Skink—No Surrender

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

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. What is the old man who is hiding on the beach looking for?

2. What is Clinton Tyree’s nickname?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is Richard suspicious about Malley’s excuse for not meeting him at the beach?

2. In Chapter 3, what favor does Malley ask Richard when she realizes that Richard is going to tell her parents what he knows about her disappearance?

Paired Resource

“The Wire Inspired a Fake Turtle Egg That Spies on Poachers”

• This article from Wired Magazine profiles an innovative program to track those who poach endangered sea turtle eggs.
• This resource relates to Allyship with Nature.
• What is the purpose of the decoy eggs described in this article? Why is it important to protect sea turtle eggs? How would Skink and Richard react to this program? What evidence in the book supports your opinions?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Who is responsible for Dodge Olney’s injuries?

2. What bird does Malley claim to have seen during her phone call to Richard in Chapter 6?

Short Answer

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

1. What does airport surveillance reveal had happened to Malley after her mother dropped her off?

2. When Richard is planning to go with Skink to search for Malley, where does he tell his stepfather he will be?

Paired Resource

“I Couldn’t Save My Child From Being Killed by an Online Predator”

• In this article from The Guardian, the mother of a murdered teen explains the dangers of predatory behavior associated with online gaming.
• Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing (Content Warning: This article briefly mentions how the teen was killed.)
• This resource relates to Identity and Independence and Deception as a Useful Tool.

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. When Richard’s mother calls him in Chapter 8, how long does she say she will give him to get home before she calls the police?

2. What book does Richard read in Chapter 9?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Skink do to the car of the person who threw a beer can on the road?

2. What happens when Skink tries to rescue the baby skunk on the road?

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. Where do Richard and Skink find the car that picked up Malley from the airport?

2. What creature inadvertently steals Richard and Skink’s canoe?

Short Answer

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

1. What secret does Malley use to try to blackmail Richard?

2. How does Richard convince Nickel to take him to the houseboat?

Paired Resource

“The No-Guitar Blues”

• In this short story by Gary Soto, Fausto tells a small lie and struggles to deal with the guilt that follows.
• This resource relates to Deception as a Useful Tool.
• How do Fausto’s motivations for lying compare to Richard’s and Skink’s? Which of the three feels the guiltiest about lying? What is Soto’s story trying to convey about the price of deceit? In what ways does Hiaasen’s novel convey a different message about lying from Soto’s story? What evidence in the text supports your opinion?

Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. Where is Richard hiding when Malley and Online Talbo board the houseboat?

2. What does Online Talbo say his real name is?

Short Answer

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

1. How do Richard and the barge captain know that Malley has been on the houseboat?

2. When Malley tells Richard that the canoe was empty when they found it, what conclusion does Richard come to about Skink?

Chapters 16-18

Reading Check

1. What does Skink replace his missing prosthetic eyeball with?

2. What does Skink dream about in Chapter 18 when he is sleeping on the riverbank?

Short Answer

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

1. What distraction allows Skink to tackle Tommy and get Malley and Richard off the houseboat?

2. What does Malley think she sees in the woods in Chapter 18, and how is it different from what Richard describes?

Paired Resource

“Little Boxes” performed by Pete Seeger

• Students can read the lyrics by Malvina Reynolds here.
• This resource relates to Refusal to Conform.
• What point about conformity does this song make? What does the characterization of Skink suggest about nonconformity? How do his eccentricities make him a valuable ally for Richard in his attempts to find and rescue Malley? What do Richard’s and Malley’s adventures suggest about the more dangerous side of nonconformity?

Chapters 19-22

Reading Check

1. What is Nickel’s brother’s name?

2. What do Richard, Skink, and Malley hear that gives away Tommy’s location in Chapter 22?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Richard end up trapped in a tree in Chapter 19?

2. Why does Skink want to let the world believe that Tommy is dead?

Chapters 23-24

Reading Check

1. What does Malley throw at Tommy to try to stop his escape in Chapter 23?

2. When reporting to the police, who does Richard plan to say helped him rescue Malley, instead of telling them about Skink?

Short Answer

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

1. In Chapter 23, what evidence do Richard and Malley rely on when they assume that Tommy is dead?

2. In Chapter 24, what convinces Richard that Skink is still alive?

Recommended Next Reads 

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

• When Nick and Marta’s teacher, Bunny Starch, disappears, they venture deep into Black Vine Swamp to solve the mystery, encountering numerous eccentric characters along the way.
• Shared themes include Allyship with Nature, Identity and Independence, and Refusal to Conform.
• Shared topics include teamwork, a mysterious disappearance, humor, and adventure.
• Scat on SuperSummary

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

• Wahoo Cray braves the Everglades to try to find the missing—and comically incompetent—star of his father’s wilderness survival show.
• Shared themes include Allyship with Nature, Identity and Independence, and Refusal to Conform.
• Shared topics include friendship, deception, a mysterious disappearance, humor, and adventure.
• Chomp on SuperSummary