The Mysterious Benedict Society

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-7

Reading Check

1. What do the people in the story call the constant problems in society that they are always hearing about in the news?

2. What does Reynie use to figure out how to get through the maze?

3. What does Mr. Benedict tell the children it is that makes them able to resist the messages being transmitted by The Sender?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the unusual item that Kate carries with her at all times.

2. Explain why the code name “Number Two” is so appropriate for the woman it references.

3. What does Milligan tell the children is the cause of his sadness?

Paired Resource

“What ‘Chosen Family’ Means — and How to Build Your Own”

• This Healthline article offers a wide variety of insights into chosen/found families. (Note: This article’s references to the social forces that sometimes splinter biological families may make this more appropriate as a teacher-facing resource in some classrooms.)
• This resource relates to the theme of Found Families.
• What is a “found” or “chosen” family? Why are these types of families important to the people who choose them? Do you think that Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance are building a found family? How might having a found family improve their lives?

Chapters 8-15

Reading Check

1. By what other name do the children know the man called Ledroptha Curtain?

2. What is the name of the island where the children’s new school is located?

3. What does Reynie think the nonsensical lessons must be connected to?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What uncomfortable conversation about Constance takes place between Mr. Benedict and Reynie?

2. What rule about speaking does Jackson tell the children the Helpers have to obey?

3. What conclusion do the children come to about Mr. Curtain after exchanging coded messages about his appearance with Rhonda?

Paired Resource

“Dartmouth Sixth Graders Invent River Cleanup Device”

• This article describes how a team of sixth graders invented, secured funding for, and tested their own device to clean up a local waterway.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Power of Cooperation and The Abilities of Children.
• What are the different obstacles that these students had to overcome to turn their idea into a reality? How did they work together to overcome these obstacles? What does this demonstrate about how much children are able to accomplish? How do the children in The Mysterious Benedict Society cooperate to overcome obstacles? What is this novel trying to say about children’s abilities?

Chapters 16-24

Reading Check

1. What does Jillson say is responsible for all of society’s problems?

2. When Reynie tells Mr. Curtain that he should keep the people he does not trust close to him, whom is Reynie talking about?

3. In his journal, what does Mr. Curtain say is the main component of people’s personalities?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What strange reaction does Charlie have when Reynie and Sticky ask him whether he will miss his special privileges when he graduates?

2. What does meeting Mr. Bloomberg cause Reynie to guess Mr. Curtain has done?

3. After his first trip to the Waiting Room, what does Sticky say he has to do to protect the others?

Paired Resource

“A Litany for Survival”

• Audre Lorde’s poem addresses the fear that comes from being marginalized and the courage that it takes to persevere.
• This resource relates to the themes of Finding the Bravery Within and Fear.
• What clues can you find in this poem about why the speaker is so fearful? What do most of the poem’s images have in common? How might fear make someone feel like this? What advice does the speaker give at the end of the poem? What does Mr. Curtain believe about fear? Which characters in the novel are most fearful? Do you think they will have the courage to keep going, as the poem urges?

Chapters 25-34

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 27, where do the children find the hidden entrance?

2. What is Marina expecting to find when she demands to inspect Kate’s bucket in Chapter 32?

3. Whom do the Executives capture in Chapter 33?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What happens in the Whispering Gallery in Chapter 26, when Mr. Curtain utters the phrase “poison apples, poison worms”?

2. After they find the printing room, what do the children realize Mr. Curtain plans to do with the Whisperer?

3. After they decide to destroy the Whisperer, why does Sticky have a hard time telling Kate how to get through the secret entrance?

Paired Resource

“'Examination Day' by Henry Slesar, Told by Edward E. French”

• This brief short story with a twist ending features a 12-year-old protagonist taking a mandatory government exam.
• What is surprising about this story’s ending? Are there clues earlier in the story that the test is intended to get rid of smart people? Why might a government want to do this? How is this the opposite of what Mr. Benedict’s test is designed to accomplish? Can you make an argument that Mr. Curtain’s “schooling,” secret messages, and Whisperer are actually more like the test in the short story than Mr. Benedict’s actual test is?

Chapters 35-39

Reading Check

1. What does Kate realize about the honking noise in Chapter 35?

2. What does Milligan call Kate that reveals that he is actually her long-lost father?

3. How old does Constance turn on her birthday in Chapter 39?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What fear does the Whisperer get Reynie to reveal at the beginning of Chapter 36?

2. What does Reynie guess is the code to open the secret door, and how does he have to slightly alter his first guess?

3. How does Mr. Benedict disguise himself and trick the Executives as they chase the children in Chapter 38?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

• In this second book in the series, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance must race around the globe to save Mr. Benedict and Number Two from Mr. Curtain and his minions.
• Shared themes include The Power of Cooperation, Found Family, Finding the Bravery Within, Fear, and The Abilities of Children.
• Shared topics include humor, mystery, puzzles, adventure, good and evil, and self-discovery.

Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

• At their 1930s English boarding school, best friends Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong confront the mystery of the death and disappearance of their science teacher.
• Shared themes include The Power of Cooperation, Finding the Bravery Within, Fear, and The Abilities of Children.
• Shared topics include humor, mystery, puzzles, adventure, good and evil, and self-discovery.

The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

• Eleven-year-old misfits Cass and Max-Ernest solve puzzles, break codes, and brave danger together as they investigate the death of a local magician.
• Shared themes include The Power of Cooperation, Finding the Bravery Within, Fear, and The Abilities of Children.
• Shared topics include humor, mystery, puzzles, adventure, good and evil, and self-discovery.
• The Name of This Book Is Secret on SuperSummary