How
much do you know about tigers? In Heart
of a Tiger, you can read about one courageous
tiger. Decide whether these statements are fact
or fiction!
1. Tigers hunt by running after their prey.
2. Tigers dislike water and travel miles
to avoid it.
3. Tigers like to eat grass.
4. The tiger's forehead often has black
marks which look like the Chinese characters for king.
5. The word for a group of tigers is a
herd.
How many did you get right? Look at the
answers to check!
Pumpkins: Fact or Fiction
Joshua
Summerhayes, in The
Pumpkin Runner, knew his pumpkins.
Do you?
1. Pumpkins range in size from less than
a pound to over 1,000 pounds.
2. Pumpkins originated in Australia.
3. Pumpkins were once recommended for removing
freckles and curing snake bites.
4. In colonial days, pumpkins were used
as an ingredient for the crust of pie, rather than the
filling.
5. Pumpkins are 50% water.
6. Native Americans flattened strips of
pumpkins, dried
them, and used them to make mats.
How many did you get right? Look at the
answers to check!
Tricky
Trivia
Tricky Trivia about Marsha Diane Arnold's
books:
1. Sophie LeBeque was:
A) the winner of the Koala-K Race
B) someone who loved to trade things
C) the fanciest cat in Paris
D) afraid of storm cellars
2. On Naming Day, Little Four wanted to
name himself after:
A) Big Bear
B) Beautiful Bengal
C) Old Peddler Jack
D) Nathaniel Hopkins
3. Joshua Summerhayes liked to eat:
A) smashed bananas in the hair
B) berries
C) fresh trout
D) pumpkins
4. Quack liked to:
A) play games
B) bang on pots and pans
C) worry about Big Bear
D) stare into the forest
5. Ruby Jane was:
A) lost in the Paris Metro
B) afraid of most everything
C) always dancing on logs
D) the bravest of us all
How many did you get right? Look at the
answers to check!
back to top
Cryptograms
A cryptogram is a way of communicating in
code…a secret code. It could be a phrase or sentence
made up of letters that represent OTHER letters. In the
cryptogram below, no letter represents more than one other
letter.
1. Can you solve this skunky quiz?
Vgzs vhkk h cn he ahf adzq bnldr?
2. Now try this one. It's something I hope you will remember.
Wms fytc y fcypr rfyr ugjj epmu gl ugqbmk
ylb nmucp yq wms epmu.
How many did you get right? Look at the
answers to check!
back to top
Real
Questions from Real Kids
"What did you want to be besides
an author?" Mary asks.
Actually, I was never sure what I wanted to be when I
grew up. I'm still not sure! I studied in college to be
a teacher. I've never taught full time, but I have worked
in a variety of ways at schools.
When I was younger, I had dreams of working with animals.
I think I would have been very happy studying and photographing
animals in the wild. As a young woman, I volunteered with
animal care centers that cared for injured wildlife. I
helped feed sick elephant seals, owls, hawks, and mice.
"Can children write books?"
asks Madison.
Absolutely! Some children have had their stories published
as books!
You might want to look at the magazine, Stone Soup,
or the website stonesoup.com. This is a magazine that's
written by young writers and artists. Maybe you could
send them one of your stories or drawings. Before I had
a book published, I wrote a number of stories for magazines.
This is what I think might help you, if you want to write
a book:
1. Read the best books you can find. Read lots of them!
2. Write, then write again!
3. Read your writing out loud. Sometimes, read your favorite
books out loud. This will help you feel the rhythm of
words. The best writing has a flow to it, a rhythm, just
like music.
4. Stop what you are doing every so often and observe
things around you. Usually, writers are very good observers.
They pay attention to the details of life.
5. Decide what you want to do, and keep working toward
that vision.
6. Remember that whether your story is published or not,
you have learned about what you've written about and a
lot about yourself. Learning about yourself and how unique
you are is very important.
How do you get your books famous?
This great question was asked by a young boy at one of
my school visits. (I'm sorry I don't know your name!)
The answer to your question is, "Boy! I wish I knew!"
There is so much that goes into getting a book well-known.
I am just learning myself what some of these things are.
First, it helps a lot if your publisher tells bookstores
and libraries and newspapers and other people about your
book.
It also helps for the author to visit libraries, bookstores,
teacher and librarian conferences, and schools. The author
can share the story with others and tell them how it came
to be written.
I think it's important that the book is a good book—that
it makes you laugh or cry or want to learn more about
something.
A little bit of luck is always nice too!
