Comprehension Questions- Magic Tree House Merlin Missions #6 Season of the Sandstorms

Season of the Sandstorms

By Mary Pope Osborne

Grades 3-5; Genre - Historical Fiction with Fantastical Elements; GRL N; AR pts: 2.0

Jack and Annie travel to the Golden Age of Baghdad and need to complete a mission to bring a book they’ve been asked to protect to help the caliph spread wisdom to the world.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. How did Annie know the magic tree house was back?  She went and checked  p. 4
  2. Where did Merlin want to send Jack and Annie?  Baghdad during the Golden Age   p. 5
  3. What did Merlin give Jack and Annie to guide them through their mission?  A letter   p. 6

Chapter 2

  1. What’s a caliph?  The title of the ruler in Baghdad  p. 12
  2. Since Jack and Annie were stuck in the middle of the desert and didn’t know which way to go, what rhyme did they say from Teddy and Kathleen’s book to help them?  Helpers appear out of nowhere  p. 15
  3. What did the rhyme bring to help Jack and Annie?  People on camels  p. 17

Chapter 3

  1. What does it mean to be humble?  Help others, not to act better than them  p. 23
  2. How did Jack and Annie show they were humble to the people riding in the caravan?  Helped them by gathering dates  p. 23
  3. What’s the name of the man who’s leading the caravan?  Mamoon  p. 26
  4. What are “ships of the desert”?  camels  p. 29

Chapter 4

  1. What are the names of the camels Jack and Annie got to ride?  Cutie and Beauty  p. 31
  2. Why was Jack unhappy with his camel?  She was eating his stuff, she spat on him   p.32
  3. Tell me a little bit about camels.  Can drink 2 barrels of water in 10 minutes, go for a week in the desert without drinking, live many days without food, eyebrows protect their eyes from sun, eyelashes and fur around ears protect them from sand, feet are tough and too big to sink in sand, can carry 500 pounds and can travel up to 100 miles in a day  p. 34
  4. Why do you think Jack felt seasick as he rode the camel?  Swaying from side to side like a ship.  P. 38

Chapter 5

  1. What did Mamoon give Jack and Annie to protect when the bandits came up to their caravan?  A box  p. 41
  2. Why did Jack and Annie bury the box when they heard someone coming toward them?  They thought the rider was a bandit, wanted to protect it    p. 46
  3. What were the strange sounds Jack and Annie heard in the sand dunes during the night?  The whistling sands/ sand settling in the drift  p. 48
  4. What did Annie think the whistling sands sounded like?  Music playing  p. 48

Chapter 6

  1. What did Jack, Annie and Mamoon do to protect themselves from the sandstorm?  Lie down flat and cover their faces with their cloth  p. 51
  2. Why was Jack so determined to catch the box in the sandstorm?  He told Mamoon he’d protect it with his life  p. 54
  3. How did Annie find Jack after the storm?  She chased him when he ran after the box.  P. 55
  4. What was the treasure inside the box?  A book/ Writings of Aristotle  p. 57

Chapter 7

  1. What’s a bazaar?  An open-air market, place where people buy things, mall  p. 65
  2. How many walls did Jack and Annie need to pass?  Three   p. 65
  3. Back during the Golden Age, what did Baghdad have in its zoo?   100 lions    p. 66
  4. Why does everyone laugh at Jack and Annie when they say they want to talk to the caliph?  Children can’t see the caliph, he’s too busy.  P. 70

Chapter 8

  1.  Which camel ate the book of Aristotle’s Writings?  Beauty  p. 72
  2. How did Jack and Annie fix the ruined book?  Used a spell from Teddy and Kathleen’s book  p. 75
  3. What did the tree look like in the Room of the Tree?  Silver leaves, they looked like they were blowing in the wind, pretend birds sang  p. 81
  4. Who’s the man Jack and Annie knelt before and talked to in the Room of the Tree?  Mamoon  p. 84

Chapter 9

  1. Who’s the caliph of Baghdad?  Mamoon  p. 86
  2. Why did Mamoon disguise himself as a merchant and go get the book?  He wanted the book to arrive in Baghdad safely.   P. 86
  3. Where did Mamoon take Jack and Annie?  The House of Wisdom   p. 87
  4. What was the House of Wisdom?  Library  p. 90

Chapter 10

  1. Why did Jack and Annie need to get to the tree house quickly?  Merlin told them to get there before the moon rises  p. 96
  2. How did the men in the library act when Jack and Annie whispered to each other?  Grumpy, telling them to be quiet, shushing them  p. 06
  3. How did Jack and Annie get back to the tree house so quickly?  They flew on a magic carpet.  P. 99
  4. How did Teddy and Kathleen help Jack and Annie on this adventure?  They were the servant boy and girl that took them into the Room of the Tree  p. 105