Answer in complete sentence form so that you can join in on a class discussion.
Chapters 1-2
1. Why does Omri’s mother ask him not to lose the key?
2. Why does Little Bear stab Omri’s finger?
3. Why doesn’t Omri tell Patrick about Little Bear right away?
Chapters 3-4
4. Why does the tepee become real but not the Matchbox car?
5. How does Omri answer Little Bear’s request for weapons?
6. Why does Little Bear want to go outside?
7. How does Omri begin to see things from Little Bears point of view?
8. Why does Omri bring back Tommy?
Chapters 5-6
9. Why does Omri send Tommy back to the war?
10. Why does Omri make the knight real?
11. Omri is having a hard time saying no to Little Bear. What else do you think
Omri will do for Little Bear?
Chapters 7-8
12. Why does Omri show Little Bear to Patrick?
13. How does Omri convince Patrick not to put dozens of plastic people into the
cupboard?
14. Why doesn’t Little Bear eat the meat he cooked and what does he eat
instead?
15. How does Omri convince Patrick to leave the cowboy at Omri’s?
Chapters 9-10
16. Why does Little Bear want to kill the cowboy?
17. Why does Omri take Little Bear to Yapps?
18. When Omri offers the two breakfast, who seems more appreciative, Little
Bear or Boone?
Chapters 11-12
19. Why does Little Bear stab Omri through his pocket?
20. Why does Omri put Little Bear and Boone into the same pocket?
21. At lunchtime, why does Omri give both little men to Patrick?
Chapters 13-14
22. Why has Patrick told the headmaster about the little men?
23. Why does Mr. Yapp accuse Omri of stealing-then apologize?
24. Why does Adiel punch Omri – then stop and act embarrassed?
25. Why do Patrick and Omri clean up the attic?
Chapters 15-16
26. Does Little Bear know the dangers involved in looking for the key? Would
he do it if he knew about the rat?
27. Why does Omri hide under the covers after putting the Indian woman in the
cupboard?
28. What sort of ceremony do Boone, Little Bear and Bright eyes have with the
boys before being sent back to their own time?
29. Why do you think the boys send back the little people? How can you tell that
the boys have mixed feelings?
ANSWER KEY
Answer in complete sentence form so that you can join in on a class discussion.
Chapters 1-2
1.
Why does Omri’s mother ask him not to lose the key?
Omri’s mother asked him not to lose the key because it was a gift from her grandmother.
2.
Why does Little Bear stab Omri’s finger?
Little Bear stabbed Omri’s finger because he was frightened.
3.
Why doesn’t Omri tell Patrick about Little Bear right away?
Omri didn’t tell Patrick about Little Bear right away because he wanted to keep it a secret and didn’t
think Patrick would believe him anyway.
Chapters 3-4
4.
Why does the tepee become real but not the Matchbox car?
The teepee becomes real because it is plastic but the matchbox car doesn’t because it is metal.
5.
How does Omri answer Little Bear’s request for weapons?
Omri tells Little Bear no to a gun but tells him he will make him a bow and arrows.
6.
Why does Little Bear want to go outside?
Little Bear wants to go outside because he has difficulty riding his horse on the carpet.
7.
How does Omri begin to see things from Little Bears point of view?
Omri began to see things from Little Bear’s point of view when he realizes the stones looked like
boulders, blades of grass looked like trees and ants looked like monsters to him.
8.
Why does Omri bring back Tommy?
Omri brings Tommy back to get the things he needs out of the medical bag to help Little Bear’s leg.
Chapters 5-6
9. Why does Omri send Tommy back to the war?
Omri sent Tommy back because he wanted to help win the war.
10. Why does Omri make the knight real?
Omri made the knight real so he could take the ax for Little Bear’s use.
11. Omri is having a hard time saying no to Little Bear. What else do you think
Omri will do for Little Bear?
Open ended answer
Chapters 7-8
12. Why does Omri show Little Bear to Patrick?
Omri shows Little Bear to Patrick for fear of losing his friendship.
13. How does Omri convince Patrick not to put dozens of plastic people into the
cupboard?
Omri convinces Patrick not to put dozens of plastic people into the cupboard by
shoving him and explaining that they are real people.
14. Why doesn’t Little Bear eat the meat he cooked and what does he eat
instead?
Little Bear did not eat the meat he cooked because it got stepped on during a fight
so Omri got him stew.
15. How does Omri convince Patrick to leave the cowboy at Omri’s?
Omri convinces Patrick to leave the cowboy at his house by saying it would be hard
to hide from his family plus the cupboard might be taken away.
Chapters 9-10
16. Why does Little Bear want to kill the cowboy?
Little Bear wants to kill the cowboy because the cowboy has been trying to shoot
him; also, Little Bear is angry with all white men for taking Indian land.
