Jody's Michigan Adventure Study Guides PDF
Jody's Michigan Adventure Study Guides PDF
Jody's Michigan Adventure Study Guides PDF
Study Guides
Because these books were designed for children 3-12, the narrative purpose is very
simple: to teach simple social studies to beginners, set in a child’s adventure story.
Some of the questions I propose are not answered in the text because understanding
the text supposes that the child already knows these things, like, the difference
between turquoise and cornflower blue.
Similarly, contrary to my books for older children, there are few issues to discuss
with your child in these books.
Book I: Holland
A. Social Studies Questions You Can Ask Your Child Based on the text. Since the
books are about specific areas in Michigan, it would be good to have a map of the
area handy.
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. What’s a narrator? Who is the narrator? (The narrator is the one who tells the story)
2. What does Kevin want to be when he grows up? What do you want to be
when you grow up?
3. Who suggests to Kevin that he write short histories about the places his
family visits? Do you think that’s a good idea? Would you like to do
that? If you wrote a good story about your family’s vacation, we would
publish it on www.booksforhomeschooling.com.
4. Who is Katie?
5. Who is Jody the Mouse?
6. What does Katie think Jody can do?
7. What does Katie want her brother to do?
8. How does Kevin feel about this idea?
9. What does their mother tell Kevin?
10.What does Kevin finally decide to do?
11. Does Kevin become an historian when he grows up?
12. What’s a novelist? (A novelist is someone who writes long make-believe stories for
young adults and grown-ups).What’s an historical novelist? (An historical novelist
is someone whose long, made-up stories are based on events that actually took place
in the past).
13. Why does the skunk want to eat Jody?
14. Why is Jody the worst mouse the skunk has ever tasted?
15. Why does the mouse think Katie is clever?
16. What does Katie do to Jody in Dutch Village? What does Katie do about
it? What does Mrs. Murphy do? What happens to Jody?
17. What does Mr. Murphy say when he hears Jody is drowning? Who
saves Jody?
19. What museums does Kevin visit? Why?
20. Who is Kevin’s favorite historical character? Why do you think he likes that
particular character?
21. Why does Mrs. Murphy make Katie promise to let her save Jody the
next time he falls in the water?
22. Why does Jody have mixed feelings about the cute baby raccoons?
23. Does Katie get a pair of wooden shoes? Why not?
24. How did Jody get to be the family’s official interpreter?
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. Who makes up the stories of Jody’s Michigan Adventures?
2. What does Kevin do in these books?
3. Who is Jody?
4. Whose story is the Frankenmuth tale?
5. Who is Schatzi? What does his German name mean in English?
6. Where do Jody and Schatzi go at 10 minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve? Why?
7. Who shows up in the chimney?
8. How old is Kevin? What is he getting for Christmas?
9. How old is Katie?
10. What does Santa do when he sees Jody and Schatzi?
11. What does Santa put in Schatzi’s stocking? What does he put in Jody’s
stocking? Why?
12. Where do the two friend sit down to eat?
13. While the friends are eating, what do they talk about?
14. In a book, a place where characters (book people) picture the past is a
“flashback.” What do Jody and Schatzi remember in their flashback?
15. How old was Kevin when the Murphys met Schatzi? How old was Katie
then?
16. What did Katie want to be when she grew up? What does she think
Kevin will become?
17. Does Katie think about paying Kevin to type up her stories? What does
Kevin tell her? Is he being fair?
18. Where does Katie leave Jody? Why does she leave him?
19. Who is Siegfried?
20. Who is Brunhilde?
21. Is Siegfried jealous of the Mouse King?
22. Why does the Mouse King laugh?
23. How does Brunhilde feel?
24. Why does Siegfried decide the Mouse King can have Brunhilde after
all?
35. Why doesn’t Katie notice that Jody is missing? Where does she go with
her family? Where do Jody, Schatzi, and Siegfried go?
36. Why do Brunhilde and Siegfried argue at the clock tower?
37. Why does Katie think the Bavarian Inn is a real castle?
38. What happens to Siegfried?
39. Why does Schatzi shudder?
40. When does Katie think about Jody? Where does she go before she finds
him?
41. How does Jody feel when Katie finds him?
42. Why does Katie’s father buy Schatzi?
43. What’s Mr. Murphy’s favorite store?
44. What assignment does Katie give Kevin in the van? What does she do?
Why does Kevin want to go to Bavaria?
45. What makes this a wonderful Christmas for Jody?
46. Why does Kevin have nightmares? What does he dream about?
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. When does the story start?
