About
Jack and Annie visit Charles Dickens and help him understand the importance of his writing.
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 coming home from when they saw the streak of light?
Page 3 — Soccer practice
3
What had Teddy turned into for a day?
Page 5 — A frog
5
Who were Jack and Annie going to visit this time?
Page 5 — Charles Dickens
5
What did Kathleen turn the whistle into?
Page 6 — A violin
6
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
Where did the tree house land?
Page 12 — London, England
12
Why did Annie have to pretend to be a boy again?
Page 13 — Girls didn’t have many choices in the past
13
How did Jack and Annie get to Charles Dickens’ home?
Page 16 — Horse and carriage
16
Why was the driver of the carriage happy to come back to pick Jack and Annie back up later?
Page 19 — Jack had paid him more than a shilling
19
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
How did Jack and Annie figure out if the little boy was Charles Dickens or Charles Jr.?
Page 22 — by doing math
22
Why wouldn’t Mrs. Tibbs let Jack and Annie into Charles Dickens’ home?
Page 24 — He was busy writing
24
What job did the two boys covered in soot do for a living?
Page 25 — They’re chimney sweeps
25
Why were the boys so excited to trade Jack and Annie places?
Page 30 — They got their nice coats, boots, hats, and money
30
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
Why couldn’t Jack and Annie clean the chimney in the dining room?
Page 33 — There was a fire in it
33
What chimney did Jack and Annie start cleaning?
Page 34 — The library
34
Why did Charles Dickens go to the mirror then race back to his desk and write?
Page 37 — He wanted to see what he looked like so he would know how to describe it in his book
37
What upset Charles and made him leave his home?
Page 40 — Seeing Jack and Annie
40
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
Why didn’t the same driver give Jack and Annie a ride?
Page 44 — They didn’t look the same and now looked poor
44
Why did the boys follow Jack and Annie?
Page 47 — To steal their bag
47
What did the boys chant that made everyone think Jack and Annie were the thieves?
Page 48 — “Stop, thief”
48
Who stopped Jack from playing the violin?
Page 52 — A policeman
52
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
Where did the policeman begin to take Jack and Annie?
Page 54 — To jail
54
Who did Annie see and say hi to as the policeman was taking them to jail?
Page 55 — Charles Dickens
55
How did Charles prove that Jack and Annie didn’t steal the bag?
Page 56 — They had it with them when they were cleaning his chimney
56
Did Charles judge Jack and Annie because they were poor like everyone else did?
Page 60 — No
60
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
Where did Charles take Jack and Annie?
Page 64 — To eat at a nice restaurant
64
What did Annie take to the man and boy in the window of the restaurant?
Page 68 — Food
68
Who got angry at Annie for doing that?
Page 68 — Mr. Pinch/ owner of the restaurant
68
Why did Charles give Jack and Annie his wallet?
Page 71 — So they could buy food and clothes
71
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
How old was Charles when he had to work at the shoe polish factory?
Page 75 — 12 yrs
75
Why was his father in prison?
Page 78 — He couldn’t pay his bills
78
Why does Charles want to give up his writing?
Page 79 — Seems foolish and vain/ can’t feed the poor
79
When Charles was in despair, what story did Annie think they should tell him?
Page 82 — his own ghost story
82
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
What did the first ghost show Charles?
Page 87 — Charles as a boy reading a book
87
What did the second ghost show Charles?
Page 89 — People who love his books and learn how to be better because of them
89
What did the third ghost show Charles?
Page 94 — People standing over his grave, sad he never wrote again
94
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
How did the ghosts help Charles?
Page 96 — They made him want to write again
96
What book did the ghosts give Charles the idea to write?
Page 98 — A Christmas Carol
98
What did Jack and Annie give back to Charles?
Page 100 — His wallet of money
100
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
Who was waiting for Jack and Annie when the tree house returned to Frog Creek?
Page 103 — Teddy, Kathleen, Morgan, Merlin and Penny
103
What did Kathleen turn the violin back into?
Page 106 — Wand of Dianthus
106
How were Jack and Annie going to be able to visit the friends they had made in their last four missions?
Page 109 — They will always have their gifts of music and stories
109
Downloads
All the book’s resources, or just the ones you need, ready to read or print.
Worksheets
Practice sheets with space to write your answers.
Download one reading section
A small printout with all the resources for the selected section.
