Jack’s Birdhouse
Jack wants to build a birdhouse. He gets some wood. He gets some nails and paint. His mom helps
too. She gets a saw and a hammer. She gets a pencil and ruler. Jack draws his birdhouse. They build
it together. Then they hang it up in a tree. A bird goes into the bird house. A second bird goes in. A
third bird goes in. A fourth bird goes in! Jack and his mom look at each other. They need a bigger
birdhouse!
1. What does Jack want to build? He wants to build a birdhouse .
2. Who helps him? His mom helps him.
The Missing Doll
Jane was very sad. She could not find her doll. Her mom said, “Look in your room. Maybe your doll is
there.” Jane looked in her room. It was a terrible mess. She started to clean her room. She put all the
books on the shelf. She put her blankets on her bed. She picked up her clothes off the floor.
“I found her,” Jane said. “My doll was hiding under my clothes. I think she was playing hide and
seek.” Jane put her doll in the dollhouse. Her room was clean, and now it was time to play.
1. Circle the correct answer. Jane lost her ...
a. Pet
b. Doll
c. Truck
2. Jane found it under her ....
a. Clothes
b. Blanket
c. Hat
3. At the start of the story, Jane’s room was ....
a. Clean
b. Messy
c. Green
A Visit to the Water Park
There is a new water park in town. We go there on the first day of summer. It has pools and water
slides. There are sprinklers too. The slides are scary at first. After the first ride, we love the water
slides. The sprinklers are cool on hot days. One of the pools makes its own waves. All the kids try to
surf the waves. It is really fun. The water park can be very crowded. There are many kids and adults,
but they do not allow pets. We really like the ice cream at the snack bar. They also sell pop and
donuts. We all love the new water park.
1. What is new in town? A water park is new in town.
2. What is scary at first? The slides are scary at first.
3. What is cool on a hot day? The sprinklers are cool on a hot day.
How to Catch a Cookie
Tommy woke to the sound of shouting and running feet. A big man in a long white apron ran past
him shaking a wooden spoon in the air. “Come back here!” the man yelled. He seemed very upset.
What is going on? Tommy wondered as he sat up in the grass beside a dirt path. The big man
stopped running and turned back to look at Tommy. “Did you see that?” he asked, still shaking his
spoon. “No. I’m sorry sir, I didn’t,” Tommy said. “Gone. Just gone,” the man said and gave a deep
sigh. “How will my bakery ever stay in business if my gingerbread men keeping running off?”
“Excuse me, but did you say your gingerbread men can run?” Tommy asked. “Of course, they can
run. I gave them legs,” the baker replied. He stepped closer and offered his hand to help Tommy up.
“What’s your name son?” “I’m Tommy, sir.” “No need to call me sir, Tommy. I am Chef Shiraz and I
bake the best cookies you’ll ever taste, if you can catch one. The spice in my recipe gives them the
snap to jump right off the pan once they’re cooked.” “That’s amazing Mr. Shiraz!” Tommy said. “I’d
like to taste one of your cookies. Maybe I can think of something to help. What if you locked the
bakery doors before you took the pan out of the oven?”
“Tommy…Tommy…Tommy,” Chef Shiraz said and shook his head. “I tried that once. What a mess! I
had gingerbread running wild all around the bakery. They ran into me, into the walls and into each
other. Nope. That kept them inside my bakery, but it didn’t keep them still.” “What if you wrapped
licorice around their legs before you put them into the oven?” Tommy asked. “Tommy…Tommy…
Tommy,” the baker said as he bowed his head to think. “I believe licorice will melt in a hot oven.
Nope. That won’t even slow them down.” “I know!” Tommy said. “In Germany they have a cookie
that is something like a gingerbread. They cut them into the shape of hearts. What if you used a
heart shaped cookie cutter for your gingerbread?”
“Tommy…Tommy…Tommy.” Chef Shiraz put his hands on Tommy’s shoulders and began to gently
shake him. “Tommy.” Tommy opened his eyes to find his mother gently shaking him. “Wow Mom!
You’re never going to believe the dream I just had.”
1. What gave the baker’s cookies the snap to jump off the pan?
a. Eggs
b. Flour
c. Spice
d. Batteries
2. What did Chef Shiraz believe licorice would do in a hot oven?
a. He believed the licorice would stretch.
b. He believed the licorice would melt.
c. He believed the licorice would become hard.
d. He believed nothing would happen to the licorice.
3. What happened when the baker locked the bakery doors?
a. The cookies stayed in the pan.
b. The cookies burned.
c. The cookies hid inside the oven.
d. The cookies ran wild inside the bakery.