Vacation Under the Volcano

By Mary Pope Osborne

Grades 3-5; Genre - Historical Fiction with Fantastical Elements: GRL M; AR pts: 1.0

After becoming Master Librarians, Jack and Annie help Morgan find a lost scroll by traveling to Pompeii.  They get to experience the volcano that destroyed the city.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. What had Jack and Annie finally become? Master Librarians   p. 1
2. What happens to time when Jack and Annie go on an adventure? No time passes, they would return to Frog Creek the same time they left   p. 3
3. What should Jack and Annie do in their darkest hour? Ask the ancient story for help   p. 7

Chapter 2

1. What were Jack and Annie wearing when the tree house stopped spinning? White tunics, belt, sandals, Jack had a leather bag    p. 9
2. Why didn’t Annie want to get out of the tree house and go find the writing? She felt like something was wrong, the ground shook and rumbled p. 13
3. What is a soothsayer? Someone who tells the future   p. 19
4. What strange things were happening that Annie noticed? The creek was dry, the grove of trees was silent, a woman in a black cloak was calling “the end is near”    p. 20

Chapter 3

1. What were some of the buildings Jack and Annie saw as they walked through town? The bathhouse, temple of Jupiter
2. Tell me two ancient myths Jack and Annie talked about. Medusa, Venus, Hercules, Apollo p. 26

Chapter 4

1. Where did the soldiers take the gladiators? Into the amphitheater    p. 28
2. Why didn’t the guard let Jack and Annie into the amphitheater? No children were allowed   p. 29
3. What did Annie show the soothsayer? Her Master Librarian card   p. 32
4. Where was the writing that Jack and Annie needed to find? House of Brutus    p. 34

Chapter 5

1. What did the dining room look like? Sloping couches, pillows, low table, silver dishes   p. 38
2. Did Jack and Annie find any books? No   p. 40
3. What did the Romans use to write? Small reeds, octopus ink, scrolls of paper/ papyrus  p. 40

Chapter 6

1. Why were Jack and Annie in such a hurry after they found the scroll? The soothsayer told them to hurry, Jack read about the volcano destroying the city  p. 43
2. What helped Jack and Annie know what time it was? The sundial   p. 44
3. What does the shadow on a sundial look like at noon? Can hardly be seen p. 46

Chapter 7

1. What ruined Pompeii? A great cloud of pumice, ash and burning rock rained onto the city  p. 49
2. Why did it get dark? A thick black cloud spread over the city like an umbrella  p. 50
3. What did Jack and Annie use to protect their heads from the falling debris? Pillows   p. 51

Chapter 8

1. What did it smell like when the volcano was erupting?Rotten eggs, sulfur p. 54
2. Where was the tree house?  In the olive grove   p. 56
3. Why couldn’t Jack and Annie get across the dried up stream? The bridge had vanished and the bed was full of pumice rock   p. 58

Chapter 9

1. What happened to Jack and Annie when they tried to wade through the pumice? They got stuck   p. 61
2. What did Annie remember to do when they were stuck?  Ask the story for help   p. 61
3. Who appeared from the story to help Jack and Annie? A huge gladiator   p. 64

Chapter 10

1. What were Jack’s glasses covered with? Ash, dust, filth   p. 66
2. What story was going to be destroyed by the volcano? The Strongest Man in the World, Hercules   p. 71
3. Who is Hercules? A hero of the Greeks and Romans, he’s the son of Jupiter/Zeus   p. 71