more money than others? Is that fair? Does someone having more money make someone else have less? Follow-up: Can you think of ways someone could get rich that were fair, and ways that were unfair? What’s the difference?
  5. What happens when the government tries to keep prices low? Imagine a rule that said pizza could never cost more than $2. Would that help people get more pizza? Follow-up: Who would benefit from that rule? Who would be hurt by it? Would the pizza shops stay open?
  6. What is money, really? Why do people accept paper bills in exchange for real things like food and services? What would happen if money stopped being trustworthy? Follow-up: Has money ever lost its value in history? What happened to the people who depended on it?
  7. Who decides what gets made? In a free market, how does anyone know how many cars or shoes or apples to produce? Is there someone in charge of that? Follow-up: What might go wrong if one person or committee tried to make all those decisions for everyone?
  8. What does “saving” mean? Why would someone choose not to spend money today? What do they gain? What do they give up? Follow-up: Is it ever bad to save too much? What happens to money that’s saved — does it just sit there?

Tuttle Twins Books for This Theme

Ages 7–13
The Tuttle Twins Learn About the Law of Rent

Great for price discussions — covers how market forces set prices and what happens when they’re artificially controlled.

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Ages 7–13
The Tuttle Twins and the Creature from Jekyll Island

For older readers — introduces the concept of money, central banking, and what happens when money loses its value.

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Affiliate links — see disclosure.

Theme 3

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is fundamentally about seeing a problem and choosing to do something about it. These questions help children develop the mindset of a value-creator rather than a passive consumer.

Core Questions

  1. What problem does this business solve? Think about a business you use or a character in the book who starts one — what need did they identify? Would people pay to have that problem solved? Follow-up: Can you think of a problem in your life or neighborhood that nobody has solved yet? What would it take to solve it?
  2. What’s the difference between a job and a business? If you work for someone else, you get paid for your time. If you start a business, what are you getting paid for? Follow-up: Which seems better to you? Are there situations where each one would make more sense?
  3. What does it mean to take a risk? The character in this story risked something to start their business. Was that smart or foolish? What information would help you decide whether a risk is worth taking? Follow-up: Can you avoid all risk? What happens to people who try to avoid every risk?
  4. Why do some businesses fail? If someone works hard and tries their best, can they still fail? Is failing a business always the person’s fault? Follow-up: What do you think someone should do after a business fails? Should they try again?
  5. What makes customers choose one product over another? If two businesses sell the same thing, why would anyone pay more at one than the other? Follow-up: What does “value” mean to a customer? Is it always about the lowest price?
  6. Is profit a good thing? If a business makes money, is that because they took something from their customers, or because they gave customers something valuable? Follow-up: What would happen in a world where businesses were not allowed to make a profit? Would you still want the things they make?

Tuttle Twins Books for This Theme

Ages 7–13
The Tuttle Twins and their Spectacular Show Business

Ethan and Emily launch a neighborhood show, learning about profit, loss, competition, and what it really takes to build something people value.

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Ages 7–13
The Tuttle Twins and the Inspiration Station

Focuses on inventors and innovators throughout history, great for sparking conversations about what drives entrepreneurial thinking.

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Affiliate links — see disclosure.

Theme 4

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the habit of asking “how do you know?” before accepting a claim. These questions help children practice spotting weak reasoning, questionable evidence, and the assumptions hidden inside arguments.

Core Questions

  1. How did the character in the story decide that something was true? Did they have evidence? Did they just assume it? Did someone they trusted tell them, without explaining why? Follow-up: What’s the difference between knowing something and believing something? Does that difference matter?
  2. Was there a moment in the story when someone’s reasoning was faulty? Did anyone make a big claim with very little evidence, or did someone assume that because two things happened together, one caused the other? Follow-up: Can you think of a time in your own life when you made a similar mistake in reasoning?
  3. What assumptions were hidden inside the argument? Most arguments make assumptions that are never stated out loud. Can you find the unspoken beliefs in the position someone took in this story? Follow-up: What would the argument look like if those assumptions were wrong?
  4. Was the person in the story open to changing their mind? What would it take for you to change your mind about something you believe strongly? Is there any evidence that could do it? Follow-up: If there’s no evidence that could change your mind, is that a belief or a fact?
  5. How do we know when an expert should be trusted? In this story, an authority figure made a claim. Should the characters have trusted them? Why or why not? Follow-up: What’s the difference between respecting expertise and blindly following it?
  6. What would the other side say? Take the main argument or decision in the book and try to make the best possible case against it. What are the strongest objections? Follow-up: After hearing both sides, has your opinion changed at all? Why or why not?
  7. What’s the difference between an opinion and a fact? Something like “freedom is good” and something like “prices went up 10% last year” are both statements — but one is a value judgment and one is a factual claim. Which is which, and does that distinction matter? Follow-up: Can both opinions and facts be wrong? How do you check each one?

