IMPORTANT: Comprehension questions will be in chronological order as you read through the story. Page numbers are approximate, and will vary with different editions of the book.
Section 1: How It Started-Day One
Vocabulary
- astonish: to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise
- extraordinary: so unusual as to be remarkable
- hollow: an unfilled space
- peculiar: different from the usual or normal
- seminary: a school for the training of priests, ministers, or rabbis
- whittle: a large knife; to shape by cutting or shaving off chips from wood; to wear oneself or another out with fretting
- wonder: something extraordinary; to feel surprise or amazement; a feeling caused by something extraordinary
Vocabulary Sentences
- Emily will astonish her mother by cleaning the entire house before she returns home from doing errands.
- Hudson will never forget the extraordinary moment when everyone applauded him for reciting the Gettysburg Address from memory.
- The boys begged their dad to teach them how to whittle a bar of soap into the shape of a fish.
- Inside the hollow log slept a bunny with all her babies.
- Emerson is thrilled to have completed all his seminary courses so that he can now become a Jewish rabbi.
Comprehension Questions
- Aunt Pretty tells Eben to wake up and see the world. (pg. 2)
- Eben is reading about the Seven Wonders of the World. (pg. 4)
- Aunt Pretty says that they have the wash hanging on the line every Monday and they could call it the Hanging Laundry of Sassafrass Springs. (pg. 5)
- Eben says he spends so much time thinking about foreign places because someday he is going to see them. (pg. 7)
- Eben’s book says that a Wonder is “a marvel; that which arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration.” (pg. 9)
- Pa offers to buy Eben a ticket to Colorado if he finds Seven Wonders in Sassafras Springs. (pg. 10)
- Eben plans to look for Wonders by going up one country lane and down the next until he covers all of Sassafrass Springs. (pg. 14)
- Pa gave Eben a break from chores, which he counts as a Wonder. (pg. 14)
- Jeb can’t accompany Eben on his search for Wonders because he is taking care of his siblings. (pg. 18)
- Eben recalls a verse that says, “He that seeketh findeth” and another part that says, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” (pg. 18-19)
- When she was a little girl, Mrs. Pritchard sometimes received an orange, a peppermint stick, a new pair of socks, or an embroidered handkerchief for Christmas. (pg. 27)
- When she wakes up on Christmas morning, the first thing Mrs. Pritchard sees is her stocking with her very own baby doll, Miss Zeldy. (pg. 29)
- Eben’s first Wonder is Mrs. Pritchard’s doll because it helped saved her life when she was a sick little girl. (pg. 32)
Section 2: Day Two-Day Three Continued
Vocabulary
- abrupt: to happen without warning
- bedraggled: limp, wet, or dirty from rain or mud
- gingerly: very cautious or careful
- hardscrabble: having poor soil; getting a meager living from poor soil; having harsh and difficult conditions because of poverty
- marvel: one that causes wonder or astonishment; to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity
- perturb: to cause to be worried or upset
- skedaddle: run away, scram; to flee in a panic
Vocabulary Sentences
- The class came to an abrupt end when someone accidentally set off the fire alarm.
- Camille walked gingerly down the street, making sure there were no stray dogs nearby.
- Garrett knows he will marvel at the lunar eclipse tonight.
- Their dog Rover entered the house bedraggled after getting caught in the downpour.
- The hardscrabble farmer couldn’t figure out how to improve the soil to make his harvest more bountiful.
