1. What Did Dink Receive in the Past Week?(P2)

A-Z Mysteries

The Empty Envelope

Chapter 1

1. What did Dink receive in the past week?(p2)

a.whiteenvelopes

b.blue envelopes

c.greenenvelopes

2. Who were the letters written to? (p2)

1. Dorothy
2. Debbie
3. Doris

3. What was in the fifth envelope? (p3)

1. another letter
2. a picture
3. Nothing.

4. Who were the letters from? (p4)

a.O. Bird

b.O. Carroll

c.D. Duncan

5. What is ‘CO’ an abbreviation for? (p5)

1. Connecticut
2. Chicago
3. Colorado

Chapter 2

1. Who called Dink? (p9)

1. O. Bird
2. Doris Duncan
3. Dink’s mother

2. Where was Doris Duncan? (p10)

1. in Colorado
2. at the Shangri-la Hotel
3. in Brooklyn

3. Who did Doris Duncan say the letters were from? (p14)

1. her mother
2. her friend
3. her boss

4. Why did Dink say sorry to Doris Duncan? (p15)

1. Because his mother wasn’t at home.
2. Because he didn’t have any money to give to Doris Duncan.
3. Because he couldn’t find the envelopes.

5. What time was Doris Duncan going to return to Dink’s house? (p16)

1. at five o’clock
2. at six o’clock
3. at seven o’clock

Chapter 3

1. Who was Steggy? (p19)

1. Nate’s favorite dinosaur
2. Nate’s brother
3. Nate’s friend

2. Where did the children find the envelopes? (pp19-20)

1. in a desk drawer
2. on the kitchen table
3. in the refrigerator

3. When did O. Bird mail the letters? (p23)

1. last year
2. last month
3. last week

4. Why did Josh smear milk on one of the letters? (p24)

1. Because he wanted to ruin the letter.
2. Because he wanted to test the letter for invisible ink.
3. Because he wanted to make Doris Duncan angry.

5. What did Ruth Rose find when she held the letter up to the window? (p24)

1. holes in the letter
2. a secret picture
3. money

Chapter 4

1. Why were the children examining the letters? (p26)

1. Because they were looking for a secret message.
2. Because the paper was pretty.
3. Because they were bored.

2. What did the letter ‘E’ mean? (p28)

1. elephant
2. envelope
3. exciting

3. How many words were in the secret message? (p30)

1. three
2. six
3. nine

4. What were the pictures on the stamps? (p31)

1. yellow sunflowers
2. red roses
3. purple tulips

Chapter 5

1. Why did Ruth Rose boil a kettle of water? (p32)

1. Because she wanted to make some tea.
2. Because she wanted to steam the stamps.
3. Because she wanted to boil some eggs.

2. What was hidden under the sunflower stamps? (p32)

1. a smaller stamp
2. a photograph
3. an address

3. Where did the children take the stamp and envelopes? (p36)

1. to the police station
2. to the Shangri-la Hotel
3. to the library

4. What are ‘inverts’? (p39)

1. secret messages in letters
2. stamps printed upside down by mistake
3. words spelled backwards

5. How much was the stamp worth? (p41)

1. fifty thousand dollars
2. forty thousand dollars
3. thirty thousand dollars

Chapter 6

1. Which newspaper did the children read? (p44)

1. The New York Times
2. The Green Lawn Times
3. The Connecticut Times

2. Who was Miss Clementine Painter? (p46)

1. the lady at the library
2. the lady who lost the stamp
3. a police officer

3. Who were the children going to give the stamp to? (p48)

1. Officer Fallon
2. O. Bird
3. Doris Duncan

4. Why did the children hide behind a hedge? (p50)

1. Because a dog was chasing them.
2. Because they needed a rest.
3. Because a strange car was outside Dink’s house.

5. Who was waiting for Dink? (p50-51)

1. his mother
2. Doris Duncan and a man
3. Officer Fallon

Chapter 7

1. Who were the children running from? (p53)

1. the man in the green suit
2. Nate’s dinosaur, Steggy
3. Dink’s mother

2. Where did the children run and hide? (p55)

1. Ruth Rose’s garden
2. Dink’s house
3. Josh’s barn

3. Who did Ruth Rose call first? (p60)

1. her mother
2. O. Bird
3. Officer Fallon

4. How much money did Ruth Rose want for the stamp? (p61)

1. five thousand dollars
2. five hundred dollars
3. fifty dollars

5. Where did Ruth Rose tell Doris Duncan to meet her? (p63)

1. at the Shangri-la Hotel
2. at Dink’s house
3. at the library

Chapter 8

1. Where were Josh and Dink? (p64)

1. sitting next to Ruth Rose
2. hiding in Mrs. Mackleroy’s office
3. standing outside

2. What was the name of the man in the green suit? (p66)

1. Otto Bird
2. Officer Fallon
3. Bessie Duncan

3. What did Doris Duncan and Otto Bird want from Ruth Rose? (p68)

1. an address
2. the stamp
3. the secret message

4. Who was the man snoozing by the door? (p69)

1. Officer Fallon
2. a store person
3. a business man

5. What did Officer Fallon do? (p69)

1. arrested Doris Duncan and Otto Bird
2. chased Josh and Dink
3. stole the stamp

Chapter 9

1. Who was the woman with the white hair? (p72)

1. Ruth Rose’s grandmother
2. Mrs. Mackleroy
3. Clementine Painter

2. Where was Officer Fallon going to send the thieves? (p74)

1. to a New York city jail
2. to another library
3. back to the Shangri-la Hotel

3. Why did Clementine tell Otto Bird about the stamp? (p76)

a.Because she wanted him to steal it.

b.Because he worked for a stamp organization.

c.Because he was her friend.

4. Where did Clementine hide the stamp?(p76-77)

1. in her cookie jar
2. in her vacuum cleaner
3. under her bed

5. From now on, where wasClementine going to keep the stamp? (p78)

1. in her cookie jar
2. in a new vacuum cleaner
3. in a bank

Dictation

1. “I wonder if you’ll get another blue envelope,” he said to Dink.

1. The letters weren’t on the counter, the fridge, or the stove.

1. “But what about this?” Dink said. “The letters are all dated last week. But Doris Duncan told me her mom died last month!”

1. The kids spent ten minutes trying to make a message out of the letters J, H, D, O, F, and E.

1. The kids looked at each other. Then they stared at the little blue stamp.

1. “You mean inverts,” she said. “Stamps that were printed upside down by mistake.”

1. “You guys are crazy,” he finally said. “Besides, there’s no way to be sure.”

1. The man stopped at the edge of the woods.

1. Doris Duncan dropped five one hundred-dollar bills into Ruth Rose’s hand.

1. “In my cookie jar,” she said. “I treat myself to one cookie every day with my tea!”