Characters
Who helped Holling with his running?
Mrs. Baker
Why does Holling have to spend Wednesdays with Mrs. Baker?
He is Presbyterian, so he doesn't go to CCD or Hebrew school on Wednesday afternoons like the rest of his class.
What happened to Mrs. Bigio's husband?
He was missing in action - when they found him he was dead.
What play did Mrs. Baker assign Holling in February that he thought was “stupid”?
Romeo and Juliet
Holling had the best time during the track team try-outs. Why?
The rats were chasing him so he ran really fast.
Who is the girl in Holling's class who is from Vietnam?
Mai Thi
Why is Mr. Hoodhood unsympathetic to Holling’s feelings that Mrs. Baker hates him?
He wants Holling to butter her up so that he gets the architect contract to re-do the Baker Sporting Emporium.
Holling is not in the holiday spirit because he has to play Ariel. Why is he upset about this?
Ariel is a fairy and the costume is yellow tights with feathers on the rear end.
When he leaves school on that snowy day, what heroic thing does Holling do?
He sees that his sister is going to be hit by a sliding bus and he pushes her out of the way, getting hit himself.
How did Mrs. Baker know so much about running track?
She was an Olympic runner in the 1957 Melbourne Olympics.
What were Mrs. Baker's rats called?
Sycorax and Caliban
At the end of September, what do we find out about Mrs. Baker that has her preoccupied?
Her husband has to fight in the Vietnam War.
Mrs. Baker was very obviously scared of the rats. Why did she keep them?
They were a gift from her husband Tybalt Baker (and she missed him).
Why did Mrs. Baker rush out of the classroom when she got the first telegram?
The telegram said that her husband was missing in action and she was so upset.
Even though Mai Thi was not scared of the rats, the discrimination she had to deal with was heating up. What were people doing that really hurt her?
Teasing her by saying Vietnamese people ate rats.
When the rats fell from the ceiling, who were the only ones who weren't scared?
Mai Thi and Mrs. Sidman
How were the cream puffs for the Wives of Vietnam ruined?
Chalk dust covered them like powdered sugar.
Why did Meryl Lee step on Holling's foot in Chorus class?
Miss Violet embarrassed her by saying that she was flirting with Holling.
In March, the Hoodhood family tunes in to the Evening news with Walter Cronkite even more so than normal. How is Vietnam war going?
Very poorly - particularly in Khesanh where Mr Baker had been. 5000 marines were surrounded by Vietcong troops.
Whose death was the only thing to bring Mr. Hoodhood and Holling's sister together? (He didn't make her come down to supper, and they were both very quiet).
Martin Luther King Jr.
Eventually, the teasing got to poor Mai Thi and she began to cry. Who came to her rescue?
Danny Hupfer
Why was Mr. Hoodhood mad at his daughter in October, when she came downstairs for dinner?
She had a yellow flower painted on her cheek (she wanted to be a flower child and protest the war.)
Why was the Catholic Relief Agency where Mai Thi lives vandalized with the words, "Go home Viet Cong?"
People were angry at the Vietnamese people and took it out on Mai Thi even though she is just a little girl.
Holling didn't have much money, but he wanted to take Meryl Lee out for Valentines day. How did he manage to take her out?
Mrs. Bigio heard that he needed a way to take Meryl Lee out so she gave him her season tickets to the theatre.
During Atomic Bomb Awareness month, what do the kids have to do?
Practice hiding under their desks in case an Atomic Bomb is dropped on them.