Name ______Date______
English 5 Mr. Solomon
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons Study Guide
Chapter 1
1)What does Ellen remember about the feeling of being scared?
2)Explain “Big wind-up toy of a man. He is just too sorry to talk back to even if he is my daddy” pg. 3
3)Explain “And the way the Lord moves is his business”. pg. 7
Chapter 2
1)Why does Ellen feel the need to read in order to fall asleep? pg. 10
2)Find a quote that best describes daddy’s behavior during the funeral. Explain.
Chapter. 3
1)Explain the significance of Dolphin. pg. 13
2)Describe Nadine’s behavior at the funeral, from Ellen’s point of view.
Chapter. 4
1)Explain “And what else are you going to say when the Bible comes flat out and says killing yourself is flinging God’s gift back into his face and He will not forgive you for it ever? The preacher leaves that out and goes straight to the green valleys and the streets of gold.” pg. 20
Chapter. 5
1)Why does Ellen feel the “teachers were dying” to ask her some questions?
2)What is this business arrangement made by Rudolph and Ellis for Ellen’s father?
3)Explain how Ellen manages the finances for she and her daddy.
4)Explain, “I always walked in wide circles around him”. pg: 25
Chapter. 6
1)Choose one “thing” in Starletta’s home and explain how it shows her family’s lifestyle.
2)What does Ellen mean when she says, “No matter how good it looks to you it is still a colored biscuit.” pg 32
3)Describe one specific activity Ellen enjoys in her “new mama’ s” house.
4)Explain “No matter how I turn my head when I look I still seem like a stranger in my own self”. pg 36
Chapter. 7
1)Why has Ellen offered a dollar to Starletta’s mama?
2)Explain “He could make anything into trash” pg. 44
Chapter. 8
1)Describe the activities at Roy and Julia’s.
Chapter. 9
1)Describe specifically what happened to Ellen’s father at school. Chapter. 9
2)Explain what happened in court.
3)Describe Sunday in the “new mama’s” home.
Chapter. 10
1)Explain, “Some days I felt like it was a torture chamber and I counted the days until school”. pg. 63
2)How does Ellen’s experience with Mavis show the “meanness” of her “mama’s mama”?
3)Explain, “Go ahead said the magician. There is nothing to be afraid of. Everything has vanished! See. There is nothing in the box.” pg. 70
Chapter. 11
1)Explain, “It would humble you I whisper to her sleeping if you for one time stood by something stronger than yourself.” pg. 79
Chapter. 12
1) Explain Ellen’s “logic” in her last name of Foster. Chapter. 12
Chapter. 13
1)Explain the significance of one of the three deaths in Ellen’s life.
Chapter. 14
1)How does Christmas with Nadine and Dora differ from the Christmas with Starletta’s family?
Chapter. 15
1) Explain how Ellen joins her “new family”.
2)Explain how Starletta is the “bridge” between the flashback Ellen and the present day Ellen.