Comprehension Questions- The Boxcar Children #11 Caboose Mystery

Caboose Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Grades 3-5; Genre - Fiction; GRL O; AR pts: 2.0

Grandfather takes the Alden children on an adventure on a caboose of a train.  They find out the caboose they're in used to be a circus caboose.  The Aldens spend their vacation trying to find out what happened to the beautiful necklace of a circus performer.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. What adventure was Grandfather taking the children on?  riding on a caboose  p. 8
  2. Will they be able to do their own cooking?  yes  p. 9
  3. Which caboose is nicer?  big one  p. 14

Chapter 2

  1. Why did the postman want to go look in the big caboose?  look at something inside  p. 18
  2. Who used the third caboose on the train?  trainmen  p. 19
  3. Tell me two things Al the brake man came to tell the children. if they're in trouble pull the lever, the train will stop to pick corn, they're stopping at Beaver Lake in the morning  p. 23
  4. Who is a strange man they may see at Beaver Lake?  Old Beaver   p. 26

Chapter 3

  1. Would you enjoy riding on the back platform of a caboose?
  2. What did the children see the beavers doing?  working, chewing down trees, slapping mud, building a dam  p. 33
  3. How did Old Beaver respond when Benny told him they're on caboose number 777?  turned and ran  p. 34

Chapter 4

  1. What did the Alden's caboose 777 used to be?  a circus caboose  p. 36
  2. Why doesn't Cho Cho talk?  he's sad, clown, wife died, had to sell his talking horse  p. 34
  3. Who does Cho Cho think stole his wife's necklace?  the Thin Man  p. 42
  4. Who was the Thin Man's best friend?  Old Beaver  p. 43

Chapter 5

  1. What did Benny really want to go see?  talking horse  p. 47
  2. Why didn't Henry follow Benny?  he needs to live his own life and make his own mistakes  p. 48
  3. What did Grandfather and the other children do?  go to the glass factory  p. 50
  4. Why didn't Violet peek in to see if Benny made it back?  Benny said not to  p. 52

Chapter 6

  1. How did Benny fell about the talking horse?  happy  p. 56
  2. Who helped Benny when he got lost?  a young boy, Charley Jackson  p. 58
  3. Did Benny miss his train?   yes  p. 59
  4. What did Charley bring back for Benny to eat?  apples  p. 61

Chapter 7

  1. What did the Aldens do when they found out Benny was missing?  pulled the air brake/ lever  p. 64
  2. How did the Aldens get back to Glass Factory? a man drove them in his car  p. 66
  3. Where was Benny when the Aldens arrived?  sitting on the steps of the train station  p. 66

Chapter 8

  1. What was the weather like when the Aldens woke up? rainy p. 71
  2. Where did Henry go when the train stopped?  store  p. 74
  3. What was making Benny sneeze while he was making the beds?  the stuffing in the mattress that was coming out   p. 76
  4. What did Benny find behind the books?  a postcard  p. 78

Chapter 9

  1. Where did Benny get to go?  see the engine  p. 82
  2. What fell on the tracks?  a tree  p. 87
  3. What warned the other train that something was on the tracks? torpedo  p. 88

Chapter 10

  1. What did the boys get down for Jessie to mend?  the mattress    p. 90
  2. What did Benny find as he pulled out the stuffing?   a package     p. 92
  3. What was in the package?  the necklace  p. 94

Chapter 11

  1. Where did the Aldens go when the train got to the next city?  jewelry store  p. 98
  2. What did Grandfather buy at the jewelry store? a pocketknife     p. 101
  3. Who was the pocketknife for?  Charley Jackson  p. 101

Chapter 12

  1. What stopped the train and needed to be fixed? waterline broke  p. 105
  2. How did Benny want to find the Thin Man and tell him they found the necklace?  over the radio  p. 107
  3. How long did Grandfather and Benny have to get to the radio station and back before the train left?  one hour  p. 105
  4. Who was waiting for the train when it arrived in Glass Factory?  Cutlers and the talking horse  p. 111

Chapter 13

  1. What did Cho Cho want back when he saw the necklace?  Major/ his talking horse  p. 116
  2. What did Cho Cho want to do with the money from the necklace?  buy a horse trailer and truck  p. 119
  3. Who was the large postman that came to the station the day the Aldens left on their caboose adventure?  Thin Man  p. 120
  4. Who did the Thin Man want to see?  Old Beaver  p. 122

Chapter 14

  1. If the Aldens would have had a new mattress before they left would they have found the diamonds?  no  p. 125
  2. Where did Grandfather go to sell the necklace? New York  p. 125
  3. Who wrote the Aldens letters? Charley and Cho Cho  p. 127