Chapter 1: Zombie Eyes
Charlie Hitchcock was the smartest kid at Blackstone Middle School. Tyler Yu was the most feared because of his temper, his muscles, and the scowl he always wore. Although they were both in the seventh grade, they had never spoken to each other at school. But together they had solved an impossible mystery a few days ago.
This afternoon they stood once more in the vast, shadowy lobby of the Abracadabra Hotel, where Tyler lived with his parents. They were back at the Abracadabra to solve another mystery: Tyler was sure the hotel was being haunted by a ghost. Outside the building, an October thunderstorm crashed and boomed. Lighting flashed, lighting up the giant painting that hung on the lobby wall. The man in the painting was a magician, Abracadabra himself, the founder of the hotel. He was tall and skinny, with a thin black mustache ending in two enormous spirals. The lightning reflected off his dark, shiny eyes. Zombie eyes, thought Charlie.
Tyler glanced over and asked, “You’re not spooked, are you, Hitch?”
Charlie put his hands in his pockets. “Oh no,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I’m standing in an empty lobby in a creepy hotel in the middle of a thunderstorm, and you just told me that there’s a ghost floating around here. Why should I be spooked?”
He turned and looked out the hotel’s glass doors. Sheets of rain fell on the street and sidewalk. “I’m going to get soaked when I go home,” he said.
“When did you tell your parents you’d be home?” asked Tyler.
“Uh, I didn’t say,” Charlie said.
“Good,” said Tyler. “Come on. I’ll show you the room where the ghost struck first.”
“But why do you think it’s a ghost?” asked Charlie. “I mean, did someone see a spirit or something?”
“It’s because of the voice,” said Tyler.
“Voice?” Charlie repeated. Without meaning to, he shivered. He hoped Tyler didn’t notice.
“And because of stuff disappearing,” said Ty. “And because of what Mr. Thursday said.”
Why did I let myself get dragged into another mystery with Ty? wondered Charlie.
“My mom doesn’t believe in ghosts,” said Ty. “She thinks I’m making up excuses for not wanting to go up to the ninth floor.”
___
Adapted from To Catch a Ghost, by Michael Dahl, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
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Who is telling this story?
A narrator who is not in the story
Abracadabra
Charlie
Tyler
A narrator who is not in the story
Which statement best describes a difference between Tyler and the narrator?
Tyler thinks ghosts are made up, but the narrator believes they are real.
Tyler wants to search for a ghost, but the narrator does not share their own opinion.
The narrator wants to search for a ghost, but Tyler does not share their own opinion.
The narrator is a character named Charlie, and Tyler is another character in the story.
Tyler wants to search for a ghost, but the narrator does not share their own opinion.
Two hundred years ago there lived in Boston a little boy whose name was Benjamin Franklin. On the day that he was seven years old, his mother gave him a few pennies.
He looked at the bright copper pieces and said, “What shall I do with these, mother?”
It was the first money that he had ever had.
“You may buy something, if you wish,” said his mother.
“And then will you give me more?” he asked.
His mother shook her head and said: “No, Benjamin. I cannot give you any more. So you must be careful not to spend these foolishly.”
He ran into the street and heard the pennies jingle in his pocket. How rich he was!
Boston is now a great city, but at that time it was only a little town. There were not many stores. As Benjamin ran down the street, he wondered what he should buy. Should he buy candy? He hardly knew how it tasted. Should he buy a pretty toy?
He had not gone far when he met a larger boy, who was blowing a whistle.
“I wish I had that whistle,” he said.
The big boy looked at him and blew it again. Oh, what a pretty sound it made!
“I have some pennies,” said Benjamin. He held them in his hand, and showed them to the boy. “You may have them, if you will give me the whistle.”
“All of them?” asked the boy.
“Yes, all of them,” replied Benjamin.
“Well, it’s a bargain,” said the boy. He gave the whistle to Benjamin and took the pennies.
Little Benjamin Franklin was very happy; for he was only seven years old. He ran home as fast as he could, blowing the whistle as he ran.
“See, Mother,” he said, “I have bought a whistle.”
“How much did you pay for it?” his mother asked.
“All the pennies you gave me,” replied Benjamin.
“Oh, Benjamin!” his mother said.
One of his brothers asked to see the whistle.
“Well, well!” he said. “You’ve paid a dear price for this thing. It’s only a penny whistle, and a poor one at that.”
“You might have bought half a dozen such whistles with the money I gave you,” said his mother.
The little boy saw what a mistake he had made. The whistle did not please him any more. He threw it upon the floor and began to cry.
___
Adapted from “The Whistle,” by James Baldwin, Public domain.
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Who is telling the story?
A narrator who is not in the story
Benjamin
Benjamin’s mother
Benjamin’s brother
A narrator who is not in the story
Which statement best describes the difference between what Benjamin and the narrator think about the whistle by the end of the story?
Benjamin thinks he paid too much money, but the narrator thinks it was a bargain.
Benjamin thinks he paid too much money, but the narrator does not share their own opinion.
Both Benjamin and the narrator think the whistle was a great bargain.
Both Benjamin and the narrator are upset that they paid too much money for the whistle.
Benjamin thinks he paid too much money, but the narrator does not share their own opinion.
Chapter 1: Purple in the Face
I’m Alfie Wolfe, and I’m here to tell you all about Gracie the Fighting Machine. I mean, Gracie the golden retriever. Sure she acts nice, calm, and quiet when you first meet her. But watch your back. If you turn on her, she’ll turn on you! she’ll bark and snarl and leap at you, teeth first. She might even draw blood if you’re not careful!
Gracie reminds me of my sister. Sometimes Alfreeda acts like Top Fight Picker of the World! She gets super crabby when she’s tired or sick or hungry. Then it doesn’t matter what I do—it bugs her. If I don’t do everything totally right, she goes on and on about it. (Okay, I admit: I get crabby sometimes too. Mostly when I don’t get to play enough with the dogs or with my friends.)
Anyhow, this story isn’t about my sister. Well, not totally. It’s about Gracie—and her little sister, Twinkles the pug. Their human mom, Doris, calls them her “baby girls.” So we call them sisters.
I first met Gracie and Twinkles last year. Last July to be exact. A crazy-busy weekend at our dog hotel to be super exact. Our Uncle Robert brought them over that Saturday morning. The dog’s owner, Doris, was Uncle Robert’s new girlfriend. We hadn’t even met Doris yet.
The kennels were booked solid that weekend. Mom, Alfreeda, and I had been working like dogs for two days straight. Our workdays were super long. They started before Spot, our rooster, even crowed. Then we worked until midnight!
My dad couldn’t help in the kennels. He was up North again, studying wolves in the wilderness. Normally, running a dog hotel meant lots of fun. But we were so busy that there was just tons of work taking care of those dogs. I couldn’t wait to have some actual fun with them.
At about nine o’clock that Saturday morning, we were knocking through a long list of chores. Alfreeda was sitting on the floor inside pen seven. “Hurry up!” she snapped at me then yawned real wide. Her droopy eyes were half closed. I yawned right back at her and headed into pen seven . . .
___
Adapted from Growling Gracie, by Shelley Swanson Sateren, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
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Who is telling the story?
Alfie Wolfe
Alfreeda Wolfe
Gracie the Fighting Machine
Twinkles the pug
Alfie Wolfe
What is Alfie’s opinion of Gracie the Fighting Machine?
She is a calm, loving dog.
She is mean and sneaky.
She should live at the dog hotel.
She needs to go on more walks.