What did Sal’s dad start chipping away at in the living room after her mother left? The plaster wall, p. 3.
What did he find? A brick fireplace p. 3
Name one of the things Sal could not bring when leaving Bybanks, Kentucky? The chestnut tree, the maple, the willow, the hayloft and the swimming hole p. 1
What do Gramps and Gram call the United States? The whole ding-dong country p. 5
What town and state did Phoebe live in when the book begins? Euclid, Ohio. p. 1
What is Mrs. Partridge’s disability? She cannot see p. 22
What is the name of Phoebe’s older sister? Prudence p. 19
Who has wild red hair? Margaret Cadaver p. 2
What is Sal’s full name? Salamanca Tree Hiddle p. 7
Besides Salamanca, what do Gramps and Gram call Sal? Chickabiddy p.8
Besides Sal, what hair style do all the girls at school have? A bob p. 12
What is Sal not afraid of? Spiders, snakes and wasps p. 14
What was Sal’s mother’s last name? Pickford p. 15
What job does Sal’s dad take in Ohio? Selling farm machinery p. 17
What kind of pie is Phoebe’s mom making the first time Sal visits? Blackberry p. 21
What do blackberries remind Sal of? Her mother p. 22
What does cadaver mean? Dead body p. 186
If someone was not perfect in Phoebe’s eyes, what did she think they must be? Lunatics or axe murderers p. 23
Who can get into trouble as easily as a fly can land on a watermelon? Sal’s grandparents p. 26
What is Phoebe’s last name? Winterbottom p. 29
What are the Winterbottoms very concerned about not eating? Cholesterol p. 30
What is Sal’s memory of her mom and blackberries? Her mom had picked blackberries early in the morning for her and her dad. p . 35
How does Sal’s mother react to the petunia and black eyed susan flowers in the juice glasses? She cries because he is too good and she feels she will never be so good. p.34
What does Gramps call Gram when she is foolish or forgetful? Gooseberry p. 36-37 and other places later
What event made Sal realize she could be happy even though her mother had left? Watching a newborn calf 38
What is the occasion that Sal tells her grandparents all about Phoebe? On a road trip to Idaho.
Where do her grandparents live? Kentucky p. 36
When a young man with a black T-shirt comes to Phoebe’s door while her parents are out, what does she notice about him? He is not wearing socks. P. 43
When the young man (who Phoebe calls a lunatic) leaves, what do Phoebe and Sal do? They run to Mary Lou’s house in fear. P. 45
How are Mary Lou and Ben related? They are cousins p. 46
How does Sal describe the scene at Mary Lou’s house when they arrive there to escape the lunatic? Pandemonium p. 46
What happens to Sal’s collar bone at Mary Lou’s house? Ben kisses it. P. 49
What is written on blue paper on the top step of Phoebe’s porch? A message saying “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.” p. 51
Who is the message for? Nobody knows p. 52
What does Gramps do when he has no money for the parking meter in Madison, Wisconsin? He wrote a note about being a veteran with shrapnel in his leg and appreciating that they let him park for free. P. 54
Was this true? At least not the shrapnel part p. 54
Why does Sal not want to send postcards to her dad? She had bad feelings about the postcards she had received from her mother. P. 56
Who says Huzza, huzza? The woman wearing moccasins doing a traditional dance. P. 58; Gram at the city of Madison and after seeing Old Faithful p. And Sal at the end of the book, p. 280
What was the second message? Everyone has his own agenda p. 60
Who likes making people flinch? Ben Finney p. 66
Who drives a yellow Volkswagen? Mrs. Cadaver OR Margaret p. 67
What do they stop to visit in the town of Pipestone? A pipe museum p. 73
What type of dog did Gramps have when he was not yet married? A beagle, p. 76
How did Gram decide whether to marry Gramps? By how he treated and loved his dog. P. 77
What was special about Gramps’ bed back home in Kentucky? It had belonged to his parents, and he had been born in that bed., p. 78
What does Mr. Birkway collect on the first day of school? Summer journals, p. 81
What is Mrs. Cadaver’s occupation? A nurse, p. 85
