#13 Under the Lagoon

by Kiki Thorpe

Grades 2-3; Genre - Fantasy; GRL N; AR pts. 1.0

The fairies in Never Land think that mermaids are nothing but trouble. When Gabby befriends a mermaid, Kate, Mia, and Lainey warn her to stay away, but Gabby doesn't want to lose her new friend.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1 

1. Explain what happened to Gabby in this chapter? She stayed back on the beach while the other girls went on the raft to visit Sunny; she made a sand castle but water kept splashing her; the water swallowed up her barrettes and her sand castle; she thought she saw someone hiding on the rocks in the water p.8
2. Predict who you think that someone is. Listen to your child’s answer. 

Chapter 2

1. What saved Gabby from drowning in the cauldron? A mermaid came in and with magic lowered the water level p.25
2. What did Gabby make that day? A friend p.25
3. What evidence shows you she made a friend? They enjoyed being together; they played games and talked; they were happy to find out they had many things in common p.27

Chapter 3

1. Who saw Gabby playing with a mermaid and why did she think it strange? Rosetta; mermaids don’t like humans p.40
2. Do you think it’s strange that Gabby and Yooni want to be friends? Why, or why not? Listen to your child’s answer. 

Chapter 4

1. Define the word grudge. to be unwilling to give or admit: give or allow reluctantly or resentfully p.45
2. What happened when the fairies told and retold what Rosetta saw? The story got more elaborate with each telling and started to be misleading and not true and turned into gossiping p.46
3. Explain a time when you have experienced something like this. Listen to your child’s answer. 

Chapter 5

1. Why did the other girls assume Yooni was bad? The fairies assumed she was since she was a mermaid and had told them so p.54
2. Why was Gabby sad in this chapter? The other girls had been mean and scared Yooni away p.59

Chapter 6

1. Why did Rosetta agree to take the sea rose to the mermaids? Gabby missed Yooni and she felt guilty she had let the rumor get out of hand p.65
2. What attitude did both the mermaids and fairies have toward each other? They thought they were better than the other p.71

Chapter 7

1. Was Gabby making a good choice to go see Yooni or follow her to the mermaid party? Why, or why not? No; she has been sneaky and didn’t tell her sister p.74
2. Why will Gabby’s sister be upset she went to the mermaid party? She can’t trust the mermaids; she’ll worry that Gabby’s in danger; Gabby should have told her where she was going p.80
3. From what you’ve learned about mermaids in this story, predict what will happen at the party. Listen to your child’s answer. 

Chapter 8

1. Why was Rosetta in angst this chapter? She realized she’s having a hard time always knowing what to do and when to talk about things p.88
2. Have you ever felt this way? Listen to your child’s answer.
3. Why are the fairies worried Gabby’s with the mermaids? They’re singing their most powerful song which can turn fairies into bats, and they don’t know what it’ll do to humans p.90

Chapter 9

1. Summarize what happened in this chapter. The fairies and girls went to the mermaid lagoon to find Gabby; they got there and found they were in the eye of the storm; they saw Gabby and she saw them; she fell from the rock into the water p.101

Chapter 10

1. Were the fairies right to believe that something bad can happen during the mermaids’ powerful music? Yes p.108
2. What did Gabby learn in this chapter? That’s not all mermaids are bad, but she needs to listen to her sister and the other fairies p.108
3. What did the mermaids and fairies learn in this chapter? That they can be nice to each other and be friends p.109