Section 1: Chapter 1–6
Vocabulary
- liberate: set free from a situation, especially imprisonment, or slavery, in which liberty is severely restricted
- commotion: a state of confused or noisy disturbance
- integrate: to combine one thing with another so that they become a whole
- solemn: formal and dignified
- waylaid: to be stopped or interrupted and detained by someone in conversation or in some other way
- overcome: to succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty
- justified: having, done for, or marked by a good or legitimate reason
Comprehension Questions
- Before the summer of 1976 Gabriel thinks he is not brave, that he is a chicken. (pg. 1)
- Gabriel does not ever intend to go into fifth grade. (pg. 1)
- Frita and Gabriel are under the picnic table because that is the place they go to when they do not want to be found. (pg. 2)
- Gabriel doesn’t have a picture frame for his graduation certificate because his mother had bought him a new outfit for graduation day and couldn’t afford both. (pg. 4)
- Gabriel compares Duke Evans smile to the smile of a crazy scarecrow at Halloween. (pg. 8)
- When Gabriel whistles and hollers as loud as he can to Frita turns back one more time and grins before running off in a cloud of dust. (pg. 6)
- After Frita punches Duke the whole crowd goes quiet as Duke’s father uses the “nigger” word. (pg. 15)
- After Gabriel’s father dusts off Frita’s dress she says that she could have taken both Duke and Frankie if the adults had not broken up the fight. (pg. 17)
- Frita’s dad likes talking to people because he is both a preacher and a politician and people told him all their troubles. (pg. 18)
- Gabriel and his dad walk slowly on their way to catfish pond because it’summer and summer in Georgia is very hot. (pg. 22)
- Pop doesn’t allow Gabriel to walk with him from catfish pond because he wants Gabriel to think about whether or not he is going to continue to let others take things from him like moving on day. (pg. 25-26)
- When Gabriel and Frita play on Tuesday morning they pretend to be athletes in the Olympics. (pg. 27)
- Drivers of the eighteen-wheelers are the only ones who use the old dirt road between the peanut mill and the town. (pg. 29)
- When Frita gives Mr. Al, Gabriel’s yellow slip at the post office she is given an envelope, which has Gabriel’s fourth grade class picture and certificate inside. (pg. 30)
Section 2: Chapters 7–12
Vocabulary
- suspicious: having or showing a cautious distrust of something or someone
- gangly: tall, thin and awkward in movement and bearing
- galoshes: a waterproof shoe usually made of rubber
- dank: disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold
- segregation: the action or state of setting someone or something apart from others; the enforced separation of different racial groups
- integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness
- portent: a sign or warning that something, especially something momentous or calamitous, is likely to happen
Comprehension Questions
- Gabriel is supposed to put everything he is afraid of on his list. (pg. 34)
- When Gabriel and Frita are in the basement, Terence sneaks his hand over Frita’s flashlight to make it dark and shouts boo, terrifying Gabriel. (pg. 37-38)
- After Gabriel snaps he dives into the ditch to avoid being hit by the eighteen-wheeler. (pg. 40)
- The two things that Gabriel is wearing as he runs back to the trailer park are his sneakers and underwear. (pg. 44-45)
- Frita’s plan to get Gabriel over his fear of spiders is for him to name a spider and make friends with it. (pg. 46)
- While watching t.v. Pop becomes riled up about many things, the cost of gasoline, the Vietnam war and especially the election because Jimmy Carter was falling behind Gerald Ford in the polls. (pg. 47 – 48)
- Pop’s opinion on how elections should be is that they should be fair otherwise America was no different from any other country. (pg. 49)
- Pop’s series of guide books are on birds, reptiles and insects and spiders. (pg. 54)
- Gabriel likes Frita’s church because her father turned the sermon into a song and the choir and people swayed and shouted out, which made it fun. (pg. 60)
- Terence and Mrs. Wilson mostly argue about him attending college, which he didn’t want to do because he felt they were racist and didn’t want him there. (pg. 61)
- While in the pecan tree Frita and Gabriel discuss his dream about spiders. (pg. 62)
- Frita thinks Gabriel’s dream is a warning to continue liberating and to not forget to make Frita brave too. (pg. 63)
- There are ten things on Frita’s list that she is scared of. (pg. 65)
