Dolphins at Daybreak

By Mary Pope Osborne

Grades 2-5; Genre - Fiction with Fantastical Elements; GRL M; AR pts: 1.0

Jack and Annie want to become Master Librarians, but first need to solve four riddles.  They travel to a coral reef and explore the deep blue sea trying to solve their first riddle.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. What did Jack and Annie both dream? That Morgan was back and waiting for them     p.  2
2. What must Jack and Annie become to collect books for Camelot’s library?  Master Librarians  p.5
3. How do they become Master Librarians? Pass a test to show they can research, solve four riddles  p.6

Chapter 2

1. Where did Jack and Annie get taken in the tree house? Ocean, coral reef  p. 12
2. What did Annie fine on the edge of the water?  Mini sub     p. 14
3. Why didn’t Jack want to get into the mini sub?    It wasn’t theirs    p. 14
4. Where did the mini sub take Jack and Annie?  Into the deep/ocean     p. 19

Chapter 3

1. What was driving the mini sub like?  Playing video games    p. 21
2. What did it look like under the water? Another planet       p. 22

Chapter 4

1. What are some of the creatures that live around coral reefs?    Fish, starfish, jellyfish, sea horses, stingrays, giant clams      p. 25
2. How big is a giant clam?     3 feet wide and 200 pounds     p. 26
3. What did Annie name the two dolphins?     Sukie and Sam      p. 27

Chapter 5

1. What’s a ship’s log?  Diary of an ocean trip   p. 31
2. When the children read the ship’s log, what did they learn about the sub? It was broken    p.  33
3. What creature came toward the sub as the children rose to the surface?   An octopus     p. 35

Chapter 6

1. Why did the octopus come out of hiding?  It was curious    p. 37
2. When the octopus was squeezing the sub, what started leaking into it?   Water      p. 38
3. Why did the octopus shoot out black ink? It saw a hammerhead shark     p. 40

Chapter 7

1. What did Jack and Annie have to do now that the sub stopped working?  Swim      p. 44
2. Why were they scared to swim in the water?  They knew there was a hammerhead shark    p.44
3. How did they swim so they didn’t splash? Swam the breaststroke  p. 45
4. How did they need to feel so they didn’t attract sharks?  Very calm    p. 45

Chapter 8

1. Did jack tell Annie about the dark fin in the water?  No     p.48
2. Why? So she wouldn’t be scared and panic    p. 48
3. Why did Jack and Annie turn onto their backs and float?  To rest    p. 50
4. What helped Jack and Annie get to the coral reef?  Two dolphins, Sukie and Sam    p. 52

Chapter 9

1. What did Annie step on?   A shell   p. 58
2. What can be found inside the oyster shell?  A pearl    p. 59
3. How does a pearl form?  A grain of sand gets caught in the shell and the oyster covers the sand with a smooth material that makes a pearl      p.61
4. What was the answer to the riddle?   Oyster     p. 63

Chapter 10

1. Why was Jack glad there wasn’t another scroll or riddle? He needed to rest and dry out   p. 64
2. How many more riddles do the children need to solve now?  Three      p.67
3. What did Jack and Annie think was fun about this adventure?  Sukie and Sam   p. 67