"When will you start writing
a chapter book? I want to read it?" Ricky asks.
Truth be told, I've started three chapter books! I just
can't seem to finish them.
One of my chapter books has only two more chapters that
need to be written.
My fantasy novel has four chapters finished, but I don't
know what's going to happen next!
Another novel is just getting started. It's in my head,
simmering, like a pot of stew getting ready to boil, and
I'm collecting thoughts and information in a file.
I'm setting aside time this August to work
on my fantasy novel. I started it 10 years ago, so I think
I'd better get busy!
back to top
Answers to Tigers:
Fact or Fiction
1. Tigers hunt by running after their
prey.
(Fiction. Tigers hunt by stalking or sneaking up on their
prey. Also, tigers hunt alone. Hunting in a pack, as cheetahs
do, would be hard in thick forests and grasslands where
tigers live.)
2. Tigers dislike water and travel miles
to avoid it.
(Fiction. Tigers like to take cool baths in ponds and
rivers. They are very good swimmers.)
3. Tigers like to eat grass.
(Fact. Tigers are carnivores, but like domestic house
cats, tigers also eat grass, presumably for its digestive
and medicinal benefits.)
4. The tiger's forehead often has black
marks which look like the Chinese word (mark) for king.
(Fact.)
5. The word for a group of tigers is
a herd.
(Fiction. The word for a group of tigers is a streak.)
back to top
Answers to Pumpkins:
Fact or Fiction
1. Pumpkins range in size from less than
a pound to over 1,000 pounds.
(Fact)
2. Pumpkins originated in Australia.
(Fiction. They originated in Central America.)
3. Pumpkins were once recommended for
removing freckles and curing snake bites.
(Fact)
4. In colonial days, pumpkins were used
as an ingredient for the crust of pie, rather than the
filling.
(Fact)
5. Pumpkins are 50% water.
(Fiction. They are 90% water.)
6. Native Americans flattened strips
of pumpkins, dried them, and used them to make mats.
(Fact)
back to top
Answers to
Tricky Trivia
1. C. Sophie LeBeque was the Cover Cat for
Fancy Cat magazine.
(Joshua Summerhayes in The Pumpkin Runner was the
winner of the Koala-K race.)
(Evelyn J. in Edward G. and the Beautiful Pink Hairbow
loved to trade things.)
(Velma Jean in The Bravest of Us All was afraid
of storm cellars.)
2. B. Little Four in Heart of a Tiger
wanted to give himself a name like Beautiful Bengal, the
magnificent Bengal tiger.
(Big Bear is a character in The Tail
of Little Skunk.)
(Old Peddler Jack was a minor character in The Bravest
of Us All.)
(Nathaniel Hopkins is the main character in The Chicken
Salad Club.)
3. D. Joshua Summerhayes liked sun-filled
pumpkins and thought they gave him energy to run.
(I don't think ANYONE likes to eat smashed bananas in
the hair! But smashing bananas in other people's hair
is what Edward G. liked to do in Edward G. and the
Beautiful Pink Hairbow.)
(Quack liked to eat berries in Quick, Quack, Quick.)
(Sophie LeBeque, in Metro Cat, liked to eat fresh
trout for breakfast.)
4. A. Quack loved to play games around
a hollow log.
(Edward G., in Edward G. and the Beautiful Pink Hairbow,
liked to bang his mom's pots and pans.)
(I doubt if Little Skunk from The Tail of Little Skunk
enjoyed worrying about Big Bear, but that's what he did…all
the time!)
(Little Four in Heart of a Tiger stared into the
forest searching for sight of the Bengal Tiger.)
4. B. This is really tricky! Ruby Jane called
herself "afraid of most everything". She said
her sister Velma Jean was "the bravest of us all".
But at the end of the story, we see that Ruby Jane is
very brave. Still, I'd choose B as more correct than D.
(Sophie LeBeque is lost in the Paris Metro in Metro
Cat.)
(Quack in Quick, Quack, Quick dances on logs.)
(Velma Jean in The Bravest of Us All is herself
"the bravest of us all"!)
back to top
Answers
to Cryptograms
Look at the alphabet:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t
u v w x y z
1. If you move each of the letters in the
first quiz one letter to the right in the alphabet, you'll
have the answer!
What will I do if big bear comes? from The
Tail of Little Skunk
2. If you move each of the letters in the
second quiz two letters to the right in the alphabet,
you'll have the answer!
"You have a heart that will grow in
wisdom and power as you grow." from Heart of a
Tiger
back to top
