Chapter One 1. a.

Freak the Mighty
Comprehension Check: Chapters 1-5
Chapter One
1. What was Max’s nickname in daycare? Why was he called this?
a. Max’s nickname in daycare was Kicker because he kicked everything.
2. What does Max mean by “…the year Gram and Grim took me over…”?
a. By this statement Max meant that Gram and Grim were now his parents.
3. Who is Freak?
a. Freak is also known as Kevin, which is a kid that goes to daycare with Max.
4. What does Grim mean when he says that Maxwell is “getting to look a lot like him”?
a. Grim means that Max is getting older and is looking like his dad.
5. When does Freak move into the duplex down the street from Max?
a. Freak moves into the duplex the summer before Max’s eighth grade year.
Chapter Two
1. Where does Max live? Why?
a. Max lives in the basement because it’s his own private down under.
2. How does Max describe himself?
a.
3. What does Max mean by “… your basic chunk of chain-link heaven”?
a. Max is referring to his backyard because of the fence made of chains.
4. Who is “the Fair Gwen”? Describe her as Max would.
a. “The Fair Gwen” is Kevin’s mom and she is described as a beautiful like a movie star.
5. What is Kevin doing as the movers are moving them in to their new home?
a. Kevin was screaming at the movers to be careful with his computer.
Chapter Three
1. Why is Kevin waving his crutch up at the tree and trying to jump up and down?
a. Kevin was trying to get his ornithopter (mechanical bird) out of the tree.
2. What does Max do to help? What do they end up doing?
a. Max gets the bird from out of the tree and gives it to Kevin. Kevin shows Max how the
bird flies.
3. Why do you think Kevin isn’t embarrassed to have Max pulling him in the wagon?
a. Kevin isn’t embarrassed by Max pulling him because Kevin is used to be being pulled in
the wagon.
Chapter Four
1. Why does Kevin refer to his mom as “the Fair Gwen of Air”?
a. Kevin calls his mom “the Fair Gwen of Air” because he likes the legend of King Arthur
and there is a person named Fair Guinevere.
2. Describe Kevin’s fascination with knights.
a. Kevin is fascinated with knights because they were like the first version of human
robots.
3. Describe the relationship Kevin makes between King Arthur’s men and today’s robots?
a. Kevin says, “They wore this metal armor to protect them and make them invincible…
King Arthur wanted to improve his men, so he made them armor-plated. Then he
programmed them to go out and do these quests … which is sort of how they program
robots right now.”
4. According to Kevin, what is robotics and how is it used?
a. Robotics, the science of designing and building functional robots. They are used as
machines to put together cars, trucks, and computers.
5. When comparing TV to books, Kevin says, “Books are like the truth serum – if you don’t read,
you can’t figure out what’s real.” What do you think he means by this?
a. Kevin means that you are able to understand the truth if you read books.
6. Explain why Gwen is so worried about Kevin being with Max?
a. Gwen is worried about Kevin being with Max because Max is so much bigger than Kevin.
Chapter Five
1. Why does Gwen call to apologize?
a. Gwen calls to apologize because she realizes that she was wrong for how she acted
when she picked up Kevin.
2. Why do you think Max feels so uncomfortable about having dinner with Kevin and Gwen?
a. Max feels uncomfortable because he knows that Gwen might be scared of him since he
is so big now.
3. What does Freak mean when he says, “What she means is, you’re a spitting image of your old
man”?
a. Freak means that Max look EXACTLY like his father.
4. Why does Max begin to cry as he lies down on his bed that night?
a. Max is crying like a baby because when he lies down and thinks about the day, he
realizes how happy he was.