Bicycle Mystery
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Grades 3-5; Genre - Fiction; GRL O; AR pts: 2.0
The Alden children take off on an bicycle adventure riding to Aunt Jane's farm. They run into a mystery as a cute little dog follows them on the way and they don't know who he belongs to. Knowing it's wrong to keep the dog, the children look for clues trying to get the lost dog home.
Comprehension Questions
Chapter 1
- What time of year is it? summer, August p. 9
- What had the children done for summer vacation? built a tree house for neighbors p. 10
- Who did Grandfather want the children to go see? Aunt Jane p. 10
- How were the children going to get there? bicycles p. 11
Chapter 2
- Who was the lady at Mr. Martin's store? Mrs. Randall p. 18
- Why was she upset? her house and yard were messy and her husband's boss was coming home for dinner p. 19
- How did the children help her feel better? they helped her clean her house and yard p. 19
- Why did Mr. Randall's boss want to come to their home? to see if Mrs. Randall could make friends easily p. 28
Chapter 3
- Where did the children go when it started to rain? an abandoned house p. 32
- Were they happy they brought the emergency rations and sleeping bags? yes p. 35
- What woke up Jessie and Violet early in the morning? a dog barking p. 37
- How did the little dog behave? very obedient p. 40
Chapter 4
- Why do you think the dog was whining? he's sad he can't find his owner, he's hungry
- What happened when the Alden's rode their bike away from the dog and told him to stay? he followed them p. 44
- Did the owner of the store know who the little dog belonged to? no p. 47
- Where did the children have breakfast? in a field p. 49
Chapter 5
- What do the children call the little dog? Shadow p. 51
- How did the children help the man at the vegetable stand? pick vegetables for him to sell at the stand p. 53
- How did Mr. Smith repay the children for helping him? fed them lunch p. 57
- Where had the little twin girls in the station wagon seen Shadow? in a parking lot p. 59
Chapter 6
- What event was going on in Ashby on August 10? dog show p. 64
- How did the man and woman in the car make the children feel? like they did something wrong p. 69
- What was the click the children heard as the man got into the car? a camera p. 69
Chapter 7
- Why did the owner let the children keep the dog with them at the hotel? obedient p. 72
- What was in the brown paper bag the manager gave to Henry? food for the dog p. 75
- Why did Shadow bark in the night? smelled smoke p. 77
- Why doesn't the manager want anyone to see Shadow? they will think they can bring dogs to the hotel p. 80
Chapter 8
- Where did the Alden children finally get to? Aunt Jane's p. 84
- How did Benny help the man catch his dog? had Shadow sit and the boxer was curious about the dog and came to see him p. 89
- How many nights did the children stay with Aunt Jane? one p. 90
- How did Shadow behave when they started back home? happy, stopped whining p. 91
Chapter 9
- Who helped the children when the man and woman drove up to them again? a detective p. 96
- What happened to Violet's bike? flat tire p. 98
- How did they get to Big Jeko's Place? walked their bikes p. 98
- What did Big Jeko give the children after they ate lunch? tickets to the dog show p. 102
Chapter 10
- Who were Shadow's owners? the Randall's p. 107
- What was the dog's real name? Smoky p. 107
- How did they lose Smoky? they left him in the car when they into a store, he climbed out the window p. 109
- Why was there a picture of the Alden's and Smoky in the newspaper? the man and woman wanted people to think the children had stolen the dog p. 110
Chapter 11
- What was Smoky's new name? Smoky, the Bicycle Dog p. 117
- Did people think the children had stolen the dog? yes p. 118
- What place did Smoky get in the competition? second p. 120
- Who helped explain the mystery of how Smoky got from the parking lot to the abandoned house? the twin girls p. 122