Questions About
Clara’s Strange Adventures: The Wrong Way Home

Questions for readers of all ages:

  1. When Clara felt confused, frightened or stuck, how did she react at first? What helped her calm down and keep going instead of giving up?

  2. The Wise Young Parrot makes an error by giving Clara the wrong magic words. What does he learn from his mistake and how does that help him grow?

  3. In Sideways Land, Clara wants to buy something at a store but the shopkeeper doesn’t know what money is. There was a time in history when there was no such thing as money. How do you think people could get things they wanted?

  4. Which strange land would you find the most challenging to visit and why? Which one do you think you’d enjoy the most?

Questions for readers ages 8 to 13:

  1. In Underground Land, Clara floated on top of water that was rising, to get back to the surface of the Earth. Clara was lucky she could float on top of the water. Some things sink they are put in water. What makes some things float and other things sink?

  2. If gravity keeps people standing on the ground instead of “flying off into space,” then what happens if the level of gravity is smaller than it is on Earth. In other words, suppose you were on some planet where the gravity is half as strong as it is on Earth. How would that affect your movements and ability to carry things?

  3. To dance Salsa people step on beats 1, 2, and 3 out of every 4 beats. (That is the first rhythm people stepped to in Rhythm and Dance Land.) A step that lasts for one beat is called a “quick” and a step that lasts for 2 beats is called a “slow.” What combination of the words “quick” and “slow" would describe the Salsa footwork?

  4. Compare a parrot’s body to an aardvark’s body. Why do you think animals need different bodies for different environments?

  5. What is the name of the dance where you step on every beat? Do you think that would be a hard or an easy dance to learn and why?

  6. Use your imagination to think of other “lands” where Clara might have gone that day. Name two things that would be unusual about the land that you think of.

Answers

  1. She was frightened, frustrated, or angry. But she kept going because she had to keep on trying to get home so she didn’t have much choice. And then as the story progresses, it is easier for her to keep going because she remembers that she has solved hard problems before, so her confidence in herself grow. She was discouraged and worried. But she kept on trying to figure out some solution to any problem she faced. She also asked for help when she needed it. Eventually her persistence and the help she got, enabled her to overcome all challenges.

  2. The Wise Young Parrot made the mistake of reading outdated magic words to Clara. But when he realizes that he wasn’t reading carefully enough, he learns that he has to be more thorough and cautious in his work. He promises himself that he won’t make the same mistake again! Essentially, the parrot made a mistake but he learned from it. Mistakes are helpful in this exact way—people learn things to avoid doing in the future so they don’t repeat their mistakes!

  3. In times long ago before money existed people traded for things. One person might have food and another person may have clothing. So the person with food gave the person with clothing some things to eat, and vice versa. This kind of trading is called “bartering.”

  4. Everyone’s answer depends on how they feel. Some people might find Underground Land especially difficult because to go anywhere you have to travel through lots of tunnels. Other readers might find Upside-Down-Town the most challenging because they may not be able to walk on their hands.

    As for a favorite land, if someone didn’t have trouble keeping time to music, then Rhythm & Dance Land could be fun. But if someone finds it hard to keep time to music, then maybe that would be their least favorite land because their feet keep being stuck to the ground!

    There is no right or wrong answer to this question.

  5. Things that are lighter for their size, than the water they are in, can float on that water. Things that are heavier will sink.  In other words, floating depend on how heavy something is relative to its size. If an object weighs 10 pounds but is the size of a golf ball, it will sink. But something that is several feet long and weighs 10 pounds will float because the weight or mass is spread over a wide area making it lighter than the water it’s in.

  6. If gravity were half as strong, you could jump about twice as high and stay in the air longer before coming back down. You’d still fall down if you tripped—just more slowly. It might be harder to keep your balance because the ground wouldn’t “hold you” as strongly. Also, carrying things would be easier as things would feel only half as heavy as they do on Earth.

  7. The words expressing this rhythm pattern are “quick quick slow.” This is because we say “slow” on the 3rd beat since we don’t step on the next (4th) beat. We wait till after the 4th beat to take the next step.
    For a summary of basic dance rhythms, visit: https://danceintime.com/forchildren
    For a video of Salsa and other popular Latin dances, visit: youtu.be/c2zXnvWdUFE

  8. Most obviously, a parrot is much smaller than an aardvark. Their smaller size and lightweight bones enable parrots to fly. In addition, their feet are good for gripping branches.

    But the aardvark has many adaptations that help its underground life. It has claws that are strong for digging tunnels. It also has a long sticky tongue that helps the animal collect ants and termites to eat. And an aardvark’s nose is sensitive which helps it find food underground.

  9. The dance Merengue requires a step on every beat. Because taking even steps that in a steady rhythm is like walking, Merengue is very easy to learn. It is like walking or marching in place. So people are used to moving in that kind of rhythm.

  10. There could be a land called Backwardsville, where everything happens in reverse. People say goodbye before they say hello and they read books from the last page to the first.

    Or there could be a Land of Many Choices, where every decision has many, many options. For example, there could be 100 flavors of ice cream, and many hundreds of colors.