Why was Edward so annoyed at

52 Pages·2012·1.4 MB·English

The Miraculous

Journey of Edward

Tulane

By

Kate DiCamillo

Comprehension

Guide

“If you have no intention

of loving or being loved,

then the whole journey

is pointless.”

Name:

Love…

Date:

Hope…

Sadness…

Happiness…

Wise Guys © 2012
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Comprehension Guide by Kate DiCamillo

Prior to Reading
Strategy Focus: Making Predictions
Good readers will predict. Preview your book and make a prediction about what the book
is about. Your prediction should be at least 2 sentences. Your prediction should also
include what you think the book will be about and how you think the main character(s) will
fit into the story.

Good Readers will try to find meanings from the words…

Word Study
In order to better comprehend what they are reading, good readers will try to find the meanings of the key
vocabulary in the story. Please refer to the “Word Study” sheet in the back of your packet for the words.
Remember, some vocabulary words may have several meanings, so make sure that your definition fits the way
you think it would be used in the story.

Good Readers will use context clues…

Wise Guys © 2012
Comprehension Guide Directions
Answer the following questions about the story The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
Always use complete sentences.

Chapters 1 & 2
R

e
Strategy Focus: Making Connections
m
Good readers will make connections to what they are reading to their own lives. In this
e story, a young girl named Abilene has a china rabbit that she cherished dearly. Do you or
m have you ever had a something that really meant a lot to you? Explain your connection
below.
b
e
r

,

g

o
Describe in detail what Edward Tulane looked like.
o

d

r
e

a

d

e
Besides dressing Edward, what would Abilene do for Edward each morning before she
r
went to school?
s

w

i
l
l

u
s What season did Edward seem to like best? Why.
e

t
h
e
i
r

r

e Strategy Focus: Extending the Text
a For this focus, you do not have to write anything down.
d All you need to do is think about it and be ready to share.
i What season do you like best and why?
n

g Good readers will think abo ut what they are reading…
s
t
Who were the family members that lived with Edward?
r
a
t
e

g

i
e
s Describe Pellegrina.
…

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Describe what Rosie, the neighbor’s boxer dog, did when he came uninvited in the Tulane
house one day.

Edward did not like to be called a “bunny”. In fact he found it “derogatory” in the extreme.
What did he mean by this?

Strategy Focus: Extending the Text
For this focus, you do not have to write anything down.
All you need to do is think about it and be ready to share.

Do you find anything derogatory?

Good readers will think abo ut what they are reading…

Why was Edward so annoyed at the maid at the end of chapter 2?

Strategy Focus: Asking Questions to Clarify
Good readers will stop, think, and ask themselves questions about what they are reading to
better comprehend the story. What parts from chapters 1 and 2 were confusing to you? Fill
in the table below with some of your questions. Then in the column to the right, share what
you learned after rereading, asking someone, or using another strategy to help you
understand that part of the story.

Questions for Clarification What I Learned

Wise Guys © 2012
Chapters 3-5

Strategy Focus: Sequencing
Good readers will try to organize events in order to make sense out of what they are
reading. Put Pellegrina’s princess story in order. Place a number 1 in the blank for the
event that happened first.

_____ “The king, the princess’s father, said that the princess must marry.”

_____ “The beautiful princess was changed into a warthog.”

_____ “The princess got lost in the woods and wandered for many days until she finally
came to a little hut.”

_____ Abilene picked up Edward and sat him next to her on her bed.

_____ “The princess told the witch that she loved no one. The witch was disappointed
and raised up her hand and said ‘Farthfigery’”.

_____ “The witch asked the princess to tell her the name of the one that she loved.”

_____ “There once was a beautiful princess who loved no one.”

_____ “The kings’ men were looking for the princess and when they came up to the
warthog, they shot it immediately. Then they took it back to the castle, slit it open,
and found a ring of pure gold.”

_____ “A prince came and gave the princess a gold ring and told her he loved her. The
princess swallowed the ring and said, ‘That is what I think of love.” Then she went
deep into the forest.”

_____ “The princess knocked on the hut. Then a voice answered, ‘Enter if you must’. She
entered and saw a witch sitting at the table counting gold.”

After the story, Abilene was disappointed because no one in the story lived happily ever
after. Then Pellegrina’s response was, “How can a story end happily if there is no love?”
What do you think she meant by this.

Why do you think Edward seemed to like looking at the stars?

