Northern Lights was published in 1995 and is the first book in the trilogy His Dark Materials. Written by English novelist Philip Pullman, this young adult fantasy traces the journey of young Lyra Belacqua to the Arctic in search of her best friend and other missing children.

Pullman claimed in an interview that dæmons are “saying something about the business of being human – it's not just decorative”. How would you interpret this statement in relation to the book? How would you define dæmons, and what do they reflect to us about humanity? What would your dæmon look like?

What is the nature of the conflict and tension shared between Iorek Byrnison and Iofur Raknison, and what message did it help convey? What is Lyra’s role in this relationship?

How do you feel about the way Pullman presented the Church in the story? How would you compare the Church with the gyptians and witches? What sort of values do the gyptians and witches represent respectively?

Magisterium described dust as “the physical evidence for original sin”. Would you agree, and why? Consider the settling of dæmons, Lyra's ability to read the alethiometer, and how Iofur can be deceived but not Iorek. How are the themes of innocence and experience portrayed in the book? 

“All stories teach, whether the storyteller intends them to or not. They teach the world we create. They teach the morality we live by”. What were some of the worldviews and moralities that this book taught you? How has it changed you?