Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief

by Wendelin Van Draanen

Grades 5-6; Genre - Mystery; GRL W; AR pts. 6.0

Sammy's penchant for speaking her mind gets her into trouble when she involves herself in the investigation of a robbery.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. Summarize the introduction to this story. Sammy is looking out of her apartment using binoculars and sees a thief stealing from someone’s purse through a hotel window. He sees her and now she’s worried he’s looking for her. She’s worried to tell her grandma because she will worry p.1

Chapter 2

1. Describe Sammy. Going into 7th grade. A good friend; Observant; Doesn’t like to be noticed p.10

Chapter 3

1. What is Sammy honest about in this chapter and what does she lie about? She’s honest about how she saw the burglary and the description of the man; she’s dishonest about where she lives p.18
2. Why did Sammy lie about where she lives? She lives with her grandma in a senior apartment building and it’s against the roles for her to live there p.23

Chapter 4

1. Describe Sammy’s first day of school. She met Marissa on the steps of the school and neither of them knew where to find their home room, so they approached a girl and she wasn’t very nice to them. The boy she was talking to helped them out. Turns out the girl is in the home room and as she was mocking Sammy during the Pledge of Allegiance, the teacher caught her and she got in trouble p.27

Chapter 5

1. Why is Sammy feeling angry after school? She is being treated unfairly. She hit Heather in the nose, but the fact that Heather picked her with a pin in the rearend is being ignored p.34

Chapter 6

1. What did Marissa and Sammy learn about the woman whose money was stolen? Her name is Madame Narisha and she owns the astrology store p.43

Chapter 7

1. Why does Sammy go hang out with Hudson? Mrs. Graybill accused Sammy of sleeping at Grams apartment, so to throw her off their trail, Sammy pretends to say good-bye for the day and is waiting until she can go back p.52
2. What does Sammy learn at Hudson’s? He has a new renter, and she recognizes him from the mall; there’s been another burglary in the neighborhood p.54

Chapter 8

1. Predict how Rommel got the purse. Listen to your child’s answer p.59

Chapter 9

1. Summarize this chapter. Marissa calls Sammy and tells her the police are at her house; Sammy runs over and pretends she’s getting out of the shower; they ask her to identify the thief but none of the photos match the person Sammy saw stealing in the hotel room; Grams tells Marissa that Sammy can’t stay over for the night; Sammy is crushed p.64

Chapter 10

1. Why is Marissa upset in this chapter? She isn’t happy with her home situation; her parents work all the time, and she doesn’t feel entirely supported by them p.73

Chapter 11

1. After talking to Gina, predict what Sammy’s day is going to contain? Listen to your child’s answer (ex. Finding her birth certificate; exploring the map to find the roof) p.87

Chapter 12

1. Why was Grams not in the apartment for so long? So, Sammy could understand what it meant to worry; she wanted to get to know Mr. Hudson p.91
2. Grams and the police officer’s conversation were going well at the end of the chapter. Predict what could ruin Sammy and Grams ruse? Listen to your child’s answer p.96

Chapter 13

1. Was your prediction correct? Listen to your child’s answer p.97
2. What detective work did Sammy and Marissa do? Go visit Gina and ask her questions. They also found a rolled-up napkin with Gina’s hotel number jamming open the fire escape door p.104

Chapter 14

1. Why doesn’t Officer Bosch believe Sammy and still thinks she put the napkin under Mrs. Graybill’s door? He doesn’t believe a child could be helpful and do a better job than he does. He thinks she is a troublemaker p.114

Chapter 15

1. Why was it good for Sammy to learn how to knit? It kept her out of trouble; gave her something purposeful to do; let her mind think p.128

Chapter 16

1. How did Sammy set things straight with her peers when she went back to school? She realized Heather was faking her broken nose. She called the doctor’s office pretending to be Heather and had the doctor call the vice principal. The vice principal made Heather take the bandages off her nose. Heather tried to hit Sammy and instead hit the vice principal. Heather was suspended for three days p.132
2. Who do you think the hotel thief is? Listen to your child’s answer p.139

Chapter 17

1. How will Sammy catch a thief laying the $10 and $5 bill on the sidewalk? Listen to your child’s answer p.145

Chapter 18

1. Explain how Sammy’s plan worked? Oscar has always acted like he is blind and deaf, but by putting the money on the sidewalk, she saw that he could easily see it when he saw it and picked it up. She also saw him changing and putting on his disguise p.146

Chapter 19

1. How did this story wrap up? Oscar gets arrested; the girls talk to officer Jacobsen in the police station; Sammy tells him that they are foster sisters; Officer Jacobsen is nice to Sammy and Marissa; he gets the napkins from Officer Borsch; the girls go to St. Mary’s to get Marissa’s bike and talk for a long time about people not always being who they appear to be p.155
2. What did you like about this story? Listen to your child’s answer