Comprehension Questions – Magic Tree House #14 Day of the Dragon King

Day of the Dragon King

By Mary Pope Osborne

Grades K-4; Genre - Historical Fiction with Fantastical Elements; GRL M; AR pts: 1.0

Morgan sends Jack and Annie to ancient China.  They need to retrieve a lost writing during the rule of the Dragon King. 

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. Where is Morgan sending Jack and Annie? Ancient China   p. 1
  2. Why do they need to bring their secret library cards?  They can show them to people who help them find the special writings they need   p. 1
  3. What was the title of the story written on?   A bamboo strip    p. 4

Chapter 2

  1. What type of clothes did Jack and Annie have on when they got to China? Baggy pants, loose shirts, straw hats, shoes, round hats    p. 8
  2. What did everyone call the first emperor in China? The Dragon King   p. 10
  3. What did the young man say when Jack and Annie asked him about the Imperial Library? Beware of the Dragon King   p. 14

Chapter 3

  1. How did the silk weaver feel when Annie gave her the young man’s message? Happy, she rewarded Annie    p. 17
  2. What is silk made from? Cocoons of silk worms p. 18
  3. What will happen if anyone steals China’s secret about silk? They’ll be arrested and put to death p. 19

Chapter 4

  1. Where did Jack and Annie hide when the guards were chasing them? In an oxcart   p. 21
  2. Men past by Jack and Annie carrying axes, shovels and hoes, where were they going? To build the Great Wall of China   p. 25
  3. Who saw Jack and Annie’s book? The driver of the oxcart  p. 25

Chapter 5

  1. What is a scholar? Someone who’s great at learning, reading and writing   p. 28
  2. Why are the scholars in danger? The Dragon King is afraid of the power of their books and learning  p. 28
  3. What did the Dragon King want to do with books? Burn them   p. 28

Chapter 6

  1. Why are the roofs in the city curved? To keep away bad spirits  p. 33
  2. Tell me some things people were selling at the market Jack and Annie walked through.   Chickens, fish, firewood, furs, wagon wheels, jewelry, silk cloth   p. 35
  3. What are ancestors? People in your family who’ve lived before you   p. 37
  4. Jack and Annie saw smoke.  What had the Dragon King begun to do? Burn books  p. 38

Chapter 7

  1. What did the soldiers do when Annie grabbed the scroll and ran away?  Chased them  p. 41
  2. Where did Jack and Annie run to get away from the soldiers? Burial grounds   p. 41
  3. What did Jack and Annie see in the burial tomb?  Thousands of soldiers   p. 45

Chapter 8

  1. Were the soldiers real? No    p. 46
  2. Why did the Dragon King put clay soldiers in his burial tomb?  To protect him when he’s dead p. 48
  3. Why did Jack and Annie ask the writing for help? They were lost, it was getting harder to breathe   p. 52
  4. What came to help them? The ball of yellow thread in Jack’s bag   p. 54

Chapter 9

  1. Where did the yellow string lead Jack and Annie? Out of the burial tomb, to some stairs   p. 56
  2. They heard a gong.  What did it mean? The gates to the city were closing    p. 59
  3. Did Jack and Annie make it out of the city in time? Yes    p. 59
  4. When Jack and Annie were about to go home, who waved at them? The silk weaver and the young man    p. 61

Chapter 10

  1. Who was the story about that Jack and Annie rescued? The silk weather and cow herder  p. 64
  2. Where are the children going on their next adventure? Ireland    p. 65
  3. What did Jack and Annie hear as they walked home from the tree house? Crickets   p. 67