About
The Alden children take off on an bicycle adventure riding to Aunt Jane's farm. They run into a mystery as a cute little dog follows them on the way and they don't know who he belongs to. Knowing it's wrong to keep the dog, the children look for clues trying to get the lost dog home.
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 time of year is it?
Page 9 — summer, August
9
What had the children done for summer vacation?
Page 10 — built a tree house for neighbors
10
Who did Grandfather want the children to go see?
Page 10 — Aunt Jane
10
How were the children going to get there?
Page 11 — bicycles
11
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
Who was the lady at Mr. Martin's store?
Page 18 — Mrs. Randall
18
Why was she upset?
Page 19 — her house and yard were messy and her husband's boss was coming home for dinner
19
How did the children help her feel better?
Page 19 — they helped her clean her house and yard
19
Why did Mr. Randall's boss want to come to their home?
Page 28 — to see if Mrs. Randall could make friends easily
28
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
Where did the children go when it started to rain?
Page 32 — an abandoned house
32
Were they happy they brought the emergency rations and sleeping bags?
Page 35 — yes
35
What woke up Jessie and Violet early in the morning?
Page 37 — a dog barking
37
How did the little dog behave?
Page 40 — very obedient
40
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
Why do you think the dog was whining?
he's sad he can't find his owner, he's hungry
What happened when the Alden's rode their bike away from the dog and told him to stay?
Page 44 — he followed them
44
Did the owner of the store know who the little dog belonged to?
Page 47 — no
47
Where did the children have breakfast?
Page 49 — in a field
49
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
What do the children call the little dog?
Page 51 — Shadow
51
How did the children help the man at the vegetable stand?
Page 53 — pick vegetables for him to sell at the stand
53
How did Mr. Smith repay the children for helping him?
Page 57 — fed them lunch
57
Where had the little twin girls in the station wagon seen Shadow?
Page 59 — in a parking lot
59
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
What event was going on in Ashby on August 10?
Page 64 — dog show
64
How did the man and woman in the car make the children feel?
Page 69 — like they did something wrong
69
What was the click the children heard as the man got into the car?
Page 69 — a camera
69
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
Why did the owner let the children keep the dog with them at the hotel?
Page 72 — obedient
72
What was in the brown paper bag the manager gave to Henry?
Page 75 — food for the dog
75
Why did Shadow bark in the night?
Page 77 — smelled smoke
77
Why doesn't the manager want anyone to see Shadow?
Page 80 — they will think they can bring dogs to the hotel
80
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
Where did the Alden children finally get to?
Page 84 — Aunt Jane's
84
How did Benny help the man catch his dog?
Page 89 — had Shadow sit and the boxer was curious about the dog and came to see him
89
How many nights did the children stay with Aunt Jane?
Page 90 — one
90
How did Shadow behave when they started back home?
Page 91 — happy, stopped whining
91
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
Who helped the children when the man and woman drove up to them again?
Page 96 — a detective
96
What happened to Violet's bike?
Page 98 — flat tire
98
How did they get to Big Jeko's Place?
Page 98 — walked their bikes
98
What did Big Jeko give the children after they ate lunch?
Page 102 — tickets to the dog show
102
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
Who were Shadow's owners?
Page 107 — the Randall's
107
What was the dog's real name?
Page 107 — Smoky
107
How did they lose Smoky?
Page 109 — they left him in the car when they into a store, he climbed out the window
109
Why was there a picture of the Alden's and Smoky in the newspaper?
Page 110 — the man and woman wanted people to think the children had stolen the dog
110
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
What was Smoky's new name?
Page 117 — Smoky, the Bicycle Dog
117
Did people think the children had stolen the dog?
Page 118 — yes
118
What place did Smoky get in the competition?
Page 120 — second
120
Who helped explain the mystery of how Smoky got from the parking lot to the abandoned house?
Page 122 — the twin girls
122
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Worksheets
Practice sheets with space to write your answers.
Download one reading section
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