- When Frita says, “it’s working. It’s really working,” she is talking about her plan to help Gabriel overcome his fears. (pg. 70)
Section 3: Chapters 13–17
Vocabulary
- centipede: an invertebrate with a flattened elongated body composed of many segments
- glare: to stare in an angry or fierce manner
- stash: to store something safely and secretly in a specified place
- jut: extended out, over, or beyond the main body or line of something
- convince: to cause someone to believe firmly in the truth of something
- heckler: a person who interrupts a performer or public speaker with derisive or aggressive comments or abuse
- perseverance: steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success
Comprehension Questions
- The three things that Frita is never supposed to do are, playing on the highway, going near the Evan’s trailer, and lighting matches. (pg. 71-72)
- According to Frita the basement is full of centipedes. (pg. 74)
- Number twenty-nine on Gabriel’s list of fears is that he will never get taller. (pg. 75)
- When Frita drops the centipede into Gabriel’s hand it begins to crawl up his arm, he panics dropping it on the ground and then stomps on it killing it. (pg. 77)
- The lawn in front of the town hall is a good place to sit because it is a good place to listen in on other people’s conversations. (pg. 79)
- When Frita sees Duke and his pop pull up in their truck she says, “They’re not going to chase me away.” (pg. 80)
- When Mrs. Evans yells, “ You kids get away from here,” Frita screams and un-cups her hands and drops Gabriel to the ground. (pg. 84)
- Terence says that the real thing that is being celebrated on Independence Day is white independence not theirs. (pg. 87)
- Gabriel is worried that the sixth graders will be at the catfish pond as that would include Duke and Frankie. (pg. 88)
- The unwritten rule at catfish pond is only the sixth graders can use the rope swing. (pg. 89)
- When Gabriel and Frita are out on the tree limb they are trying to gather their courage. (pg. 90)
- While Frita and Gabriel are swinging from the rope swing Frankie and Duke take their clothes. (pg. 93)
- When Frita is reading through Gabriel’s list she finds that fear number six is her brother Terence. (pg. 96)
- Frita invites Gabriel over to dinner so that he has to talk with Terence, which might help him overcome his fear of Terence. (pg. 97-98)
Section 4: Chapters 18–23
Vocabulary
- haze: a slight obscuring of the lower atmosphere, typically caused by fine suspended particles
- accuse: to charge someone with an offense or crime
- podium: a small platform on which a person may stand to be seen by an audience when making a speech or conducting an orchestra
- reenactment: the acting out of a past event
- unanimous: two or more people being in full agreement
- politics: the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties hoping to achieve power
- potential: having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future
Comprehension Questions
- Frita’s tells dad tells her to be scared in regards to Mr. Evans. (pg. 109)
- Gabriel thinks that in order to make peace with Mr. Evans, Frita should apologize for fighting with Duke and ask him to talk to Duke about not being so mean the next year. (pg. 110)
- While Frita is waiting for Mr. Evans to respond to her, Gabriel starts to feel uncomfortable, his stomach turns sour and he becomes worried. (pg. 114)
- After Mr. Evans whispers in her ear, Frita’s eyes grow big, she trips and runs away as if she has seen a ghost. (pg. 115)
- When telling her “ghost story” Frita says that members of the Ku Klux Klan, in white sheets and hoods snuck onto their lawn one night. (pg. 119-120)
- While Frita and Terence are hiding in the laundry hamper he prays for the safety of his momma and daddy. (pg. 120-121)
- Frita tells Gabriel that Mr. Evans told her that if she and Gabriel weren’t careful the Klan might visit them one day. (pg. 122)
- After he starts to cry Pop grabs up Frita like she is his own child and kisses her head to comfort her. (pg. 125)
- Mr. Wilson wants to remind people that America is about freedom for everyone, not just white people. (pg. 128)
- When Frita asks the adults what can she and Gabriel do at the rally they say to keep out of trouble! (pg. 130)
- Just before Frita leaves to go home for dinner she tells Gabriel to call her when he finds his courage. (pg. 134)
- Gabriel’s father is too busy preparing and practicing his speech to sit with him on the steps. (pg. 137)
- The fears number nine and ten on Frita’s list are, Terence leaving home and being in fifth grade without Gabriel. (pg. 141)
- Gabriel sees Duke and Frankie sitting under the picnic table at the far edge of the school-yard. (pg. 149)