17. Why does Omri take Little Bear to Yapps?
Omri takes Little Bear to Yapps to help him chose a wife.
18. When Omri offers the two breakfast, who seems more appreciative, Little
Bear or Boone?
When Omri offers them breakfast, they both complain about having to eat together, but
Boone says it smells good.
Chapters 11-12
19. Why does Little Bear stab Omri through his pocket?
Little Bear stabs Omri to get attention because he is bored.
20. Why does Omri put Little Bear and Boone into the same pocket?
Omri put them both in the same pocket because Little Bear asks for company.
21. At lunchtime, why does Omri give both little men to Patrick?
Omri gave the little men to Patrick because he demanded loudly for them.
Chapters 13-14
22. Why has Patrick told the headmaster about the little men?
Patrick told the headmaster about the little men to prove that he isn’t lying.
23. Why does Mr. Yapp accuse Omri of stealing-then apologize?
Mr. Yapp accused Omri of stealing the toys because he saw them in Omri’s hand, but
Patrick stood up for him and described the toys they brought in to Mr. Yapp’s store and
he believed them.
24. Why does Adiel punch Omri – then stop and act embarrassed?
He punched Omri because he thought Omri stole his shorts, but Omri found them
behind the radiator.
25. Why do Patrick and Omri clean up the attic?
Patrick and Omri cleaned up the attic to look for the missing key.
Chapters 15-16
26. Does Little Bear know the dangers involved in looking for the key? Would
he do it if he knew about the rat?
Little Bear doesn’t know about the rat, but he would probably still go if he did know.
27. Why does Omri hide under the covers after putting the Indian woman in the
cupboard?
Omri hides under the covers after putting the Indian woman in the cupboard
because he doesn’t want her to see him and become frightened. He wants her to
see Little Bear first.
28. What sort of ceremony do Boone, Little Bear and Bright eyes have with the
boys before being sent back to their own time?
The ceremony was a brotherhood ceremony. They had a feast and nicked their wrists
to become blood brothers. Bright eyes bound their wrists together.
29. Why do you think the boys send back the little people? How can you tell that
the boys have mixed feelings?
The boys sent the little people back because:[possible answers]
-they belong in their own time
-it could become disastrous
-they would miss their home and families
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The following vocabulary words are written in the vocab chart on the front of your
literature study guide. Please read the word, synonym and meaningful content and
become familiar with them for the test. Additional words may be added before
Friday’s test.
Peril- dangers; Little Bear and his horse experienced many perils in the
great outdoors such as pebbles looking like boulders, weeds looking like
trees and ants looking like monsters.
Hastily- quickly; Omri spoke quickly to the chief to quickly explain the
reason why he was alive.
Peevishly- unkind; Patrick spoke peevishly to Omri when he did not
believe that Little Bear was real.
Novel- new; The idea of bringing back a horse for Little Bear was novel
since Iroquois usually walk.
Tourniquet- tight bandage; Tommy had a tourniquet in his medical bag
and used it to stop the bleeding from the deep wound on Little Bear’s leg.
Dire- serious; Omri never lied to his mother unless it was a dire
emergency.
Uncanny- supernatural; The way the longhouse was made with the
witchy little knots was uncanny.
Mulish- stubborn; After having a scuffle and knocking the tin plate onto
the floor with Little Bear’s fire and meat, Patrick spoke in a mulish tone
and blamed the whole argument on Omri.
Anxious- uneasy feeling; Omri snuck into the refrigerator and cut off a
corner of the steak that his mother was planning to prepare for supper.
He felt rather anxious as he left the room and heard his mother asked
him what he took a small bite of.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ genre; fantasy or fiction
 author’s purpose; entertainment
 point of view; third person
 one possible cause and effect of events; Because Omri and Patrick got into an
argument, Little Bear’s meat got stepped on and he had to eat stew.
 One fact and citation from the story;
“ Not only was his Indian no mere toy come to life, he was a real person, somehow
magicked out of over two hundred years ago” (Banks 37).
 One opinion about the story;
I think Little Bear is really bossy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Be familiar with character traits for each of the characters below
Omri- responsible, protective, trustworthy, artistic
Patrick- selfish, wild,
Little Bear-bold, brave, bossy, artistic,
Boone- dangerous, persistent
Can you come up with other words?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Be familiar with events in the plot mountain
beginning- Omri received the cupboard and special key
climax- Omri discovers that plastic figures become real living and breathing people;
he must keep them alive through the challenges of others finding out, the figures
getting along, language barriers, meeting their every need
resolution- they had a brotherhood ceremony and Omri put Little Bear and Boone
and the horses back in the cupboard.
Possible lesson learned form this novel:
This book can teach children that there are consequences for their actions and you must
learn to think before you act on something.