About
Mandy and James help Nick take care of his new foals as he tries to fix up his father’s old farm. But Nick's father wants to sell the farm, so Mandy and James call in the troops as they help Nick prove to his father he can take care of the farm.
Read one section at a time, then discuss the questions to review understanding. These questions are a starting place for conversation, not a complete test of the chapter.
Chapter 1
Comprehension questions
What is the name of the vet office the Hope’s run?
Page 1 — Animal Ark
1
What is Dr. Adam’s concern about the horse Bessie?
Page 3 — She might have her foals early
3
What kind of project are Mandy and James working on?
Page 5 — History
5
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
What is Nick trying to do with the farm?
Page 10 — Fix it up
10
Who is Nick’s girlfriend?
Page 13 — Fiona Armour
13
How long does Nick have to fix it up?
Page 15 — One year
15
What will Nick’s father do if he doesn’t succeed?
Page 16 — Sell the farm
16
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
During the fire, who went into the stables to rescue the horses?
Page 22 — Nick’s father, George Summers
22
When Mandy and Dr. Adam got to the Drysdale farm, what was laying in the hay next to Bessie?
Page 26 — A foal
26
What names did Mandy suggest for the foal twins?
Page 34 — Dot and Dash
34
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
Why do Mandy and James want to help Nick take care of the horses?
Page 36 — So he can fix up the farm
36
What made the stable roof cave in?
Page 49 — a big storm
49
How did Nick feel when the new stable got damaged?
Page 49 — Discouraged, sad, exhausted
49
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
Why were Mandy’s hands bandaged?
Page 44 — They got hurt holding the rope in the storm
44
What’s Mandy willing to miss so she can talk to George Summers?
Page 57 — School
57
How did James feel about lying for Mandy?
Page 58 — Didn’t want to do it
58
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
Did Mandy help Mr. Summers change his mind about selling the farm?
Page 65 — No
65
What did Mr. Summers do when he found out Mandy lied?
Page 67 — Called her father
67
How did her father feel about her lying?
Page 67 — He was very angry.
67
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
How long were Mandy and James grounded for?
Page 69 — One week
69
Even though Mandy was grounded, where did Dr. Emily take her?
Page 73 — Drysdale Farm
73
Who was Mandy going to ask help finish the stable block?
Page 78 — The town
78
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
Who showed up to help Nick?
Page 85 — An army, a lot of people from town
85
Who ran after Dash into the field and copied everything he did?
Page 88 — Dot
88
Who was eating at the pub on their way to Drysdale Farm?
Page 91 — The people who were going to buy the farm
91
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
Name two people who helped Mandy slow down the people who wanted to buy the farm.
Page 99 — Mr. Hardy, Susan, Peter, James, Andrew, Jill, Mrs. Ponsonby
99
What did Mrs. Ponsonby do to slow them down?
Page 104 — Stopped in the middle of the road and pretended her car stopped working
104
How did Mr. Summers know that Mrs. Ponsonby didn’t really need help with her car?
Page 105 — She had helped him with his motorcycle before.
105
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
How did Dot and Dash get out of the stable?
Page 110 — Mr. Marr opened the door.
110
What happened to Dot when she jumped over the pile of debris?
Page 113 — She broke her forelegs.
113
What was Dr. Adam going to have to do with her?
Page 113 — Put her to sleep.
113
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
How did Mr. Summers start the fire 40 years back?
Page 120 — He left a lamp burning
120
Who’s going to help Nick get the stables going?
Page 123 — Mr. Summers
123
Chapter 12
Comprehension questions
Why was Mandy wearing a dress?
Page 125 — For Nick and Fiona’s wedding
125
What did Mr. Summers give Fiona and Nick for their wedding?
Page 130 — Two foals
130
How did Dash feel about the new foals?
Page 133 — Happy to have new friends
133
Downloads
All the book’s resources, or just the ones you need, ready to read or print.
Worksheets
Practice sheets with space to write your answers.
Download one reading section
A small printout with all the resources for the selected section.