2. Why are Katie and Kevin sitting by the fire? What do they talk about?
3. Whose idea is it to write the story? Why does Katie need to talk to Jody
and Mich before she tells Kevin about her version of their trip to
Mackinac?
4. What does Kevin think of Jody? Where’s Mich from? Why does Mich
say “Fire away!”?
5. Why does Katie think Jody and Mich are being mean to each other?
6. Why did Katie’s father have to wring the turtle out?
7. How does Mich end up on the floor after he talks about the Mackinac
Bridge?
8. What does Jody remember about the Island?
9. In what way was the trip hard on Mich?
10. Why doesn’t Katie want to ask Kevin the details about their trip to
Mackinac?
11. Does Mich want to help her? Why not? Why can’t she ask Jody? Who
tells the rest of the story?
12. Where is the fort?
13. What’s a bluff?
14. What does Katie want to visit?
15. What happens to Mich while they are watching the fudge maker? What
does the fudge maker say?
16. What does Mrs. Murphy do?
17. What does Mr. Murphy say? Is he right? What does Katie do?
18. What does Mrs. Murphy do with Mich?
19. What becomes of Katie? What do Kevin and his father do? Is Katie a
helpless little thing?
20. How long does it take to bike all around the island?
21. Why is Kevin’s stomach knotted up?
22. What do Kevin and his father decide to do when they don’t find Katie by
bike? What do they find at the stable? What does Kevin think of his
sister’s bike? Does Katie know how to ride horseback? Why are
Kevin and his father puzzled? Why does Mr. Murphy call the police?
23. What do Kevin and his father see over the cliff at Arch Rock?
24. Why does Mr. Murphy cry? Why is Mrs. Murphy crying? How does
Kevin feel?
25. Where is Katie? Who is Walter? Who called the police about Katie?
26. How did Katie manage to go for a ride?
27. What language does Mich speak?
28. How does Kevin feel when Katie is safe? Why?
29. Why is a time out a torture for Katie?
30. Is Katie all grown up by the time Kevin reads her his story two years
later? How do you know?
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. Where do the Murphy’s go to dine?
2. Who is Jody? Who is Gilbert? Who is Katie? Who is Kevin?
3. Is it good manners to slurp your soup?
4. When Gilbert sees the organ grinder on Monroe Street, the monkey
causes him to have a flashback (i.e. to think about something that
happened a while ago). What is the flashback (i.e., Gilbert’s memory)
about?
5. Why did Gilbert choose the Mongolian Restaurant? Does he like his
dinner? Why not?
6. What did Gilbert do to Kevin’s Samurai Warrior kite? Do you think Katie
had anything to do with that?
7. How does Gilbert dress to fly the kite?
8. What did the family do before going home that day?
9. Why does the Harambee ape laugh at Gilbert?
10. Where is Katie?
11. What’s the ape’s name? And his short name?
12. Why doesn’t Jody want the ape to think Gilbert is his friend? Did you
ever feel that way about someone you know?
13. What is the frog wearing? Why?
14. What does the ape say to Gilbert?
15. What does Gilbert think of Mac? Why?
16. What does Jody do? Does he accept Mac’s invitation?
17. Where does Mac take Gilbert?
18. What does the big ape think of Gilbert do you suppose?
19. What do the apes do with Gilbert?
20. Why does the big ape spit?
21. What saves Gilbert?
22. Why is Gilbert afraid of the monkey in Greektown?
23. What does Mrs. Murphy think of Casinos and gambling? What do you
think? Why is Gilbert disappointed not to be able to go to the
Casino?
24. Who is Mary?
25. How many stories does the Westin Hotel have? Why does Gilbert get
dizzy?
26. What do Kevin and his father discuss at the Westin Hotel?
27. What part of Greenfield Village does Katie like the best?
28. Why is Gilbert disappointed?
29. Why does Katie feel like a medieval person when she goes to Christ
Church at Cranbrook on Christmas Eve?
30. What happens to Gilbert?
31. Why does Kevin type Katie’s story?
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. What was “crazy” about the previous summer for Kevin?
2. What does Elliot want to be when he grows up?
3. Of whom does he remind Kevin?
4. Where does Elliot live?
5. Who is Vernabelle? Where does she come from?
6. Where is Elliot when he yells “Hey look at me!” What’s he doing there?
7. What happens to the glider?
8. Why does Vernabelle cover her eyes?
9. Is Elliot inside the byplane? Where is Elliot?
10. Why is Elliot wearing a suit? Why does Elliot pull on his eyebrows?
11. Why do Kevin and Elliot want to go to the Henry Ford Museum?
12. Why does Katie want to bring her friend, Jihan?
13. Why does Kevin suggest Katie and Jihan go to the village while he goes
to the museum? Does Katie like the idea? Why?
