LUNCH MONEY
Clements
Chapter 1 –
What is Greg Kenton’s greatest talent? Money
When had Greg first become interested in money? Sitting in a grocery cart, watching his mom
put a coin in the m & m machine
Who were Greg’s brothers? Ross and Edward
What sorts of jobs around the house did Greg have that he got paid for? Being his brothers
personal maid, recycling, shining shoes, scrubbing black marks off floor tiles, pulling out
dandelions
Where did Greg keep his Sacagawea dollars? In a sock in the bottom drawer of his dresser
What did Greg find out gray pennies were made of? Steel
What was Greg’s goal by the time he was in third grade? To be rich
“Neighborhood money filled his pockets like rain fills mud puddles.”
What did Ross and Edward call Greg? Scrooge, Mr. Cashman, Old Moneybags
When the brothers borrowed money, how did they repay it? With interest!
What does grow mean to a money person? Interest
Why did Greg agree to start a savings account instead of using hiding places around his house,
yard, and garage? There was no insurance for hidden money
How much was Greg’s first deposit? More than $3200
Chapter 2 –
How did Greg get the idea to sell things at school? He forgot his lunch, was short on $, and had
to borrow 50 cents. He noticed many kids had extra spending money at school.
Chapter 3 –
What was Greg’s first sales item? Candy/gum
What did Greg purchase with his mom’s credit card? Trolls, superballs, sticky spiders
Why was Mrs. Davenport having a chat with Greg? She told him he could not sell toys in school
To what did Greg compare the kids at school? A piggy bank
What did his new product need to be? A perfect hammer to break the bank so Greg could get the
$
Chapter 4 –
Greg’s perfect hammer was Chunky Comics
What were the volumes of Chunky Comics going to be? Creon, Eeon, and Leon
How many steps were there in the actual book process? 10
How much was Greg charging for the comics? 25¢
How did Greg refer to his comics? As units
Who did Greg “hire” to be his first sales agent? Ted
Why had business slowed for Greg’s comic books? Maura had made one too
What was the name of Maura’s comic book? The Eentsy Beensty Book
What was the title of Maura’s first comic? The Lost Unicorn
Chapter 5 –
What did Greg get for his fifth birthday? A Big Wheel
Soon, the Greg and Maura competitions started.
How did all the Greg/Maura Big Wheel races end? In a tie or almost tie
Chapter 6 –
“They squabble like cats and dogs all day long, always trying to outdo each other. My classroom
isn’t big enough with those two around.”
How did Mr. Z characterize Maura and Greg?? Like positive and negative numbers, always
trying to cancel each other out
What other competitions did Greg and Maura have prior to the comic books? The lemonade
battles
What did Maura make when she was younger that out sold Greg’s lemonade? Potholders
When Greg got mad at Maura for being a copycat, what did he call her? Brainless
Chapter 7 –
Why was room 27 always in a state of order? Mr. Z was a math teacher and math is all about
order
“What did the triangle say to the circle? Your life seems so pointless.” Mr. Z.’s sense of humor
What happened in room 27 when Greg confronted Maura about her copying his idea for a comic
book? She accidentally socked him in the nose
Why had Maura grabbed for the book and eventually whacked Greg in the nose? She hand drew
and colored each of her minibooks
Who is the school nurse that helped with Greg’s bloody nose? Mrs. Emmet
What was something that Mr. Z. absolutely couldn’t stand? Blood
What happened as a result of Maura and Greg’s argument in math? Mr. Z. wanted to talk with
both of them after school
Chapter 8 –
Because Greg had to stay after school, what was he going to be late for? Soccer practice
Why did Maura think Greg’s comics would only sell to boys? Because they wouldn’t be of
interest to the girls
“I was afraid I’d get here and find you two wrestling on the floor or throwing chairs at each
other. But you’re not name calling and not fighting. Looks like progress.” Mr. Z. to Maura and
Greg
When Mr. Z. is trying to settle differences with Greg and Maura, who does he mention as having
been the first to use place values? The Sumerians
Mr. Z. also noted they did not own the idea of place value
Why did Mr. Z. want Greg to apologize? First to Maura for thinking her idea of the mini book
was wrong and second to Mr. Z. for disrupting his class.
