The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Describe Flavia.

Page 1 — She’s 11 years old; has two older sisters, Ophelia 17 and Daphne 13; her mother died from a mountaineering accident when she was 1; her father seems like a grumpy man; she and her sisters fight and are mean to each other; she stole from Ophelia and experimented with her lipstick; she loves chemistry and working in her lab; she has glasses, but only uses them in her lab to protect her eyes or when she wants sympathy

1

Recount the events in this chapter.

Page 16 — Flavia saw Dogger in the garden and helped him; she partially overheard a conversation her father had with a stranger during the night in his study about murdering someone; Dogger caught her and sent her away; she awoke early and went to the garden; she tripped and found a body in the cucumber plants; before dying the man said “vale”; she smelled something on his breath that was familiar but she couldn’t place it

16

Who’s the dead man in the cucumber bushes?

The man who was in the study the night before

Describe how people are responding to the situation?

Page 34 — Her sisters pretended indifference, no one has told her father, the cook is hiding in the kitchen, Dogger acts like nothing happened the night before

34

Do you think Flavia’s father is guilty of the murder? Explain.

Listen to your child’s answer.

What did Flavia learn in this chapter?

Page 66 — Twining was a housemaster at the school her father attended; he jumped off the clock tower and died; he shouted “vale” before he fell; the same stamp that was in the bird’s beak was also missing, but was reported as unrelated to his death; Ms. Mountjoy is Twining’s niece

66

Predict who Flavia wants to talk to and what she’s searching for.

Page 80 — Listen to your child’s answer

80

What did Flavia find out?

Page 83 — Ned didn’t leave the dead bird; the man staying at the inn has red hair and is Mr. Sanders; he was the one who had grabbed Mary and told her to be quiet; he’s a diabetic

83

What did Flavia find in the trash and why is it significant?

Page 93 — Crust of a pie and the feather of a snipe; she thinks Sanders brought the dead bird in a pie to get it across customs in Norway

93

What else did she find at the inn?

Page 97 — Two stamps just like the one they found on the bird’s beak; she saw Sanders’ name in the register and he put he’s from London

97

How do you think Mrs. Hulett’s pie plays into the mystery?

Page 112 — Listen to your child’s answer

112

Were you correct in your assumption of the pie? Explain.

Page 123 — Listen to your child’s answer; Flavia thinks the stranger who died ate the piece of pie and it killed him

123

Who did Flavia meet during the rainstorm? Why did he want to meet Flavia?

Page 126 — Frank Pemberton; he’s writing a book on stately homes in England and wants to ask her father about their historic home

126

Recount what Ms. Mountjoy said to Flavia.

Page 139 — her father had been one of the boys that murdered her uncle; her father gave evidence at the inquest and he denied taking the stamp; the man with the red hair is Horace Bonepenny

139

Where did Flavia find the stamp and what did the letters on the bottom of it mean?

Page 155 — In the clock; B one penny H = bonepenny and the H = Horace; it was a warning for her father since her father’s nickname was Jacko and the dead bird was a Jack snipe

155

Summarize this chapter.

Page 157 — Flavia rides her bike to see her father in jail; she sees her sister’s old piano teacher on the way; she talked to the detective and he wouldn’t let her see her father; her bike was stolen; Flavia admitted she had murdered Horace Bonepenny

157

How did Flavia accomplish talking to her father privately?

Page 172 — Due to her confession; before she gave the inspector more details, she told him she needed to speak with her father

172

Who does Flavia’s father think is the murderer.

Page 178 — Listen to your child’s answer; Dogger

178

Summarize this interaction between Flavia and her father.

Page 179 — He’s telling her of his school days and interactions with Horace Bonepenny

179

Describe Flavia and her father’s relationship.

Page 191 — Not close; he is distant and barks orders; never talk with one another; only now in the prison cell is he opening up to her and she feels like they’re having a real conversation

191

Recount how the orange stamps came into origination?

Page 198 — It was a plot against the Royal Family; one sheet of orange stamps were made to serve as a signal to cause personal attacks against them

198

Why did Flavia’s father call her Harriet? He’d been thinking of his late wife as he told this story; telling the story reminded him of sharing it with his late wife;

Page 199 — listen to your child’s answer

199

What advice did Flavia’s father give during this chapter and why?

Page 219 — Silence is sometimes the most costly of commodities; if he hadn’t stayed silent when he knew Horace stole the stamp, Dr. Twining would still be alive

219

Do you think this advice applies to Flavia? Explain.

Listen to your child’s answer

Why did Flavia conclude Dr. Twining didn’t jump to his death?

Page 240 — Someone else had been on the roof; she found a school cap and gown in a tile on the roof of the building with the tower

240

Summarize Dogger’s story of the night Horace Bonepenny was murdered.

Page 254 — He heard shouting in the study so came to see who it was, saw Flavia and sent her away, hid when Horace came out of the study, followed him to the garden, there were fireworks (he got hit with a shoe), woke up on the grass later

254

Who do you think hit Dogger?

Listen to your child’s answer

Why is Flavia’s father in jail?

Page 265 — He’s taking the blame for Dogger

265

If Mrs. M knew the de Luce’s didn’t like her pie, why do you think she asked Flavia how she enjoyed it?

Listen to your child’s answer

Summarize this chapter.

Page 272 — Flavia called to find Mr. Pemberton and he wasn’t at the inn; Flavia found Dr. Kissing; he knew she was coming to see him and that she had the stamp; he asked for it and she gave him the envelope with both stamps; he took his stamp out and gave back the other; he burned his stamp with his cigarette and said that the other stamp (it belongs to the king) was worth double now that it was the only one

272

How do you think Frank Pemberton was involved in Twining’s and Bonepenny’s deaths? Do you think Flavia is correct? Why, or why not?

Listen to your child’s answer

Why is Flavia worried she is going to die?

Page 309 — Pemberton tied her up and left her in the pit of The Pit Shed

309

Describe Flavia’s experience in the pit?

Page 313 — She tried to explore the pit tied up, but exhausted herself; she fell asleep and dreamed, then awoke to a rat crawling over her feet; she’s trying to stay calm and not freak out

313

What do you think Pemberton will do since he probably found the false stamp? Predict what will happen to Flavia.

Page 336 — Listen to your child’s answer

336

Summarize the rescue.

Page 344 — Before Pemberton could inject the poison into Flavia, a car came crashing into The Pit Shed, Pemberton tried to climb out but Dogger knocked him down, Ophelia came to Flavia and helped her out; Dogger saw Pemberton at the house and followed him

344

Summarize the conclusion of this story.

Page 351 — Flavia told the inspector everything; he agreed to let her father have the stamp for 24 hours; she tried to give it to her father, but he refused saying she needed to give it to the king; Flavia wrote a letter and mailed it to the king and he responded with a thank you note

351

What did you enjoy about this book?

Listen to your child’s answer

Were you correct in any of your predictions or assumptions?

Listen to your child’s answer