What does Sal notice about Phoebe’s mother that Phoebe seems not to notice at all? How she is sad and crying, p. 88
What else does Sal wonder about Phoebe’s mother? Why does she do all the household chores when Phoebe and Prudence could help her. P. 89
What happens at the Missouri River? A boy tells them it is private property p. 93 and Gram gets bitten by a cottonmouth (snake) p. 95
Who sucks and spits out the wound? The boy with no name, p. 95-6 Tom Fleet p. 99
Why does Phoebe refuse her mother’s brownie? 3 reasons: it’s burned; she thinks she is fat; she thinks she doesn’t need her mom to wait for her after school, p. 103
How do the messages arrive? In a white envelope on the porch p. 105
Who says, “Sometimes I don’t think you’re human” and to whom does this person say it? Sal’s mother to her father, p. 109
What are two names given to Sal’s mom? Sugar and Chanhassen p. 110
What did Sal want the relationship between Margaret and her teacher to be? She wanted them to marry so her father would not spend time with Margaret anymore, p. 116
What story does Sal put in her mini journal? About her mom and the blackberry kiss and about kissing all the trees on her farm. P. 122
What is odd about the poem by e.e. cummings? The letter Y at the end of the word newlY is capitalized. P. 124
What was on the table at Phoebe’s house beside the three envelopes? An apple pie, p. 125
What does Phoebe think has happened to her mother? She had been kidnapped, p. 127
What does Sal think when Phoebe’s mom leaves? That she will never come back (either) p. 128
When they had to draw their souls in class, who were the two students that drew a circle with a maple leaf inside? Ben and Sal p. 130
Which word means to pretend to be ill to escape work or duty? Malinger, p. 132
What evidence does Mr. Winterbottom present to Phoebe as counterevidence that her mom had not been kidnapped? The frozen meals her mom had prepared before leaving could not have been made if her leaving was sudden and unexpected. P. 139
What is Broc-Len Cas? Broccoli Lentil Casserole, p. 138
Why had Sal’s mom gone to Lewiston, Idaho? To see her cousin and find out who she “really” was, p. 143
Who said, “Salamanca is my left arm?” Sal's mom in a postcard, p. 144
What kind of tree had Sal fallen out of and broke her leg? An oak, p. 146
What happened with her mom’s pregnancy? The baby came early and died, p. 147
What name did Sal give to the stillborn baby? Tulip, p. 149
What was a further sadness for Sal’s mom after losing the baby? She could not have any others, p. 149
Why would Gram not go back to the egg man even if Gramps used bad language? The egg man snored, p. 152
By the fourth message, what does Phoebe think they are? Clues, p. 154
What did Phoebe eat when invited for dinner to the Finneys? Muesli without milk, p. 161
What was Phoebe’s dad wearing when the kids found him washing the dishes? A frilly apron, p. 162
What does Phoebe tell Sal about guests when she comes for a sleepover? Guests should get your best and that you should make sacrifices for them, p. 165
What did Sal dream she saw through binoculars? Her mother climbing ladders, p. 169
Who is Norma? Mrs. Winterbottom, p. 171
Who tells the class about the myth of Pandora? Phoebe, p. 174
What makes the Black Hills look dark? The pine trees, p. 178-9
Which Native tribe considered the Black Hills sacred? The Sioux, p. 179
Who do they talk to at the police station? Sergeant Bickle, p. 185
Who picks them up from the police station? Mr. Winterbottom, p. 188
Which book is Mrs. Partridge reading in Braille? Murder at Midnight, p. 192
Which three things have the comforting smell of Sal’s mother on them? A shawl, a sweater and a dress, p. 196
Who uses the word “peculible”? Mrs. Partridge, p. 198
What assurance does Mr. Birkway give about reading their journals? He will cover it with yellow paper and change the names, p. 200
Who in the class has pink skin, as mentioned in a journal? Alex, p. 202-3
Who had written Gram her only love letter? The egg man, p. 206
Where does Sal see a photograph of “the lunatic”? In a family picture on Sergeant Bickle’s desk, p. 207
