
Section 1: Wanda-The Dresses Game
Vocabulary
- scuffling: a noisy shuffling of feet
- askew: not straight, crooked
- intruder: an uninvited person
- circulate : to pass around
- courteous : polite, having good manners
- incredulous : not believing, skeptical
Vocabulary Sentences
- My dad’s necktie is never tied straight, and is always askew
- When my sister sleepwalks, I hear her feet scuffling down the hallway.
- Chris acted like an intruder when he came into my room without knocking.
- To circulate a rumor about another person is unkind.
- The fireman is incredulous that the boys played with firecrackers in the forest.
- The waitress was very courteous and friendly as she patiently took our large order.
Comprehension Questions
- Wanda Petronski sits in the next to the last seat in the last row in the classroom. (pg. 2)
- Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence because Wanda had made them late to school. (pg. 5)
- Miss Mason always begins her class session by having the students recite the Gettysburg Address. (pg. 6)
- Peggy and Maddie wait for Wanda Petronski so that they can have fun with her. (pg. 9)
- Wanda Petronski does not have any friends. (pg. 10)
- Wanda tells Peggy she has one hundred dresses. (pg. 12)
- Maddie is afraid that Peggy and the other girls will start asking her questions about her clothes and shoes. (pg. 18)
Section 2: A Bright Blue Day-The Contest
Vocabulary
- heap: a large pile
- crimson: a deep red color
- jaunty: cheerful and lively
- stolidly: without emotion or feeling
- vivid: very bright and clear
- timid: shy and lacking courage
Vocabulary Sentences
- The hamster was so timmid he would never let me hold him.
- After raking all of the fallen leaves into a great heap, Jordan jumped into it.
- The roses in the bride’s bouquet were a beautiful crimson color.
- Jill stood there stolidly while her mother scolded her.
- The colors of the sunset were vivid shades of red, pink, and orange.
- The elderly musician had a jaunty way about him.
Comprehension Questions
- The only thing Maddie sees when she looks across the room is Wanda’s empty desk. (pg. 20)
- The hundred dresses game began on a bright blue day in October. (pg 21)
- Jake helps Mr. Heany the janitor with the furnace and raking the leaves. (pg.23)
- Wanda says she keeps her hundred dresses in her closet. (pg. 30)
- Maddie wishes she had the nerve to write Peggy a note and tell her they need to stop asking Wanda about her dresses. (pg. 35)
- The girls say that Wanda will look like a Christmas tree in her green dress with the red sash. (pg. 38)
- For the drawing contest, the girls have to design dresses and the boys have to design motor boats. (pg. 38)
Section 3: The Hundred Dresses-Up on Boggins Heights
Vocabulary
- murmur: low, faint talking
- exquisite: of great quality
- sparse: only a few
- coward: someone who is very fearful
- lavish: extravagant
- amends: something done to make up for a hurt one has caused
Vocabulary Sentences
- I felt like a coward when I was too scared to jump off the high dive.
- In the winter, the vegetables that grow in my garden are quite sparse.
- There was a lavish wedding going on in the hotel ballroom.
- Clare needed to make amends with her best friend after she lied to her.
- When I’m talking to my tutor in the library, I keep my voice to a murmur.
- The singer’s voice was exquisite.
Comprehension Questions
- The girls stop short and gasp when they see one hundred drawings of dresses hung up in the classroom. (pg. 41)
- The children applaud, stomp their feet, and whistle when the contest winners are announced. (pg. 45)
- Miss Mason asks everyone to get back in their seats so she can read them a letter from Wanda’s father. (pg. 46)
- Maddie wants to tell Wanda that she is sorry for picking on her and not to move away. (pg. 52)
- The girls see rusty tin cans, old shoes, and part of a black umbrella in the bed of the brook. (pg. 53)
- Mr. Svenson has a bad habit of chewing tobacco and spitting the juice out. (pg. 54, 59)
- Maddie decides that she will speak up if she ever sees someone being teased again. (pg. 63)
Section 4: The Letter to Room 13
Vocabulary
- ashamed: embarrassed
- hitch: to move by pulling or jerking
- equalize: to make equal
- cornucopia: a horn filled with fruits and flowers
- hastily: done in a hurry
- auburn: a reddish brown color
Vocabulary Sentences
- On Thanksgiving, my mom always decorates the table with a large hung.
- Emily felt very ashamed after she took one of her friend’s toys.
- The baker hastily put his cookies in the oven so they would be ready for the party.
- Charlie had to hitch his suspenders up every few steps he took.
- Laurie got her long, curly, auburn hair from her grandmother.
- The baseball coach tried to equalize the teams so the game would be fair.
Comprehension Questions
- Maddie put herself to sleep at night by making speeches to defend Wanda against girls who were teasing her. (pg. 66)
- Wanda has dull pained eyes. (pg. 68)
- Cecile performed the dance called “Passing of Autumn.” (pg. 70)
- Miss Mason’s surprise is a letter she received from Wanda Petronski. (pg. 70)
- Wanda gives Maddie the blue dress drawing and Peggy the green and red dress drawing. (pg. 72)
- When Jonathan’s dad and uncles see the bear tracks, they say, “So! So-o-o!” (pg. 73)
- Peggy feels happy and relieved after getting the letter. (pg. 76)