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: First Picture-Fourth Picture
Vocabulary
- iridescent: a shimmering or sparkling color pattern
- lurch: to walk uncontrollably, to stagger
- mangy: shabby or in poor condition
- meander: to walk aimlessly or without a goal
- perch: a bar that a bird rests on
- skitter: to move lightly or in a hurry
- whittle: to carve wood into a shape
Comprehension Questions
- Hollis wants the letter “W” to stand for “wish,” want,” or “Wouldn’t it be lovely.” pg. 1
- Hollis feels she needs only a pencil and piece of paper to get along. pg. 2-3
- When Hollis looked into the eyes of the mustard woman, she saw that she felt sorry for, but didn’t know what to do with Hollis. pg. 6
- What stands out most about Josie Cahill when Hollis first sees her is that she is holding a knife. pg. 7
- The stucco woman wants to send Hollis to the country for two months because then she won’t have to deal with her. pg. 13
- Hollis couldn’t get a perfect picture of she and Steven playing checkers because she saw what it was like to have a brother. pg. 17
- When Hollis gives Josie permission to work on her tree figure, Josie responds saying that she has already started. pg. 25
- When Hollis catches her first fish, she slips on the rocks and almost falls into the river. pg. 28
- Hollis knows that Josie sometimes forgets things. pg. 31
- Hollis watches Josie dance in the street instead of doing homework. pg. 36
- The Old Man gives Hollis a set of colored pencils, a drawing pad, and an eraser. pg. 37-38
- Hollis tells herself not to think about the “W” picture that shows a mother, father, brother, and sister. pg. 40
Section 2: Chapter 4-Eighth Picture
Vocabulary
- bleak: dreary, plain, or miserable
- dainty: small, delicate and pretty
- frenzied: wild or uncontrollable
- hammock: a cloth bed suspended between two objects
- linger: to spend a long time doing something
- motto: a phrase that a person lives by
- stanchion: an upright bar supporting something
Comprehension Questions
- Beatrice is impressed with Hollis’ Artwork. pg. 43
- Beatrice teaches Hollis how to deepen the shadows on a drawing of the sea. pg. 44
- Beatrice knows that Hollis loves Josie because of how she drew her. pg. 45-46
- Hollis was named after “Holliswood,” the place where she was abandoned as a baby. pg. 48
- Hollis will have to go to school if she wants to stay with Josie. pg. 54
- Beatrice is going to New Mexico to paint the adobe houses and desert. pg. 55-56
- When the Izzy and the Old Man go out to the movies, Steven teaches Hollis how to drive. pg. 60
- When Hollis hears it will be a foggy day, she decides to go to the beach. pg. 63 ? pg. 64
- Hollis decided that, before the end of summer, she was going to climb the mountain and yell at the top of her lungs that she finally has a family. pg. 71
- Josie says that Henry, Hollis and herself will fly to the ends of the earth in the Silver Bullet. pg. 76
- Hollis felt that fitting into a new family would be like jamming a puzzle piece into the wrong spot. pg. 79
Section 3: Chapter 9-Chapter 12
Vocabulary
- bewildered: confused or amazed
- incorrigible: refusing or unable to be corrected
- lurch: to walk uncontrollably, to stagger
- poach: to boil an egg without its shell
- rummage: to search hurriedly and messily for something
- silhouette: a dark shape outlining something or someone
- wade: to trudge through water
Comprehension Questions
- Hollis calls back over her shoulder to remind Josie that that they are going to a safe house by the river. pg. 81
- Hollis had learned that the first hours, when nobody knew she was missing, were the most important when she was running away. pg. 82
- Hollis thinks the mustard woman will call the police when she realizes Hollis is missing. pg. 86
- Hollis thinks that Beatrice will come home if she calls, ruining her dream of painting in the desert. pg. 89
- The worst moment Hollis experiences when waiting for the bus is when she realizes that she will never see her drawing box again. pg. 90
- Hollis raises her hands to her ears because she doesn’t want to hear the sound of the truck hitting the trees. pg. 95-96
- Hollis feels guilty because she is the one who really wants to go to the mountaintop. pg. 99-100
- As Hollis serves toast and tea, Josie is wondering about Beatrice and smoothing Hollis’ face. pg. 105
- Hollis is frightened when she sees a person standing among the trees. pg. 108
- Hollis is going to shout about tough she is and that she belongs when she reaches the top of the mountain. pg. 111
- Hollis decides to give Josie a drawing of herself as a Christmas present. pg. 115
- Hollis wanders around searching for a radio. pg. 117
Section 4: Eleventh Picture-Fourteenth Picture
Vocabulary
- clench: to close ones fist in a tight ball
- encrusted: covered in a hard layer of something
- gouge: to make a groove or hole in something with a tool
- mantel: a shelf over a fireplace
- numb: unable to feel normal emotions
- pulsing: to throb rhythmically
- trudged: to walk heavily in harsh conditions
Comprehension Questions
- At the top of the mountain, Hollis tells herself she is going to attend school, be nicer, and be a new person, turning over “a new leaf.” pg. 121
- Steven describes the “W” picture as a “wishing picture” when Hollis shows it to him. pg. 123
- Steven knew Hollis had to stay with them when she let him win the checkers game. pg. 124
- Hollis hears Christmas music playing from inside the cabin. pg. 127
- Hollis wants an egg for Christmas because of all the ways she can prepare it. pg. 130
- Hollis doesn’t ask Josie if she picked up the sweater because she knows she wouldn’t remember, anyway. pg. 132
- After staying with the stucco woman for most of September, Hollis ran away. pg. 137
- Hollis doesn’t like to think about next year because she doesn’t know where she will be. pg. 139
- The blurry picture on Steven’s dresses is of the river. pg. 142
- Hollis remembers that Beatrice told her there are things in the drawings that she didn’t know were there before. pg. 150
- Josie tells Hollis that Santa Claus looks “cold.” pg. 153
- Hollis signs her picture using all three names because she wants to remember who she used to be, and all those names belong to her. pg. 165