The House in the Cerulean Sea

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

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. What special power does Daisy have?

2. What is Linus’s boss’s name?

3. Which member of Extremely Upper Management stays behind after the meeting to speak privately with Linus?

4. What is Lucy’s real name?

Short Answer

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

1. What clues does the narrative present in Chapter 1 that Linus’s employer is not particularly friendly to magical children?

2. Describe the personal item that Linus keeps on his desk at work.

3. From the questions that Extremely Upper Management asks Linus, what kind of person do they seem to be seeking for the special assignment?

4. What clues does the narrative present in Linus’s Chapter 4 train journey that he will be happier at his destination than he has been in the city?

Paired Resource

“Discrimination and Harassment by Law Enforcement Officers in the LGBT Community”

• This report from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute offers a statistical picture of one facet of the structural inequality faced by LGBT Americans.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Perpetuation of Prejudice.
• What are the key findings of this report? What other institutional structures—governmental or private—might perpetuate prejudice against LGBT Americans and other historically marginalized groups? How does this relate to DICOMY? Why does Linus work for DICOMY? Are professionals doing the right or wrong thing by continuing to work for these institutions? Should Linus quit his job?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What kind of creature is Talia?

2. When Linus goes to the main house for dinner in Chapter 6, what do Phee and Talia accuse him of?

3. When they talk in his office after dinner in Chapter 7, what word does Arthur say he is trying to get people to stop using to refer to Lucy?

4. Which child does Linus find hiding under his bed in the morning?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Linus give Theodore a button?

2. When Sal asks Linus if he is there to take their home away, how does Arthur reassure the children?

3. In their after-dinner conversation in Chapter 7, what conflicting views of mystery do Arthur and Linus express?

4. After lunch on his second day, what does Zoe show Linus on the other side of the island?

Paired Resource

”Openness to Experience: The Gates of the Mind”

• This Scientific American article explains the neurological basis of the trait of openness and describes how openness impacts a person’s experience of the world.
• This resource relates to the theme of Nature Versus Nurture.
• What is “openness,” in psychological terms? Which characters in The House in the Cerulean Sea clearly demonstrate this trait? Which characters do not? How does this article shed light on Linus’s experiences at Marsyas? How does it shed light on Arthur’s approach to the children and their education? Given what the article says about the neurobiology of this trait, how much choice do you think Linus and Arthur have about their differing views of the world? If experiences can influence the expression of genes related to openness, what kinds of experiences can you imagine Linus having that might help him become more open to the world?

Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. What job is Chauncey always practicing for?

2. Whose home does Linus see for the first time during the Chapter 10 expedition?

3. Who steals one of Linus’s ties in Chapter 11?

4. What gift does Arthur bring Linus on behalf of Lucy in Chapter 12?

Short Answer

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

1. When Arthur and Linus talk privately in Chapter 9, what does Arthur reveal about Mr. Werner?

2. How do Linus’s interactions with the townsfolk in Chapter 10 reveal his growing attachment to the children?

3. During Linus’s tour of Sal’s room, what does Sal do that shows he is feeling more settled in and comfortable at Marsyas?

4. In Werner’s reply to Linus’s first report, how does he demonstrate a preoccupation with Arthur?

Paired Resource

“Speak Up”

• This presentation from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project offers extensive suggestions about how to respond to various kinds of bigotry.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Perpetuation of Prejudice.
• Which of the scenarios in this presentation was most helpful? Why? Do any of these scenarios seem unrealistic? Which scenarios are most similar to the kinds of prejudice you have seen so far in The House in the Cerulean Sea? Why is it important to Linus to speak up when he hears the townsfolk say bigoted things about the children? Are there other instances when you wish he would speak up, but he remains silent? What might some of the consequences be—for Linus and for magical children—if he does not speak up?

Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 13, what does Linus find is the cause of the strange phenomena that occur in the middle of the night?

2. Where does Talia go when she slips away from Linus on the field trip into town?

3. What kind of magical being is Arthur?

4. What does Theodore give Linus during Linus’s last week on the island?

Short Answer

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

1. In his third report, how does Linus choose to respond to Werner’s pressure to report more about Arthur?

2. During their visit into town, how do the children acquire a powerful ally during the incident at the ice cream shop?

3. How does reading Arthur’s file and learning about his magical nature make Linus question his relationship with Arthur?

4. How do Arthur and Linus cross onto the mainland to confront the townspeople who have gathered to storm the island?

Paired Resource

“Chosen Family”

• In this 5-minute video, Rina Sawayama performs a song that has become an anthem for young members of the LGBTQ community. (The lyrics can be found here.)
• This resource relates to the theme of Found Family.
• Why do you imagine that Sawayama’s song has become an important one to many young people in the LGBTQ community? Are there other groups who might find themselves in need of a “found” family? How do Arthur and the children function as a found family? In what sense are Arthur and the children becoming a chosen family for Linus? Does Linus himself seem to understand what they add to his life? Do you think he will realize it before it’s too late?

Chapter 17-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. Where do the children hold a going-away party for Linus?

2. When Linus arrives home, what is missing from the front of his house?

3. What does Linus begin stealing from DICOMY after his return to work?

4. Who comes to visit the island in the Epilogue?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Linus promise Lucy on his last night on the island?

2. Describe Linus’s final report.

3. What conditions do the children make Linus agree to before they say he can come back to stay on the island?

4. In the book’s Epilogue, what do Arthur and Linus agree to do even though it might impact their petition to adopt the children?

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