Who is “my little Jimmy”? Mr. Birkway. This is how Mrs. Partridge refers to him, p. 208
Who in Walk Two Moons are twins? Mr. Birkway and Mrs. Cadaver, p. 208
When Mr. Birkway holds up a drawing, what do people see? A vase or two people looking at each other, p. 213
When Mr. Birkway reads aloud from Phoebe’s journal, what does he change the name Mrs. Cadaver to? Mrs. Corpse, p. 216
Why does the teacher not read any other journals after this? He realizes that he has hurt people and the last one was very personal to him, p. 228-9
Who explains to Phoebe what really happened to Mr. Cadaver? Mr. Birkway, p. 219
How had he died? Car hit by a drunk driver, p. 219
How does Sal begin to feel a connection to Margaret Cadaver? Realizing she had also lost someone she loved, p. 220
What is Old Faithful? A geyser, p. 225
What do the girls do to try to find Mrs. Winterbottom? Track down Mr. Bickle’s son, p. 227
How does Sal get Mr. Bickle’s son’s address? Pretending to be Susan Longfellow, a girl who had borrowed a book from him, p. 231-2
What does the lunatic’s name end up being? Mike, p. 232
What does Ben occasionally call Phoebe? Free-Bee, p. 233
Why does Mike not live at home? He is at university, p. 234
Why is Ben also on the bus to Chanting Falls? To visit his mom at the hospital, p. 236
Where exactly does Sal find Ben and his mom? In the hospital gardens, p. 237
What does Gram say she’s been waiting for, for days? A kiss between Sal and Ben, p. 239
What does Phoebe report about her mom and Mike on the bench? They had been spitting and laughing, p. 240
What message does Phoebe’s mom leave when phoning to say she is coming home? That she will bring someone with her, p. 241
What contradictory things does Phoebe’s father do the day her mother is expected to return? Tidies the house and then messes it up again, p. 243
Why does he mess it up? He doesn’t want her to think they are doing fine without her. P. 243
What did the family think was the relationship between Mrs. Winterbottom and Mike? That she was in love with him, p. 247
What is Mrs. Winterbottom afraid of not being? Respectable, p. 248
Who is Mike? Her son, p. 248
Why does Mike not live with the family? He had been given up for adoption before Norma had met her husband, p. 248
Who had left the envelopes on the steps? Mrs. Partridge, p. 250
Why had their neighbour been leaving the notes? She liked the sayings from the newspaper and wanted to cheer them up. P. 253
What gift does Ben bring to Sal? A chicken, p. 254
What name is given to the chicken? Blackberry, p. 255
Why do they take Gram to the hospital? She looks gray, p. 255
What had happened to Gram? She had a stroke, p. 256
What did Sal do for four hours while her Gram was in the hospital? Drove mountain roads to Lewiston, p. 260
What does the man at the overlook point out to Sal? Where a bus had gone off the road a year before, p. 262
Why does Sal want to look at the old broken down bus? To see something familiar (from her mother), p. 265
Who does the sheriff ask to find out Sal’s age? The Deputy, p. 266
Where did Sal think the sheriff would take her? To jail, p. 267
Where did he take her instead? To the cemetery, p. 267
What does Sal say when about to leave the grave? Happy birthday, p. 268
What do Sal and the sheriff talk about on the way back to Gramps at the hospital? The bus accident and if he had seen her mother, p. 270
Why had Sal’s dad wanted to spend so much time with Margaret? She had survived the bus crash and had sat beside Sal’s mom on the bus and gotten to know her, p. 271
Where will Gram be buried? Back in Bybanks, Kentucky,
Where does Sal live at the end of the book? On the farm in Bybanks with her father and grandfather, p. 275
Who plays the moccasin game? Gramps and Sal, p. 275
What is the moccasin game? Where they imagine how they would feel if they were someone else in a certain situation, p. 275
Where does Sal keep her mother’s postcards and snip of hair? Under the floorboards in her bedroom, p. 278
What is a singing tree? A tree with songbirds in it.
Who/what does Sal pray to? Trees
