About
Jack and Annie are summoned to the Land-Behind-the-Clouds and are sent on a task for the Ice Wizard to retrieve his eye from the Norns by daybreak in order to free Merlin and Morgan.
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 were Jack and Annie doing with their mom?
Page 1 — making cookies
1
What is winter solstice?
Page 2 — first day of winter/ shortest day of the year
2
Who had come to visit Jack and Annie?
Page 7 — Kathleen and Teddy
7
What were the monsters that almost ran over Teddy and Kathleen?
Page 8 — cars
8
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
What were the children looking for in this bleak land?
Page 14 — Merlin's Staff of Strength
14
How was Kathleen able to see the animals so far away?
Page 16 — keen eyesight of a seal
16
What was the palace made out of?
Page 18 — huge blocks of ice
18
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
Who was the man in the castle waiting for Jack and Annie?
Page 25 — Ice Wizard
25
Why did he write the note from Merlin to Jack and Annie?
Page 25 — to trick them into coming to see him
25
What did the Ice Wizard want Jack and Annie to do for him?
Page 28 — bring back his eye
28
What did the wizard give Jack and Annie to help speed up their journey?
Page 30 — wind-string
30
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
Tell me about the Norns.
Page 33 — They are the Sisters of Fate, weave tapestries that tell of people's fates
33
How many knots did Jack have to untie to make the sleigh move fast enough from the wolves?
Page 36 — three
36
How did Kathleen help Jack and Annie find the Norns?
Page 42 — talked to the seals under the ice
42
Why were only Jack and Annie supposed to deal with the Sisters?
Page 43 — only mortals can make deals with the sisters
43
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
Whose story were the sisters weaving when Jack and Annie arrived?
Page 49 — Ice Wizard's
49
What did he trade his eye for?
Page 49 — seeds of wisdom
49
Why did the sisters give the eye to the Frost Giant?
Page 52 — So he would hopefully choose to care for the world instead of destroy it.
52
Why was the Ice Wizard never the same after he sent his sister away and she never came back?
Page 54 — he felt bad for being mean, he missed her
54
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
Where was the Ice Wizard's eye in the Hollow Hill?
Page 64 — in a hole, in a hailstone
64
How did Annie find the hole the hailstone was in?
Page 64 — stepped in it
64
Why did Annie and Jack think the Frost Giant came back to the Hollow Hill?
Page 66 — the ground shook, loud huffing that sounded like breathing
66
Why didn't they want to look at the giant?
Page 66 — they were told they'd freeze to death
66
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
What did the giant do that made Jack and Annie feel like they could escape?
Page 68 — went to sleep
68
What did Jack and Annie both dream after they tumbled down the hill and were buried in snow?
Page 72 — white wolves, they were digging them out of the snow
72
When do Jack and Annie have to get the Ice Wizard's eye back to save Morgan and Merlin?
Page 76 — by break of day
76
What did Jack and Annie see inside the hailstone?
Page 79 — an eyeball
79
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
Who was sleeping on either side of the wizard when Jack and Annie returned to the ice castle?
Page 81 — the wolves
81
After the wizard put in the eye, why did he feel like Jack and Annie tricked him?
Page 84 — the eye didn't work
84
Who did Kathleen and Teddy bring back to the Ice Wizard?
Page 87 — his sister, the swan maiden
87
Where had the Ice Wizard been keeping Merlin and Morgan prisoner?
Page 90 — in the wolf bodies
90
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
Why was the Ice Wizard able to see clearly with both eyes after he saw his sister?
Page 93 — He has his heart back.
93
Why didn't the Frost Giant accept the Norn's gift of the Ice Wizard's eye?
Page 97 — there is no Frost Giant
97
What was the picture of on Annie's scarf?
Page 102 — Jack, Annie, two white wolves
102
What did Jack and Annie smell when they opened their front door?
Page 106 — cookies
106
Downloads
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Worksheets
Practice sheets with space to write your answers.
Download one reading section
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