Comprehension Questions
Selected Books by PB
Birchbark House
Easy
What Indian tribe does Omakayas belong to?
Ojibwa (Anishinabe also acceptable)
Where does birch bark come from?
The “skin” of the birch tree
What does Omakaya mean in Ojibwa?
Jumping Frog
What is (spell out) “makazins” in Ojibwa?
Moccasin
Medium
What does Omakaya call her pet bird?
Andeg (crow)
Who does Omakayas first practice medicine on?
Her brother, Pinch, after he spills hot syrup on his feet
What food is harvested in the fall at the island?
Rice (Manomin)
Where does Deydey’s ghost story take place?
Where the Sisters eat
Hard
How did Old Tallow protect Omakaya from her pet yellow dog?
She cut its head off with an ax (p180)
What is the invisible enemy that a stranger brings in the winter?
Smallpox
How does Deydey get forgiven for the winter food debt?
by playing chess and winning
What animal is it that created the earth according to the Ojibwa legend?
Muskrat
Comprehension Questions
Selected Books by DS
RAGWEED
By Avi
Who were the 2 cats who made up FEAR?
Silversides and Graybar
In what town did Ragweed get off of the train?
Amperville
Where did blinker live?
With a girl in Silverside’s house.
What did Ragweed, Clutch, and Blinker name the new club?
Café Independent
Why did they name the club Café Independent?
The name on the glass was The Independent Bookstore.
What does FEAR stand for?
Felines Enraged About Rodents
What is FEAR’s slogan?
Feline’s first
What happens to Silversides and Graybar?
The mice attack them at the Independent Café using a fire hose, they are never seen again.
Where does Ragweed go when he leaves the city, and why?
The forest (Dimwood Forest) because he’s already seen the city.
Why doesn’t the girl let Silversides back into the house?
She wants Silversides to bring Blinker back dead or alive. She thinks he took Blinker.
Ramona’s World
By Beverly Cleary
What school subject doesn’t Ramona like?
Spelling
Who is Ramona’s 4th Grade Teacher?
Mrs. Meacham
What does Beezus practice for the party?
Dancing
What happens to Roberta when Ramona babysits?
Her head gets stuck in the kitty condo
Why does Ramona share a room with Beezus?
Roberta is using Ramona’s old room
Why doesn’t Ramona like Susan?
She thinks she’s perfect.
What is the name of Ramon’s baby sister?
Roberta
Where does Ramona hold her birthday party?
The park
What accident happens when she visits her best friend?
She falls through the dining room ceiling and gets stuck
In what state does the story take place?
Oregon
Who becomes Ramon’s best friend?
Daisy
Why does Ramona have to take care of Daisy’s cat?
They are going to Roseburg to visit grandparents
How old is Ramona?
9, and then 10 on her birthday
Our Only May Amelia
By Jennifer Holm
Who is Amelia’s favorite brother?
Wilbert
Why doesn’t Amelia like her Grandmother Patience?
She smashes her doll with a cane
What does a whistle punk do?
Signals, with a whistle, when it’s time to open the log dam.
How do the Indians find out that Amelia and Isaiah have been watching their funeral?
Amelia steps on one of Kaarlo’s traps.
What does Amelia help Otto with?
Smuggling Chinese people to the factory
Why does Amelia run away, and where does she go?
Because Grandmother Patience is mean, to Astoria with Uncle Henry and Aunt Feenie
How does Amelia save Ivan and Alvin?
She doesn’t let them get on a ship, The Gleaner, that sinks.
What happens to Matti?
He elopes with Mary O’Casey. Matti fakes being shanghaied and Mary fakes a drowning. They move to San Fransisco.
How does Mrs. Petersen die?
Human: Scarlet Fever, Sheep: broken back, shot
Which one of Amelia’s brother’s is not really her brother?
Kaarlo, he is a cousin
Bud, Not Buddy
By Christopher Paul Curtis
What is Hooverville?
A place where homeless people live in cardboard huts near the railroad tracks. It is named after President Hoover.