Comprehension Questions
- Eben thinks about the faraway mountain in Silver Peak, Colorado, while he is weeding corn. (pg. 36)
- The Saylor house has curlicues and fancy trim, a fine porch that curved all around the house, and a big sleeping porch upstairs. (pg. 38)
- No one wants to hire Cully as a handyman because his own house is about to cave in. (pg. 45)
- Eben’s second Wonder is Cully’s bookcase because it held the secrets of the universe, saved a man’s life, and is still holding up Cully’s house. (pg. 60)
- Holt Nickerson rode his horse while he was asleep with his eyes open, and no one ever saw him again. (pg. 67)
- Jeb doesn’t want to travel the world with Eben because his parents want him to take care of their farm some day. (pg. 71)
- On his way to the general store, Eben sees Albert Bowie, his brother Vern, and Rae Ellen. (pg. 76)
- Eben feels in a spot because he isn’t sure what Rae Ellen told her and because he didn’t want to be seen walking with a girl. (pg. 80)
- Hiram Yount tells Eben that his pa just sent a letter to Colorado yesterday. (pg. 81)
- Eben hears Calvin Smiley playing music a handsaw and a fiddler’s bow. (pg. 84-85)
- Calvin Smiley had gotten rid of the grasshoppers by playing music on his saw. (pg. 90)
- Eben’s third Wonder is Calvin Smiley’s saw. (pg. 92)
Section 3: Day Four-Days Six and Seven
Vocabulary
- beckon: to summon or signal typically with a wave or nod; to appear inviting
- congregate: to come together into a group, crowd, or assembly
- culprit: one guilty of a crime or a fault
- nuisance: one that is annoying, unpleasant, or obnoxious
- quench: to put out the light or fire of; to cause to lose heat or warmth
- rambunctious: uncontrolled in a way that is playful or full of energy
- tally: to list or check off by items; to make a count on
Vocabulary Sentences
- The rambunctious child hung upside down in her seat while waiting to be called in to see the dentist.
- The kids like to congregate near the ice cream store, hoping for a free sample.
- The elderly woman shouted at the culprit who was running away with her purse.
- The plate of warm chocolate chip cookies will beckon each family member into the kitchen.
- The fly became a nuisance when it landed on my food!
Comprehension Questions
- Junior Watkins shows Eben his egg. (pg. 98)
- Aunt Pretty has Eben take chicken and peaches to the Rowans’. (pg. 102)
- Rose-Ivy thought she survived the illness because she doesn’t give up easily. (pg. 107)
- Rose-Ivy discovered a man sitting at a table next to a tombstone, crying for his wife who had died. (pg. 110)
- Jacob Coogan has the respect of the other kids because he knows about things none of the other kids would ever know about. (pg. 124)
- The Pitt family’s favorite trick was knocking over outhouses. (pg. 131)
- Rae Ellen brings a ship in a bottle to show Eben. (pg. 143)
- Uncle Dutch had found seasickness, bad food, and nasty sailors. (pg. 144)
- Eben agrees to give Rae Ellen pie for the first week of school. (pg. 151)
- Eben finds Coogie Jackson in the kitchen eating biscuits and ham gravy. (pg. 157)
- While Eben and his friends are taking the watermelon, Mayor Peevey talks to them. (pg. 162)
- Eben’s sixth Wonder is Mayor Peevey’s cloth. (pg. 175)
Section 4: Day 8-The Beginning
Vocabulary
- abrupt: to happen without warning
- bustle: to move or go in a busy or hurried way; to have a lot of busy activity
- coax: to influence by gentle urging, special attention, or flattering
- kinfolk: relatives
- murmur: speech or a way of speaking that is quiet and soft; to make a low, continuous sound
- pester: to annoy or bother someone in a repeated way
- scruffy: dirty or shabby in appearance
Vocabulary Sentences
- Dad’s scruffy beard tickles Julie’s face when he kisses her goodnight.
- It is stressful to bustle from store to store during the holiday season.
- Edwin looks forward to Thanksgiving dinner, when all the kinfolk gather around to share all that they are thankful for.
- Mom had to coax baby Jude back into the car by placing his bottle inside his car seat.
- Marlow liked to pester her little brother by hiding his toothbrush every morning.
Comprehension Questions
- Pa receives a letter saying that Eben can’t visit this year because of people getting sick and even dying of influenza. (pg. 181)
- Aunt Pretty shows Pa and Eben her clothespin people. (pg. 183)
- Pa and Eben agree that Aunt Pretty is a Wonder. (pg. 185)
- Eben goes to Alf Dee’s mule farm to find his seventh Wonder. (pg. 185)
- Eben finds a miniature carving of Sassafrass Springs on the table. (pg. 187)
- LaFlame showed Uncle Alf how to carve wood. (pg. 192)
- Even discovers that the past, present, and future are all mixed up in your brain. (pg. 194)
- The loom sat in the shed until a big wind came and smashed the shed and the loom into a pile of sticks. (pg. 196-197)
- Aunt Pretty arranges for Eben to visit Cousin Lottie in St. Louis, Missouri since he can’t go to Colorado. (pg. 201)
- Eben does not want to miss the red-hot snowflakes. (pg. 206)