14. What does she promise Vernabelle? Why? Why does Vernabelle cry?
15. How will they get to Dearborn where the museum is?
16. How is Elliot like Thomas Edison?
17. Why does Jihan want to visit Washington Carver’s first home and the
Hermitage Slave houses?
18. What do the girls plan to see?
19. What does Vernabelle want to do? What does Jody want to do?
20. How did Jihan learn so much about Luther Burbank?
21. How did most of the buildings get to Greenfield Village?
22. Why is Jihan angry when she sees the Hermitage Slave houses? What
does Jody tell her?
23. What did Katie and Jihan miss seeing that Kevin thinks was essential?
24. What’s the terrible crash that Katie and Kevin see two weeks later?
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. Where does the story begin? Where is that exactly on the map?
2. Who is Willie the Wolf? Why is Jody scared of him? Why does Jody
sleep with one eye open?
3. What time is it when Kevin goes to the beach?
4. What does Katie see on the beach?
5. What makes the waves look like lace do you think?
6. What kind of footprints does Kevin’s father find next to Katie’s?
7. Why do the tracks next to Katie’s prints only show one footprint instead
of two or four?
8. Where does Kevin’s father go?
9. Why does Kevin get a lump in his throat?
10. What does Kevin find in the middle of the path? What does Kevin think
it is? Who does he meet? What does Katie tell him about the “little
dog”?
11. What does Katie want to do with the “little dog”?
12. What does the “little dog” do when Kevin takes Katie back to the beach?
13. Where does the “little dog” settle in? Is it really a “little dog”? What is
it?
14. Why is Jody hiding under the seat in the van when Kevin goes back for
his sunglasses?
15. Why does Mrs. Murphy scream?
16. What does Katie call the fox? What does Kevin think of the name?
Why?
17. What does Mr. Murphy do with the fox? What does Katie do
afterwards?
18. Where do they have a picnic?
19. Why does Jody complain about the dunes?
20. Does Kevin want to do more hiking when they get back to camp? What
about Mr. Murphy?
21. Who is sleeping in Katie’s sleeping bag?
22. What does Katie finally agree to do with Fluffy?
23. What does Mr. Murphy have planned for the next two days?
24. What has Fluffy done to the van?
25. What does the Murphy family do while Mr. Murphy goes to get the van
fixed? What might they have done if it hadn’t been for Fluffy?
26. What does Kevin say to Katie? Where do they go next? Are they having fun?
27. Why does Jody want to take a correspondence course in Kung Fu? What
is a correspondence course?
B. And here are some literary questions you can have your child answer:
1. When does the story take place?
2. What are Kevin and Katie drinking? What does Kevin think about the summer?
What does Katie think?
3. How does Kevin feel? What does Kevin want?
4. What does Katie remember? Why is this called a flashback in literature?
(Hint: flash + back: to flash back to the past, like a camera’s flash illuminating the
dark).
5. How does Kevin remember the trip?
6. What did Katie pester their father for?
7. What does Katie remember as the best part of the trip? Why?
8. Why did Alfred get to stay in the car?
9. What happens to Jody?
10. What does Kevin like the best?
11. Why does Mrs. Murphy laugh when Katie suggests spending their
vacation at Taquamenon?
12. Why does Katie rush away?
13. What does Jody think about going to Taquamenon? Does Mitch want to go? Why
not?
14. Does Katie get any more toys? Why not?
15. Why does Katie think Kevin is boring?
16. Why does Katie like Kitch-iti-kipi?
17. What does Katie see at the edge of Kitch-iti-kipi?
18. Why is Kevin scared?
19. What happens to Jody? What do Mr. and Mrs. Murphy do?
20. Why does Katie miss Jody so much and care so little for Alfred? (hint: Alfred
doesn't communicate),
21. What does Mrs. Murphy tell Katie about Alfred?
22. Why does Mr. Murphy want to know about the Italian settlers?
23. What is Katie’s dream about?
24. Why is the little bear a Yooper?
25. Katie’s mother says it was just a bad dream. What does Katie say? What happens
because of her dream?
26. Why did Katie think the porcupine was a Wookie?
27. What does Katie want to do when she finds out why the porcupine throws his quills?
Would that have been a good idea?
28. Was there real gold at Grand Portal Point, do you think?
29. Why does Alfred finally speak?