Comprehension Questions- Magic Tree House Merlin Missions #10 Monday with a Mad Genius

 Monday with a Mad Genius  

By Mary Pope Osborne

Grades 2-4; Genre - Historical Fiction with Fantastical Elements; GRL N; AR pts: 2.0

Jack and Annie visit Leonardo da Vinci in Italy and help him for a day.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. Who were Jack and Annie going to visit on this adventure?  Leonardo da Vinci  p. 7
  2. What do they need to do with da Vinci?  Spend the day with him   p. 8
  3. What are the rules of the Dianthus Wand? Use it for the good of others, use it after you’ve tried your hardest, use it with a command of five words  p. 9
  4. What did Jack and Annie hear in the distance as the tree house took them away?  School bell  p. 10

Chapter 2

  1. Where does Leonardo da Vinci live?  Florence, Italy  p. 13
  2. Why did Jack and Annie use the wand to find Leonardo?  they’d done everything they could to find him already  p.  20
  3. Why shouldn’t Annie have let the bird free?  It wasn’t hers  p. 23
  4. Who came to rescue Annie and Jack from the trouble they were in?  Leonardo  p. 24

Chapter 3

  1. How does Leonardo feel about birds?  Likes to set them free as well, wants to be one  p. 26
  2. What’s Leonardo’s secret to happiness?  Fame   p. 29
  3. Why does Leonardo want Jack and Annie to look at the clouds?  To show them the art in the world around them  p. 35
  4. Why is it important for Leonardo to look at the world around him?  That’s how he gets his ideas for his paintings  p. 36

Chapter 4

  1. What’s a fresco?  A work of art painted on a wall  p. 38
  2. What’s Leonardo’s fresco of?    Battle scene from long ago defending Florence      p. 42
  3. What was Leonardo going to try to help his paints dry?  Using fire to heat them up   p. 44
  4. What did the heat do to the fresco?  Made it drip  p. 46

Chapter 5

  1. How did the painting look after the fires?  Blur of streaks and blotches, terrible  p. 50
  2. How did Leonardo respond to the ruined painting?  Upset, wanted to leave Florence  p. 53
  3. Why do Jack and Annie follow Leonardo and find excuses to be with him?  They need to spend the day with him.  50
  4. What does Leonardo think people will do when they see the ruined painting?  Laugh at him, mock him  p. 54

Chapter 6

  1. What does Michelangelo think about Leonardo?  never finishes anything  p. 57
  2. What are some reasons why Leonardo doesn’t finish anything?  Experiments with things that don’t work, he has too many ideas  p. 58
  3. Why does Leonardo write backwards?  He’s left handed and doesn’t smear the ink   p. 62
  4. Why does Leonardo feel like Jack and Annie have been sent to him as a sign?  He’s been fearful of testing an idea, but now he’s got courage  p. 66

Chapter 7

  1. What’s the Great Bird Leonardo wanted to show Jack and Annie?  An invention to help him fly  p. 71
  2. What did Leonardo say was broken when the Great Bird didn’t work?  His heart  p. 75
  3. Why would his heart be broken?  He’s sad it failed, always feels like he’s failing and that his inventions don’t work   p. 75
  4. What did Annie want to do for Leonardo to help him feel better?  Make him fly   p. 77

Chapter 8

  1. What did Annie do to make them fly like birds?  Used the wand, turned their arms into wings   p. 79
  2. Now that he’d really flown like a bird, what did Leonardo realize he was missing in his inventions to fly like a bird?  The spirit of a bird.   P. 86
  3. What did Leonardo realize about fame?  He didn’t need it to be happy.  p. 87
  4. Why was a woman waiting for Leonardo back in his studio?  He was painting her.  p. 87

Chapter 9

  1. How long has the woman been posing for Leonardo?  three years  p. 91
  2. What did Leonardo realize was the secret to happiness?  Curiosity/ asking questions  p. 95
  3. Why was Lisa mad at Leonardo?  she’s worried he’s going to finish the painting and forget about her  p. 98
  4. What type of bird told Jack and Annie they needed to go back home?  Nightingale   p. 100

Chapter 10

  1. What picture did Jack find in the resource book about Lisa?  Mona Lisa  p. 103
  2. What does the Italian word mona mean?  My lady in Italian.  P. 103
  3. What did Jack and Annie bring back from Leonardo that will help them remember him?  Drawing of the girl/ angel   p. 105
  4. Now that Jack realized how fun asking questions is, how does he feel about going to school?  Not nervous anymore, excited to get the answers to his question   p. 106