RESPONSE POSSIBILITIES--MAJ

Paulie tackles the problem

Here is a list of possible answers for Part 2. You may compare your answers to this list.

Verse 1

1. --very, very sad

--sadder than ever

2. --bigger than Father's ladder

Verse 2

1. --He thinks up an idea.

--He decides to use his tree house to solve his problem.

2. --He rolled the great red ball to the tree house.

--He scurried up the tree.

--He climbed the tree.

3. --In this case: to climb up the tree quickly

--"Hickery-dickery dock,"

The mouse ran up the clock!

--There are many mice mentioned in literature, from the framing of the constitution with Benjamin Franklin to the mouse in Charlott's Web, to present day cartoons and Mickey Mouse. An all-time favorite is the mouse Stuart Little.

Verse 3

1. --very, very happy

--very excited

2. --He positioned himself to kick the ball.

3. --It grows!

--It grows so big, it blocks out the sun.

Verse 4

1. --the ball

2. --He could not kick the ball.

--And he could not feel the breeze.

Verse 5

1. --No. He climbed down.

--He also laid upon the grass and watched the clouds.

--He also became very quiet for a long time.

--And he saw a mountain.

2. "Crystal clear" means:

--to be understood completely

--to see or understand fully

3. --Little Paulie became very, very sad.

--He sadder than ever.

--He could no longer do anything.

Verse 6

1. Choose one and explain why:

--Little Paulie's abilities were limited.

--His hoping to do what was needed to solve his problem was nearly gone.

--He forgot to eat a hardy breakfast.

2. --"Just one more try--"

3. Little Paulie says: "Just one more try--before that red ball somehow starts to root!" Say what it means by choosing one and explaining why:

--He is doubtful.

--He is fearful.

--He is hopeful.

Verse 7

1. Little Paulie studied the big red ball:

--from side to side

--from all around

--with determination

2. --It rooted itself.

3. --He tugged at the root.

--He pulled on the root until he was tired.

Verse 8

1. --The big red ball's as "big as any house and mountain, too!"

2. Little Paulie saw his big red ball as a red brick wall.

--You see it as...?

--If it were your problem, then how would you see it?

3. Little Paulie pushed on the big red ball and it grew bigger!

--What would you do if you were pushing on the ball and it grew. Why?

Verse 9

1. --He huffed and heaved up a hill.

2. Little Paulie said: "I'll kick this great red ball into the sky!" Here this means:

--His hope to do what he needed to do grew bigger.

Paulie gives his all

Here is a list of possible answers for Part 3. You may compare your answers to this list.

Verse 1

1. --the lake

--a hill

2. --Winter

--that mountain

Verse 2

1. --tired

--too tired

2. --big

--a mountain of trouble

3. To suggest his will was a match for that huge red ball and a mountain of trouble, little Paulie said:

--"Still, I will take this big red rooting bubble,

Throw it up that mountain...tap root and all!"

Verse 3

1. --Little Paulie decided to tie the tap root about his waist and pull the big red ball up the mountain.

2. Half way up the mountain, little Paulie began to feel

--"used up" or the need for new energy.

--(Now say how you might feel pulling on the red ball.)

--Suddenly, little Paulie was off on a ride!

Verse 4

1. --an air current

2. --"winds that gently blew!"

Verse 5

1. --Little Paulie learned that it was an active volcano.

--The hot air from the volcano lifted him up.

2. --And from high up, little Paulie saw every hill.

--And from high up, little Paulie saw everything.

3. --The next thing he did was to untie the tap root from around his waist.

Verse 6

1. --The tap root fell into the mouth of the volcano.

2. --The heat or hot air (from the mountain) enlarged the tap root.

3. --Warm air collected in little Paulie's clothes.

Verse 7

1. Fill in the blank. Little Paulie,___________.

--fell into the mouth of the volcano

--roasted marshmallows

--"up, up, up it went!"

2. --"Rose that great bubble."

--the big red ball

Verse 8

1. --It was a good thing that the big red ball also floated into the sky because little Paulie began to fall. But he was able to land with a bounce onto the big red ball.

2. --Little Paulie began to fall because the hot air was gone from his clothes.

--"He dropped like weighted lead."

Verse 9

1. Little Paulie and his big red ball were soon floating together "long and far...."

--Suddenly, little Paulie spied his home.

2. Did little Paulie get home?

--Yes.

--He climbed down the root and bounced into his father's car.

3. Little Paulie looked up.

--But he was surprised to see the huge red ball gone!

4. Do you think little Paulie was glad to be home?

--(If so, explain why you think so.)

The words that best suggest he was happy to be home are:

--"Mother! Father!... I'm home!

I'm home!"