Comprehension Questions – Deltora Quest #1 The Forest of Silence

The Forest of Silence

by Emily Rodda

Grades 4-7; Genre - Fantasy; GRL S; AR pts: 4.0

The Shadow Lord has crept out of hiding and taken over the vulnerable land of Deltora.  The only defence to the Shadow Lord is the Belt of Deltora which has been destroyed.  Lief and Barda set out on a journey to retrieve the seven stones that will complete the belt. The Forest of Silence is where they search to find the first stone.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. Why did Endon become the new king? his father died of a fever  p. 2
  2. Who is Jarred? A servant's son, given to Endon as a companion.  p. 2
  3. What did the belt do when Prandine put it on Endon?  it exploded with light  p. 8

Chapter 2

  1. Why did Jarred go to the library after the ceremony? to learn about the belt  p.10
  2. Where was Endon when Jarred wanted to tell him about the belt? chapel  p.14
  3. Why didn't Endon go out of the city walls? it is forbidden by the Rule  p. 16

Chapter 3

  1. Why did Prandine tell Endon Jarred was a traitor? so Endon wouldn't trust him  p. 17
  2. What did the note say that Jarred left in the tree?   If you need me aim high and I will come.   p. 19
  3. What stopped the king from seeing how broken down the city was? magical mist that made the city look beautiful  p. 22

Chapter 4

  1. Where did Jarred go to? the blacksmith, Crian  p. 24
  2. How did the people in the city feel about the king?hated him  p. 25
  3. Where did Jarred look every morning? up at the tree where he put the note  p. 31

Chapter 5

  1. What did Anna and Jarred see out the window?Ak-Baba and the arrow   p. 33
  2. What did the drawing and writing mean? It was a riddle that took Jarred to a secret tunnel and led him into the castle  p. 39
  3. How did Endon feel when he saw Jarred? trusted him, didn't recognize him p. 39

Chapter 6

  1. What part of the castle did it take him to? chapel   p. 41
  2. How does Endon think Min died?  murdered p. 42
  3. What did they find as they ran up to get the Belt of Deltora? It was shattered and the gems were gone.  p. 46

Chapter 7

  1. Who does Prandine serve?  Shadow Lord  p. 47
  2. Where have the gems to the belt been taken?   scattered and hidden  p. 49
  3. How did Sharn get rid of Prandine? tricked him, pushed him out the window p. 50

Chapter 8

  1. What did Lief's parents give him for his birthday?    free afternoon p. 57
  2. Why was Lief in danger?  he was out past curfew, it was night  p. 59
  3. How did Lief get away from the Grey Guards?  a rope fell down to him  p. 61

Chapter 9

  1. Who were Lief's parents?  Jarred and Anna  p. 67
  2. Why didn't Jarred go on the quest for the gems? he got injured   p. 68
  3. How did Lief feel about going on the quest instead?  he wanted to go p.70

Chapter 10

  1. Tell me about Barda? not a real beggar, son of Min, trained as a palace guard, ran away when his mother was killed   p. 78
  2. How did Barda feel about Lief going with him on the quest? didn't like it  p. 80
  3. How was Barda able to get information from the Grey Guards?  pretending to be a beggar and overhearing their conversations  p. 79

Chapter 11

  1. Where did Lief find the signpost?  on the ground  p. 85
  2. How did the creatures with red eyes capture Barda and Lief? loud piercing noise  p. 89
  3. Why weren't Barda and Lief able to move?  they were paralyzed  p.90

Chapter 12

  1. Who came and took Lief's cloak?  Jasmine  p. 94
  2. Why wasn't she going to save them?  she thought they were Grey Guards  p.94
  3. What did Jasmine bring back to help them? tonic that helped them move  p. 96

Chapter 13

  1. What stopped the Wennbar from trying to get them down?  Lief put the cloak around them and the creature thought the had gone.  p. 102
  2. Name two things Jasmine has in her nest?  comb, blanket, shawl, 2 tiny bottles, wooden doll, belt, 2 daggers, flints, gold and silver coins  p. 105
  3. How did Jasmine's parents die?  Grey Guards killed them and burned their house. p. 106

Chapter 14

  1. What did the trees warn Jasmine of?  danger, they will die   p. 110
  2. What was happening to the belt as Barda and Lief got closer to the gem?   it got warm p. 112
  3. What is Gorl guarding? the Lilies of Life  p. 115

Chapter 15

  1. What did Barda do to distract Gorl?  He got Gorl thinking about his past. p. 118
  2. What did Gorl do when Barda attacked him with his sword?  took the sword out of his neck and thrust a sword into Barda  p. 120
  3. Where was the topaz?  in Gorl's sword's hilt  p. 122

Chapter 16

  1. What did Lief do to save Barda?  poured the nectar from the Lilies of Life onto his wound  p. 124
  2. Who came to them when they put the topaz into the belt?  a spirit, Jasmine's mother  p. 127
  3. What did Jasmine's mother tell Jasmine?She's supposed to go with them. p. 128