Comprehension Questions- Magic Tree House #18 Buffalo Before Breakfast

Buffalo Before Breakfast

by Mary Pope Osborne

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

Jack and Annie go to the Great Plains to find the second gift they need to receive to free Teddy the dog from his spell.  They meet Black Hawk and run into the mysterious White Buffalo Woman.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. Who are Jack and Annie trying to free from a spell?  a little dog, Teddy  p. 3
  2. Who was coming to visit them?  their grandmother  p. 5
  3. How many gifts have they received so far?  one  p. 7
  4. Where are they supposed to get their next gift? the prairie blue, the Great Plains  p. 8

Chapter 2

  1. What kinds of clothes were the children wearing when they got to the prairie? buckskin pants, shirts, dress, leather shoes, coonskin caps  p. 10
  2. How tall was the grass?  up to Jack's chest  p. 13
  3. How did Annie know what Teddy was saying?  she knows animals and can talk to them p. 14

Chapter 3

  1. What type of village did Jack and Annie see?  Indian, Lakota Indian  p. 15
  2. Why was Jack worried about going into the village? He didn't know if the Indians were at war with the white settlers.  p.18
  3. Why did Jack and Annie hold up two fingers when they went into the village?  to show they were friends  p. 23

Chapter 4

  1. Who was inside the teepee?  Black Hawk's grandmother  p. 25
  2. What did Jack give her?  his coonskin cap  p. 26
  3. Why did the Indians remind Annie of the seal hunter?  they don't waste any part of the animal   p.29
  4. Why was Teddy barking?  a huge wolf came out of the teepee  p. 30

Chapter 5

  1. Who was the wolf?  Black Hawk wearing a wolf skin  p. 31
  2. Why didn't Grandmother want Black Hawk to kill any buffalo?  they had enough meat p. 32
  3. Why did Jack want to show Grandmother he wasn't afraid?  so she would admire him p. 35
  4. How many buffalo did Jack and Annie see?  thousands and thousands  p. 36

Chapter 6

  1. What killed most of the buffalo?  white settlers and soldiers  p. 39
  2. How did Black Hawk alarm the buffalo?  he sneezed  p. 42
  3. How did Black Hawk get away from the charging buffalo?  Jack came and saved him on Sunlight  p. 44
  4. What was Annie doing with the buffalo?  calming them down, stopping the stampede p.45

Chapter 7

  1. Who appeared and helped Annie calm the buffalo?  a lady in white  p. 47
  2. Who was the woman Annie saw?  the spirit of the White Buffalo Woman  p.49
  3. Who did Black Hawk want to tell about the spirit woman?  his grandmother  p. 50

Chapter 8

  1. How did Grandmother scold Black Hawk?  she told him he was foolish for showing off  p. 52
  2. What are Jack and Annie's Indian names? Rides-Like-Wind and Buffalo Girl  p.53
  3. What did Grandmother give Annie?  eagle feather  p. 57
  4. Where did the children get to sleep that night?  in the teepee  p. 59

Chapter 9

  1. Where were the Lakota going?  to follow the buffalo  p. 61
  2. Do the Lakota children go to school like you do?  no  p. 62
  3. What is their school?  camp, prairie, sky, they learn from the things around them  p. 62

Chapter 10

  1. What did Annie think had something to do with the White Buffalo Woman?  Teddy  p. 69
  2. Were Jack and Annie able to take Teddy home with them?   no  p. 70
  3. Who was waiting for them at their home?  their own grandmother  p. 72