What happened when Greg was getting all wigged out about having to apologize for his
behavior? His nose started bleeding again
What did Mr. Z. need to do to overcome the sick feeling from seeing Greg’s blood? Lie down
Why did Greg lie on the floor? To ease the flow of blood from his nose
Chapter 9 –
Why did Greg apologize to Mr. Z. about the blood stuff? He knew it was mean and Mr. Z. was
woozy about blood
What is Mr. Z.’s greatest weakness? Blood
What is Greg’s greatest weakness? Snakes
When had Mr. Z. realized he didn’t like blood? When he was in junior high and checked out a
medical textbook from the library
Why, did Mr. Z. tell Greg, was he delayed in the office before their after school meeting? He
was checking out their files
What was Mr. Z.’s theory about Greg and Maura? They were very much alike
“A bleeder and fainter come face-to-face – what are the odds of that?” Mrs. Davenport
What first aid did Mrs. Davenport give to Mr. Z? put his feet up on a desk
Who was picking up the kids according to Mrs. Davenport? Maura’s mom
Why was Mr. Z.’s brother, who was a doctor, not very rich? He lived is Idaho where “people
needed a good doctor but here wasn’t a lot of money.”
What is the Zenotopoulous Toilet Theory? Most people can only use one bathroom at a time.
Why was Mr. Z. serious when he suggested that Greg should be flattered by Maura copying his
idea? “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
“If I’m still on the floor here when you com to class in twenty-two hours, then Mrs. Davenport
should call an ambulance.” Mr. Z. as Greg left to go home
Chapter 10 –
What did Mrs. Shaw say Mr. Shaw would do if Greg started bleeding in the car on the way
home? Give them all black eyes! Just kidding!
How did Greg’s brothers tease him about the black eye? They painted their own on
When Maura called Greg about the math assignment, she said she didn’t understand about
comics. But Greg did. What was it? A good comic was like a movie
“Nice try weaselbrain. If you think I’m gonna help you make money think again. You’re on
your own.” Greg’s thoughts about Maura’s phone call
Chapter 11 –
Who passed Greg a note in social studies class? Maura
“He pumped paragraph after paragraph of dusty history into his mind, trying to dry up his
curiosity.”
Chapter 12 –
Who noticed the note Maura dropped onto Greg’s desk? Brittany and Eileen
When the girls started teasing about Maura and Greg or Greg and Maura, Greg panicked. He
snarled at Maura and left.
What was the thing that bothered Greg the most about the whole scene in the hall with Maura’s
drawings? The hurt look on Maura’s face
Chapter 13 –
What movie and book were the language class debating about which was better? Holes
Why did Greg and Maura get called down to the principal’s office? To be reminder that fighting
is against school rules and to discuss selling things
How does Mrs. Davenport view comic books? As toys
How was Mrs. Davenport going to deal with Greg and Maura’s constant bickering? She changed
their class schedule so they wouldn’t be in the same classes
Chapter 14 –
What did lunchtime at school remind Greg of? An old prison movie
Who watched the kids at lunch? Mr. Percy, the custodian
Why was Maura surprised when Greg came up behind her in the throw-away-the-garbage-afterlunch line? He apologized
When Greg shared with Maura what he thought about her minibook, he threw out loads of
compliments
What did Greg offer to do for Maura? Help her make her unicorn story into a comic
When Greg agreed to 75% of the profit going back to Maura for her comic book sales, what did
he tell her? She had to buy him an ice cream sandwich
What was Mrs. Davenport’s important announcement? Selling, making, bringing little comic
books to school was against the rules
What did Maura tell Mr. Z. when he apologized for not having acted sooner with the whole Greg
thing? They were going to be business partners!
“And if you two want any advice, I know some economics. And accounting…business stuff.”
Mr. Z.
Chapter 15
What night at the Kenton house was Movie Night? Friday
When Maura showed up at Greg’s on movie night, what did he do? Helped her ink her drawings
What kind of pen was Greg using to add fine lines on Maura’s drawings? A crow quill pen
Maura and Greg spent most of Friday night inking and drawing. Why couldn’t Maura come
back on Saturday until the afternoon? Greg was washing the neighbor’s cars and his brothers
might be gone by then
Where did Greg do his inking work? On the ping pong table in the playroom
Chapter 16 –
When Maura came over on Saturday, what did Greg think his playroom was? A little comic
book factory
What was the bet to see who could finish their work on Maura’s book first? An ice cream
sandwich
Why did Greg win the bet? He had to ink first and Maura lettered after he inked
Watching Maura read her first comic, what did Greg feel like he’d given her? A gift
Why didn’t Maura care if she sold her comic books? She was mostly an artist
Chapter 17 –
What was hanging on every bulletin board in school Monday morning? A printed version of
Mrs. Davenport’s announcement.
