Dark Day in the Deep Sea

By Mary Pope Osborne

Grades 2-3; Genre - Fiction with Fantastical Elements; GRL N; AR pts: 2.0

Jack and Annie adventure to an island where they meet sailors who are exploring the sea.  Jack and Annie get to go on board their ship and get washed overboard during a squall.  An octopus saves them and they save the octopus from getting hurt by the explorers.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. What did Jack and Annie see flying through the sky that told them the tree house was back?  Seagull  p. 3
2. How many more secrets of happiness do Jack and Annie need to find to help Merlin?  Two   p. 6
3. Where were Jack and Annie going this time?  The ocean  p. 7

Chapter 2

1. What kind of ship did Jack and Annie think they saw at first?  Pirate  p. 16
2. What was one of the men carrying on the beach?  Butterfly net  p. 19
3. Where was the HMS Challenger from?  England  p. 22
4. What was the crew doing on the island?  Exploring    p. 23

Chapter 3

1. What’s the name of the scientist?  Henry  p. 24
2. How was Annie being a show off when they were talking to the scientist and sailors?    By showing that she knew more about the ocean than the scientist did.    P. 27
3. Why was that rude of Annie to show off?  She’s being a know-it-all, makes the scientist feel bad  p. 28
4. Why were Joe and Tommy grumpy about Jack and Annie going aboard their ship?  No children were allowed  p. 30

Chapter 4

1. How did the bouncing boat in the swell of waves affect Jack?  Made him sick   p. 33
2. How did the sailors describe the Great Monster?  Mix between a dragon and starfish, floating nest of snakes  p. 35
3. How did the captain of the ship feel when he saw Jack and Annie on board?  Angry  p. 39
4. What are some things the explorers have learned about the ocean?  How deep the ocean is, the temperature, what lives in the deep   p. 40

Chapter 5

1. What is a SQUALL?   a violent sudden gust of wind on the sea  p. 45
2. What did Henry show Jack and Annie under the microscope?  Tiny seahorse skeleton   p. 46
3. What are the bottles in the lab filled with?  Mud from the bottom of the ocean, dead sea creatures  p. 47
4. What creature did Henry find that gave him pleasure before it died?  A nautilus  p. 50

Chapter 6

1. What was in the cup Jack drank out of?  Lime juice   p. 54
2. What is SCURVY?  Disease people can get if they don’t get enough vitamin  C       p. 54
3. Why did Jack go up on the deck of the ship?  He didn’t want to throw up down below in front of the sailors   p. 58
4. What happened to Jack as a wave washed up onto the deck of the ship?  He was washed overboard  p. 60

Chapter 7

1. What did the water do to Jack and Annie life preservers? pushed them off p. 63
2. What was holding Jack and Annie above the surface of the water?  An octopus  p. 65
3. How did Jack feel when he first saw the octopus?   Terrified, tried to get away     p. 68
4. What was the octopus doing for Jack and Annie?  Rescuing them  p. 69

Chapter 8

1. What scared the octopus away?  The ship    p. 70
2. Did the professor believe the octopus saved Jack and Annie?  No  p. 72
3. How did the sailors catch the octopus?  A net   p. 74
4. What did the professor want to do with the octopus?  Bring it on the ship alive so he could study it  p. 77

Chapter 9

1. What did Jack and Annie need to use to help save the octopus?  Dianthus Wand  p. 79
2. Where did Jack and Annie leave the backpack?  Science lab   p. 80
3. Why did they need Henry to get into the lab?  It was locked   p. 81
4. What were the five words Jack used on the wand?    make them hear the truth  p. 84

Chapter 10

1. What weapon did the sailor shoot at the octopus?  Harpoon  p. 87
2. How did the sailors hear the truth about the octopus?  The octopus spoke to them  p. 89
3. How did the ship’s crew feel when they heard the octopus speak?  Wanted to let him go   p. 90
4. How did they free the octopus?  Cut the net  p. 91

Chapter 11

1. Why did the captain want to leave that day from those waters?  He didn’t want to disturb the waters anymore  p. 95
2. What did Henry give Jack and Annie?  His nautilus shell  p. 97
3. What was the secret of happiness Jack and Annie were looking for?  Compassion for all living creatures  p. 99
4. What name did Jack and Annie give the octopus? Charles  p. 103