What was Bud’s job after dinner in Hooverville?
KP, washing dishes
What happened to Hooverville?
Cops tore it down and burned it.
Who is Bud trying to find?
His dad, who he thinks is Herman E. Calloway.
Where does Bud head to in order to find his dad?
Grand Rapids, Michigan
What does Bud do when he reaches the Flint city limits?
Jumps in and out of the City of Flint
What does Bud call his guideline to life?
Rules and Things
Where did Mr. Amos put Bud?
Locked in the shed behind the house.
What was in the shed?
A hornet’s nest
Who is Herman E. Calloway?
Bud’s grandfather
What nickname did the band give Bud?
Sleepy LaBone
The Captain’s Dog
By Roland Smith
Where was Seaman born?
On the Atlantic Ocean
What does Sacagawea’s name mean?
Birdwoman
What food did the expedition eat that Seaman found disgusting?
Dog
What did Sacagawea give Seaman through out the trip?
Dead mice
What was special about finding the Shoshone tribe?
They gave them horses, the chief was Sacagawea’s brother.
What experiment was Capt. Lewis disappointed about?
The iron boat, it sank.
What caused Seaman the most pain?
The prickly pear spines
Does Seaman finish the trip back to St. Louis?
No, he remains with Mountain Dog
How did Private Shannon get lost from the group?
He got separated and thought the group was ahead of him and hurried forward when they were actually behind him?
Why did the Chinook Indians along the Columbia River not kill the men on the expedition?
They thought the river would do that.
A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
By C. Coco DeYoung
What is Margo and Rosa’s school assignment?
To study the newspapers and write a letter to a person that inspires them.
Who did Rosa write to?
Amelia Earhart
Where did Margo go to look for her brother that Rosa refused to go to?
By the river, under the bridge
Where is Margo’s brother found?
Under her bed
Why do hobo’s stop at the Bandini’s?
There is a chalk mark on their house w/ a hobo symbol.
Who is E.D. Kirby?
A newspaper reporter and Margo’s teacher, Mrs. Dobson
What street does Margo live on?
Maple Avenue
Why couldn’t Margo’s dad make the loan payments?
Most customers paid in goods, not money
What kind of business did Mr. Bandini run?
A shoe repair shop
Name 2 things Rosa would take if she had to leave her home.
Clothes, soap, toothbrush, postcard collection, Rosa.
The Birchbark House
By Louise Erdrich
What does Old Tallow do to the dog that bites Omakayas?
Chops off his head
What does Omakayas’ baby brother, Neewo, die of?
Small pox
What does Omakayas do to Neewo while she babysits?
Takes him out of his cradle board.
Why is Old Tallow, who is usually mean, kind of nice to Omakayas?
Old Tallow saved Omakayas from an island when she was a baby.
What saves the family from starvation?
Grandmother Nokamis dreamed and told Deydey where to find a buck, which he does.
Why did Deydey play chess?
To win and cancel some of his debts.
What did the visitor bring to Omakayas’ house?
Small pox
What job did Omakayas do so well her father notices, but she hated doing it?
Scraping to hide
What animals did Omakayas befriend?
Bears, crow
When Nokamis to a story, what animal was the hero?
The muskrat
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
By Dorothy Hoobler
Why can’t Seikei be a samurai?
He is the son of a merchant and people can’t change position in life.
In what country does this story take place?
Japan
What is Kabuki?
Japanese theater
What is special about Tomomi that the other actors in the troop didn’t know?
He is a samurai
What does Tomomi leave at the shrine of Anaterasu?
A fake ruby
What city does the Tokaido Road lead to?
Edo
Name a play that the Kubuki theater group performed?
The 47 Ronin, The Double Suicide, and Tomomi’s play
What did the judge and Seikei find at the Inn?
A secret underground passage that lead to the temple grounds
What happens to Tomomi?
He is killed by the shogun’s men
At the end of the book, what does Judge Ooka do for Seikei?
