Characters
How does the main character get her name?
What is the name of the monastic order that the main character is raised by?
Mostly Silent Monastery
Discuss bicycle culture in The Adventures of a Girl Named Bicycle. Use examples from the book. Reasonable answers accepted.
Sample answer. When Bicycle begins riding, she notices how other riders nod to her and greet her and she says she feels like part of a group. She has a great interest in Zbig, a cycling hero, and meets several people who help her on the road and understand her need for food and to continue.
What Language does Bicycle learn on her trip?
Polish
Name three friends Bicycle has made by the end of the story.
Examples: Griffin. Jeremiah. Estrella, Chef Marie, Bord Tattoo, Carlos, The Cannibal, Fortune, Dr. Alvarado
Why does Bicycle think the woman in black is after her?
She thinks she wants her bike.
Perseverance means persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. How do you see Bicycle showing this trait? Reasonable answers accepted.
Bicycle pushes through very difficult situations and many miles across the US. She sets out on her own, she rides independently. She meets a ghost. She deals with her bike being destroyed. She deals with being tracked and chased, and using her own voice even when Sister Wanda catches up to her.
What genre is this book? Why did you classify it in that way? Reasonable answers accepted.
Adventure, Realistic Fiction. Fantasy
What single word does the head monk use to answer most questions directed towards him?
"Sandwich"
What happens to Bicycle when they climb the mountain?
She faints from heat stroke.
How does Clunk open Bicycle’s world outside the Monastery? How does it separate her from other children?
You must answer both. Reasonable answers accepted.
Sample: She is able to see the world and meet other adults, but her interests are out of touch with children her age.
What gift does Sister Wanda give to Bicycle before camp?
A book called Wheel Wisdom: Great Thoughts from Great Cyclists
Who does Bicycle meet in the loneliest town?
Dr. Luck Alvarado
What event is Bicycle trying to get to in San Francsisco?
The Blessing of the Bicycles
What is Bicycle’s idea of friendship – how is that different from what Sister Wanda thinks friendship is? Reasonable answers accepted.
Sample: Sister Wanda wants her to meet children her own age.
Bicycle is more interested in whomever comes across her path.
Who helps Bicycle set a trap for the woman in black?
Carlos and the kids from the ice cream shop
Who is Miss Monet-Grubbnck?
A representative of Molrania and the woman in black, who Bicycle thinks is trying to steal her bike.
What did Bicycle want to say in Polish to Zbig when she met him?
What did Bicycle really say to Zbig in Polish, when she met him?
(You must get both to get points)
Do you want to be friends?
Do you want to put a zebra up your nose?
When were there times that Bicycle felt homesick or lonely? How did she overcome those feelings? Reasonable answers accepted.
Sample: When she can't hear Griffin, she misses his company.
Camping alone in Manassas, VA she feels alone. Without Clunk, she she says the wrong thing to Zbig.
To Overcome: She sings to herself, she writes observations in her notebook, she makes words out of the names of states and cities.
What Instead of going to the café, how does Bicycle eat while in Utah?
The nutrition pellets from the bike.