What part of Mrs. Davenport’s announcement did Maura find interesting? Our town School
Committee has a strict policy about what may and may not be sold at school.
What did Maura notice about the social studies book covers Mrs. Sanborn had required all her
students to use? They were trying to sell the kids Nikes
What did Maura notice in the gym? The school committee must have approved selling Skittles
and M & M’s for new uniforms
She also noticed the Coke symbol on the scoreboard and the Domino’s Pizza for lunch
Why was Maura so excited about the book order? Because everywhere she looked people were
buying and selling things at school
Chapter 18 –
How were Maura and Greg going to get an opportunity to talk with the School Committee?
Through Mr. Z.
Why did Mr. Z. tell the kids that going to the School Committee meeting would be complicated?
The principals go to the meetings, teachers get free books from the book clubs,
What was Maura’s idea? Give the teachers free comics and share some of the profit with the
library fund
What did Mr. Z. tell Maura and Greg they had to do before jumping into the visit to the School
Committee? Ask parents for permission
“Sure, it was calm and orderly now. But he had an uneasy feeling – the kind that comes just
before a storm.”
Chapter 19 –
Maura was hopeful that everyone in school would be able to see her art and read her stories
Mr. Z. was hopeful because the mathematical logic of the proposal might convince the
committee this was a good idea.
Greg was hopeful because he thought Chunky Comics might make a bunch of money.
Chapter 20 –
What was the proposal from Maura and Greg? A comic book club
What did Mr. Z. tell Mrs. Davenport about why he decided to help Greg and Maura? He was
trying to represent the best interest of the school
Chapter 21 –
When Greg was thinking about how he felt about money on the day of the School Committee
meeting, what did he call himself? A moneyac
Chapter 22 –
Whose idea was it to dress up for the School Committee meeting? Maura’s
Why was Greg going to get to speak first at the School Committee meeting? He won the coin
toss
“As teachers, we try to prepare kids for life after they leave school, for the time when they go out
and earn money and become contributing members of the economy and the society.” Mr. Z.
Chapter 23 –
What were two things Mrs. Davenport hadn’t been able to do when she was a little kid? Read
comic books and watch TV
With Mr. Z.’s research, how much money of their own did kids in kindergarten thru 6th grade
spend a year? 13 billion dollars
“I don’t like the way children are treated as sales target, and I know none of you do either. But
we have to face it; Selling to children is big business, and we have to help kids understand this so
they can make good decisions.” Mr. Z.
What option was suggested so that all kids might have a chance to sell quality literature and art?
The school store
Who made the suggestion? Mr. Z.
What was Greg’s idea of sharing profits from school store sales? 50%
Why did Mrs. Davenport give the box of comics she had received to Greg? She thought they
were from him
Chapter 24 –
Who were the comic books really from? Mr. Z.
Why did Mr. Z. tell the Shaw’s and the Kenton’s that he told Mrs. Davenport would like his
choice of comics? There was no b-l-o-o-d in them!
How did the School Committee vote for the school store comic sales idea? Yes
With the Committees blessing for the comic sales, what are some things that had to done?
Restructure the school store – literature, arts and crafts, used CD sections, plus the regular school
supply section
The kids had to become editors of the work presented
The kids had to run workshops after school
Five other schools in town also restructured and sold Chunky Comics
Sales soared
New equipment was purchased to make production more efficient
A web site was created
Mr. Z. was offered a job teaching a college class on how to turn ideas into realities
What was a new comic that wasn’t a best seller? Pythagoras and the Golden Section
Who was the author of Pythagoras and the Golden Section? Anthony Zenotopoulous
Who gave the Ashworth Intermediate School a check for $1, 421? Greg, Maura, and Mr. Z.
Who asked Greg is he’d consider offering his comics nationally? A book company
How did Greg feel in the end? He felt unbelievably great by giving away his own money