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: Chapters 1-14
Vocabulary
- bilge: the bottom part of the hull of a ship
- bludgeon: a heavy object used as a weapon
- capricious: when one’s mood changes unexpectedly
- dolt: a dumb or stupid person
- impulsive: done without forethought
- motley: variation in appearance
- spire: a long tapering tower, usually the tower of a church
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
- “That whole bilge needs redoing, yep,…” (Ch. 4, pg. 12)
- “Bludgeon it first,” Uncle Stew instructed. (Ch. 9, pg. 34)
- Uncle Dock calls the wind “a capricious lady” because it comes it fits and starts. (Ch. 13, pg. 47)
- “What a dolt.” (Ch. 8, pg. 30)
- Cody is loud, impulsive, and charming in a way my mother does not trust. (Ch. 2, pgs. 4-5)
- My mule-self begged a place aboard a forty-five-foot sailboat with a motley crew: … (Ch. 2, pg. 4)
- That mast is a tall, tall, spire. (Ch. 8, pg. 31)
Comprehension Questions
- Sophie has a dream that she is engulfed by a wall of water. (Ch. 1, pg. 2)
- According to her father, Sophie’s three sides are a dreamy and romantic side, a logical and down-to-earth side, and a hardheaded and impulsive side. (Ch. 2, pg. 3)
- Sophie doesn’t like the Ohio river because there are no waves or tides, and there is no sea-life. (Ch. 3, pg. 8)
- Sophie’s mom doesn’t take her to Connecticut because she imagines bad things happening on the ocean. (Ch. 4, pg. 10)
- Sophie likes the name of the boat because she can imagine herself wandering. (Ch. 4, pg. 11)
- Brian feels uneasy about the boat once it is in the water, and says it feels small. (Ch. 4, pg. 15)
- Uncle dock believes that the journey will take three to four weeks. (Ch. 5, pg. 20)
- Cody wants to slug Uncle Stew when he calls Sophie “the Orphan.” (Ch. 6, pg. 23)
- Sophie likes killing the fish to prove to her uncle that isn’t chicken. (Ch. 9, pg. 34)
- The other boats at Vineyard Haven are much cleaner, and more expensive looking than the Wanderer. (Ch. 11, pgs. 40-41)
- Cody feels good about himself when he sees Sophie and Uncle Dock juggling because he successfully taught them. (Ch. 14, pg. 54)
Section 2: Chapters 15-35
Vocabulary
- beauteous: beautiful
- gallant: heroic of brave
- gargantuan: extremely large
- gimbal: a mechanism that keeps a compass level on a ship
- languish: communication conveyed by speech or writing
- motley: variation in appearance
- phosphorescent: emitting light without heat
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
- “Beauteous!” (Ch. 23, pg. 102)
- “For you,” Cody said, gallantly presenting me with the tangled string and loose beads. (Ch. 19, pg. 78)
- It sounded huge, gargantuan! (Ch. 23, pg. 102)
- Cooking is difficult because even though the stove is on a gimbal, which rocks around with the boat to keep the surface level… (Ch. 29, pg. 125)
- “Phosphorescentplankton,” Uncle Dock said. (Ch. 23, pg. 102)
Comprehension Questions
- Sophie realizes that if she were thrown into the ocean she would be in danger, while it saved the lobster. (Ch. 16, pg. 59)
- Cody thinks they keep stopping because there is something wrong with the boat that only uncle Dock knows. (Ch. 16, pg. 61)
- Cody does most of the cooking because he likes doing it more than anyone else. (Ch. 17, pg. 63)
- Sophie likes to write everything down to remember all the details in her life. (Ch.17, pg. 64)
- Dock changed his name because his name used to be Jonah, and that name is bad luck for sailors. (Ch. 17, pg. 67)
- Cody finds a bead necklace and gives it to Sophie while the two are exploring the island. (Ch.19, pg. 78)
- Sophie doesn’t like using the autohelm because she likes to be in control of the boat. (Ch. 25, pg. 106)
- Sophie thinks that the ocean is like her in that it has many sides. (Ch. 29, pg. 118)
- Bompie is always getting into trouble with water in Sophie’s stories. (Ch. 32, pg. 139)
- Sophie wishes she could get insurance that made her and everyone around her happy. (Ch. 33 pg. 144)
Section 3: Chapters 36-60
Vocabulary
- funk: a sad or melancholy state
- halyard: a rope on a ship that raises the sail
- helm: the steering wheel of a ship
- leer: to look at something or someone maliciously
- oblivious: to be unaware of one’s surroundings
- queasy: a nauseated feeling