Tuttle Twins Books for This Theme

Ages 9–16
Tuttle Twins Guide to Logical Fallacies

The most direct companion to these questions — covers 18 common logical fallacies with examples children can recognize in everyday life.

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Theme 5

Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility is the foundation of every other principle. Without it, freedom becomes license, economics becomes entitlement, and entrepreneurship stays a daydream. These questions help children connect choices to consequences — and own both.

Core Questions

  1. What choice did the character make, and what happened because of it? Trace the chain from decision to consequence. Where did their choices lead? Follow-up: What would have happened if they had chosen differently? Can you always predict where your choices will lead?
  2. When something goes wrong, whose fault is it? Think about the last time something in the story went badly. Was it one person’s fault, or did multiple people contribute? Follow-up: Is there a difference between assigning blame and understanding what went wrong? Which is more useful?
  3. What does it mean to keep a promise? In the story, did anyone make a commitment they later had trouble keeping? What did they do about it? Follow-up: Is it ever okay to break a promise? Under what circumstances?
  4. What’s the difference between an excuse and an explanation? Sometimes bad things happen to people that aren’t their fault. How do you tell the difference between a genuine explanation and an excuse designed to avoid responsibility? Follow-up: Does accepting responsibility for something mean you’re saying it was all your fault, or can you take responsibility for your response to something that wasn’t your fault?
  5. Can you control outcomes, or only actions? The character worked hard and did everything right, but the outcome wasn’t what they wanted. Was that fair? Follow-up: If you can’t always control outcomes, what should you focus on? Does trying your best matter if it doesn’t always work?
  6. What is self-reliance? Is there a difference between relying on yourself and refusing all help from others? Is asking for help a sign of weakness? Follow-up: Are there things that should be handled by individuals vs. families vs. communities vs. governments? Where do you draw those lines?

Tuttle Twins Books for This Theme

Ages 9–16
Choose Your Consequence Series

The interactive format of this series makes responsibility visceral — readers literally choose paths and live with the results. Perfect for the questions in this section.

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Facilitating Great Discussions

How to Get the Best Conversations

Asking the question is only half the equation. Here’s how to create the conditions for genuinely good thinking.

Wait for the Silence to Break

After asking a question, count to ten before filling the silence. Most children have been conditioned to expect adults to jump in with the answer. Resist. The thinking happens in that pause.

Affirm Process, Not Answers

“That’s really interesting reasoning” is better than “you got it!” You want to reward careful thinking, not correct answers. A child who reaches the right conclusion by accident learns nothing; a child who thinks carefully through a wrong answer learns a great deal.

Ask “How Do You Know?”

This single question will do more for your child’s reasoning than almost any other. Ask it genuinely, not as a challenge. “Oh, that’s interesting — how do you know that?” It applies to almost every claim about facts, values, and predictions.

Connect to Their World

Abstract ideas become memorable when they’re connected to something concrete in your child’s experience. “This reminds me of that time you ran your lemonade stand” is worth more than a long explanation of market economics.

Model Intellectual Humility

“I don’t know — let’s think about it together” is one of the most powerful phrases a parent can use. Children who see adults engaging honestly with difficult questions learn that intellectual humility is a strength, not a weakness.

Let Them Disagree

You want your child to form their own views, not echo yours. Create room for genuine disagreement. If they argue back thoughtfully, that’s a success — even if they’re arguing against something you believe. Ask them to support their position, not abandon it.

Keep Exploring
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Critical Thinking Through Stories

Specific techniques for using stories to develop Socratic reasoning and logical thinking skills in children.

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Critical Thinking Topic Guide

Our full deep-dive on teaching critical thinking — with book recommendations, key concepts, and age-appropriate activities.

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Related Topics: Freedom & Rights Economics Entrepreneurship Critical Thinking Personal Responsibility
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See also: All Teaching Guides Book Reviews Family Book Club Guide