Backstory
Where did Max and Kevin first meet?
Daycare
When Kenny first abducted Max, where did he take him?
the Testaments
When Max doesn’t know a word, what does Kevin make him do?
look up the word in the dictionary
Provide two examples of ways that Kenny Kane treats Max more like a prisoner than a son.
ties him up; forces him into the basement
Why doesn’t Max want to write down the adventures of Freak the Mighty? How does Kevin giving Max the blank book encourage Max to try? Use RACES to explain your answer.
Students need to include a detail about Max not thinking he is smart and Freak encouraging him. Ideal detail about the words being like talking or Freak making Max try something new.
What is an ornithopter?
a mechanical bird
Kevin’s father left his mother when...
Kevin was found to have a birth defect
What does the word divulged mean as used in the sentence, “Now swear on your heart that the data you are about to receive will be divulged to no one”?
shared
Grim calls Kenny Kane “an accident of nature.” Explain what this phrase means and how it applies to Kenny Kane.
It means that “normal” people aren’t murderers like Kenny Kane is.
Why does Kevin call his mom the Fair Gwen?
It is a reference to a character from The Legends of King Arthur.
Why did Max’s father tie him up?
He didn’t trust his own son.
Several times throughout the story the author misspells the word god as gawd. Why would the author purposely misspell a word?
It shows the reader how a character sounded when s(he) said the word.
In many ways Kevin and Max are opposites. Describe two ways they are opposite of each other and how it helps to “complete” Freak the Mighty.
Kevin is short and Max is tall. Max provides the height and muscle in the Freak the Mighty team. Max doesn’t think he has a brain and Kevin is very intelligent. Kevin provides the brains in the Freak the Mighty team.
Why did the Fair Gwen invite Kevin over for dinner?
A. She wanted to apologize to Kevin for the way she acted toward him.
B. Kevin and Max were working on a school project together.
C. Grim and Gram had invited Kevin over for dinner, so she was just being polite.
D. It was Thanksgiving.
Contrast Iggy’s behavior towards Max when he was with Kevin, to his behavior towards Max when he was with his father. Infer why Iggy acted differently in the two situations.
Various acceptable answers must compare AND contrast
What does the idiom “spitting image of your old man” mean?
Max and his father have the same physical characteristics.
When Kenny Kane tries to kill Loretta Lee, Max remembers something important from his past. Describe what he remembers. Then, explain the connection between Loretta Lee’s attempted murder and what Max remembered.
He Remembers that his dad killed his mother. His mother was killed in the same way that Loretta Lee is being attacked
What event sparked the partnership of Freak the Mighty?
They were celebrating the 4th of July, enjoying the fireworks and trying to escape from Tony D.
The author doesn’t tell us much about Max’s dad in the first half of the book. He only gives us hints about him. Explain what effect this has on the reader. Why would the author do this?
Various acceptable answers
The author describes Iggy’s beard as, “...a beard that looks like it’s made out of red barbed wire.” What idea is the author trying to convey about Iggy?
He is tough and scary.
By the end of the novel Kevin has helped Max change and develop as a character. Provide one example of how Max developed as a character and explain Kevin’s role in his development.
Max realized that he was smarter than he thought and gained self-confidence. Kevin helped with this by helping Max expand vocabulary and showing him that he could handle gifted classes in school.