- succumb: to give in to some outside pressure
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
- I’m in a funk even though I don’t want to be. (Ch. 41, pg. 167)
- You don’t have time to think about where starboard is or where the bosun’s locker is or the difference between a halyard and an outhaul: … (Ch. 37, pg. 161)
- I’ve been at the helm for much of the time, and those waves have no mercy. (Ch. 41, pg. 166)
- Now the waves are more fierce, cresting and toppling over, like leering drawling monsters spewing heavy streaks of foam through the air.”_(Ch. 39, pg. 163)
- …and it seems a hundred years ago that we were eager to get underway, oblivious to what lay in wait for us. (Ch. 56, pg. 200)
- As each wave started to build, it made me weak and queasy, not so much from the motion, but from the fear that this wave would be too big, that this one would roll us over. (Ch. 49, pg. 182)
- He looks yellow and frail, and the rest of us are covering his shifts and praying that we do not succumb, too. (Ch. 47, pg. 177)
Comprehension Questions
- Sophie says the waves are like walls of water. (Ch. 41, pg. 167)
- Brian calls Sophie selfish because she wants to do all the chores on the Wanderer. (Ch. 41, pg. 168)
- Sophie feels like a “stupid little sea flea” because she is avoiding Brian and he is avoiding her. (Ch. 41, pg. 169)
- Cody likes to stay on deck during storms because it helps him forget his fear. (Ch. 42, pg. 170)
- When the wave crashes on her head, Sophie hears a child’s voice yelling, “Mommy! Daddy!” (Ch. 49, pg. 183)
- Sophie can tell Uncle Mo is trying to be nicer to Cody because he is nor barking at him and he is not calling him “knucklehead doofus.” (Ch. 59, pg. 206)
- Everyone is afraid to sleep because they fear the wave will return. (Ch.52, pg. 190
- Cody asks Sophie for pie when he is recovering because Bompie always has pie when he survives something. (Ch. 52, pg. 191)
- Cody determines the boat’s position by spotting and contacting a Canadian Warship. (Ch. 56, pg. 200)
- Cody and Sophie both said “giddy-up, giddy-up!” to themselves when they were under the wave. (Ch. 59, pg. 209)
Section 4: Chapters 61-78
Vocabulary
- careen: to move uncontrollably and quickly
- flibbertigibbet: an excessively talkative person
- gawk: to stare at something with an open or shocked expression
- hallucinate: to experience something that doesn’t happen in reality
- peculiar: unusual or odd
- peer: to look at something intently
- pining: to decline mentally because of sadness
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
- We’re careening around narrow roads, and he keeps forgetting to drive on the left side. (Ch. 65, pg. 226)
- “…Want to cast off the flibbergibbet on The Blue Bopper Wanderer and go that way?” (Ch. 78, pg. 267)
- About that time, Rosalie arrived, and so we all stood around gawking at Dock and Rosalie. (Ch. 74, pg. 253)
- I thought I was hallucinating when we first spotted land, real earth with trees growing on it and cars rolling along it. (Ch. 62, pg. 218)
- Yesterday was so peculiar. (Ch. 64, pg. 223)
- The name of Bompie’s house is Walnut Tree Cottage, so we spent a lot of time peering out at trees, looking out for a walnut tree… (Ch. 71, pg. 241)
- “…You’ve been pining away -” (Ch. 75, pg. 256)
Comprehension Questions
- Uncle Mo and Uncle Stew are arguing about who will deal with the repairs for the Wanderer. (Ch. 62, pg. 218)
- Cody and Sophie are still writing in their journals because the journey isn’t over yet. (Ch. 63, pg. 220)
- Uncle Mo and Uncle Stew both end up driving to Bompies. (Ch. 65, pg. 225)
- Sophie feels “pushed and pulled” on the way to see Bompie because she is excited but also nervous to meet him. (Ch. 65, pg. 226)
- Cody knows about Sophie’s past because of the stories she told him. (Ch. 69, pg. 236)
- Bompie’s house is named “Walnut Tree Cottage.” (Ch. 71, pg. 241)
- They find Bompie’s house by knocking on a neighbor’s door and asking for directions. (Ch. 71, pg. 242)
- Sophie knows about about all of Bompie’s stories because of the letters he wrote her. (Ch. 73, pg. 250)
- Uncle Dock settles the argument by offering to stay in England to watch over Bompie. (Ch. 75, pg. 257)
- Uncle Mo brings drawings and sketches as gifts for everyone. (Ch. 76, pg. 258)