Describe what happened to Edward while he and the Tulane family were aboard the Queen
Mary on their way to England?

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Chapters 6-8

As Edward was falling to the ocean, he noticed Abilene holding something. What did
R Edward think that he saw Abilene holding?

e

m

e
m

b
Strategy Focus: Character’s Emotions
e
r What emotion did Edward feel when he fell to the bottom of the ocean floor, face down
, with his head in the muck?

g
o
o
d

r
e
a Strategy Focus: Ex tending the Text
d For this focus, you do not have to write anything down.
e All you need to do is think about it and be ready to share.
r
s What emotion would you have if you were Edward?
Would you show the same emotion as Edward?
w

i Good readers will think abo ut what they are reading…
l
l

u What happened on the two hundred and ninety-seventh day that Edward was on the ocean
s floor?
e
c
l
u

e

s
Strategy Focus: Character’s Emotions

t What emotion did Edward feel when the “old man” gave him a ride?
o

h
e
l
p

c Lawrence gave Edward to his wife, Nellie. Nellie said to Lawrence, “Oh, Lawrence, you
o
brung me a rabbit.” And then she gave Edward a name. What name did Nellie give to
m
Edward?

p

r

e
h
e Strategy Focus: Making Inferences
n Good readers will use the clues that the author uses to draw their own conclusions about
d what the author is trying to say. What clues does the author use that may tell you that
Lawrence is a nice person but may not be too educated?
…

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Chapters 9-11

Strategy Focus: Visualizing
Good readers will draw pictures in their heads as they read. In the box below, draw and
color a picture Edward Tulane in one of the outfits that Nellie made for him.

Why did Edward “wonder if some of the muck from the ocean floor had gotten inside his
china head and damaged him somehow”?

Strategy Focus: Extending the Text
Every night after dinner, Lawrence would go out and get some fresh air and put “Susanna”
on his shoulder, light his pipe, and if the night was clear he said the names of the
constellations one at a time. Connect at least 5 of the stars below to make your own
constellation. Then give a name to your constellation.

Wise Guys © 2012
G
Do you like Lolly? Why or why not.
o
o
d

r
e Strategy Focus: Ex tending the Text
a For this focus, you do not have to write anything down.
d All you need to do is think about it and be ready to share.
e
Sometimes a character in a story will remind you of someone that you know.
r
Does Lolly remind you of anyone that you know? How about Edward?
s

w Good readers will think abo ut what they are reading…

i
l
l What did Lolly do with Edward? Why do you think that she did that?

l
o

o

k

b Describe Ernest.
a
c
k

t
o In the tire below, describe what happened on Edward’s one hundred and eightieth day at
the dump?
t
h
e

b

o

o

k

t
o

f

i
n

d

a
n
s
w

e
r
s

t

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q

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s
… Wise Guys © 2012
Chapters 12-14

Why was Edward exhilarated while being held in the slobbery mouth of a dog (Lucy) being
chased by a mad man (Ernest- King of the dump)?

What did the man mean when he said to Lucy, “Rabbit pie is a true delight, one of the
pleasures of our existence- but the best chef in the world would be hard-pressed to make
him into a pie”?

Who was Bull and what was the name he gave Edward?

Strategy Focus: Extending the Text
For this focus, you do not have to write anything down.
All you need to do is think about it and be ready to share.

What name would you give to Edward?

Good readers will think abo ut what they are reading…

What did Edward do while Bull and Lucy slept?

Strategy Focus: Character’s Emotions
What feeling did Edward finally feel?

How did Bull dress Edward and what did he say to Edward when he was done?

Wise Guys © 2012
What happened to Edward at the end of Chapter Fourteen?

M

a
k
e
Strategy Focus: Character’s Emotions
a
What emotion did Edward want to show when he found himself looking up at the

l constellations, listening to the cricket?
i
s
t

i

n

y
o

u

r Strategy Focus: Making Connections

h Good readers will make connections to what they are reading to their own
e lives. In this story, Bull is a hobo who travels by train. If you were Bull, what
a would be the name of your train? Write this name on the car below. Color
d the train if you have time.

o

f

a

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l

o
f

t
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e

e
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t
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E
d
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a
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d

h Strategy Focus: Ex tending the Text
a For this focus, you do not have to write anything down.
s All you need to do is think about it and be ready to share.
f Do you think you could live the life of a hobo? If so, for how long?
a

c Good readers will think abo ut what they are reading…
e

d
…

Wise Guys © 2012