Adopts him so he can be a samurai.
Who killed Tomomi’s parents?
Father- Lord Hakuseki’s men Mother- commits suicide before they get her.
The Princess Test
By Gail Carson Levine
What are the names of the royalty?
King Humphrey, Queen Hermione, Prince Nicholas
Who was Trudy?
A housekeeper for Sam and Lorelei. She tries to kill Lorelei.
What was Lorelei doing when she first met Prince Nicholas?
Hanging embroidered laundry and crying.
What was the flower test?
To see if a princess could spot a sprig of parsley in a flower bouquet.
How does Trudy try to get rid of Lorelei?
Lose her in the forest.
What did Lorelei think when Trudy was gone?
That she was lost in the woods.
How did the princesses arrive at the palace to meet the prince?
By carriages pulled by horses, camels, oxen, and crocodiles. Also, hot-air balloons
In what town did Lorelei and her father live?
Snettering on Snoakes
Why did the family hire Trudy?
Lorelei’s mother died, and her father left on an annual trip to shoe horses for the earl.
Tucket’s Gold
By Gary Paulsen
What were the names of the children Francis was in charge of?
Billie and Lottie
How did Billy save Lottie and Francis?
He shot Courtweiler and Dubs w/ a bow & arrow.
How old was Francis Tucket?
15
At the beginning, who was chasing Francis and the children?
The Comancheros
In reality, what was the castle in the sky?
A pueblo village built on the top of a hill.
Why was Francis in the pueblo village?
He had been bitten by a snake and the villagers saved him
While running from the Comancheros, where did they find water?
In a stream bed, after a storm.
What kind of food did the villagers eat?
Corn, beans, squash, deer, turkey, and rabbits.
What was unusual about the pack of horses they found?
They were tied together.
Where did they find the gold?
Near the streambed, in a grave of a Spaniard.
How much gold and silver was found?
4 bars of silver, 5 bars of gold
The Landry News
By Andrew Clements
On what day of the week did the Landry News come out?
Friday
Who was Cara Landry’s 5th grade teacher?
Mr. Karl Larsen
In the beginning, what was the problem in Mr. Larson’s classroom?
He didn’t teach.
How did Cara upset Mr. Larson?
She wrote an editorial about how he didn’t teach.
How did Cara become interested in newspapers?
From a unit on journalism in 4th grade.
What was the subject of the article that got Mr. Larson in trouble?
Divorce
What did the students name the new newspaper after they had to stop printing The Landry News?
The Guardian
What was the motto of both the Landry News and The Guardian?
Truth and mercy
Why did Dr. Barnes try to fire Mr. Larson?
He didn’t think he was a good teacher.
Bunnicula Strikes Again!
By James Howe
What was Chester doing to weaken Bunnicula?
Drink his carrot juice
Who wrote this story?
Harold, the dog
What movie was playing at the movie theater that was being torn down?
Dracula
What was the name of the series of books Howie was reading?
FleshCrawlers
What does Harold do each evening to Bunnicula?
Sings him a lullaby
Who helps Harold and Howie break into the vets?
Miss Demeanor and Felony
Why doesn’t Harold and Howie release Chester from his cage at the vets?
They don’t want him to get Bunnicula.
Who saves Bunnicula?
Chester
What was Chester’s Plan “C”?
He would eat houseplants to get sick and go to the vets where Bunnicula was.
Who owns Harold, Howie, Chester, and Bunnicula?
The Monroes
Zooman Sam
By Lois Lowry
Name the 5 “scariest” hats:
Diamondbacks, Sharks, Hornets, Grizzlies, Devil Rays.
Why does Sam’s suit say “Zooman Sam”?
There wasn’t enough room for Zookeeper. He saw it on the man in the book.
Why is Sam wearing a Zookeeper outfit?
For Future Jobs day at his preschool
Who gets Sam his hats?
Anastasia
Why does he need so many hats for his outfit?
Sam believes, a zookeeper wears the hat appropriate to the animal he’s working with.