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McCloskey Robert Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
McCloskey Robert Quizzes, Trivia

Robert McCloskey Trivia

Robert McCloskey Trivia Quizzes

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Although he only wrote eight picture books, Robert McCloskey will long be remembered for "Make Way for Ducklings", a story of two mallards raising their brood in Boston Public Garden. The book won the 1942 Caldecott Medal, and has been memorialised by a statue in the garden which is a popular tourist destination, especially for families with young children.
3 Robert McCloskey quizzes and 30 Robert McCloskey trivia questions.
1.
Make Way for Ducklings
  Make Way for Ducklings    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This well-loved story by Robert McCloskey, winner of the 1942 Caldecott Medal, has been delighting children for many decades.
Average, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, Oct 10 22
Recommended for grades: 1,2,3,4
Average
looney_tunes editor
Oct 10 22
161 plays
2.
  It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
One of my favorite books from childhood: from 1943, Robert McCloskey's "Homer Price."
Average, 10 Qns, Caseena, Feb 14 10
Average
Caseena
161 plays
3.
  The Case of Sensational Scent    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is about the first chapter in the book "Homer Price" (written by Robert McCloskey). Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, Rezhwan, May 18 12
Average
Rezhwan
96 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What strange item did the old man bring into the town with him in "Nothing New Under the Sun (Hardly)"?

From Quiz "It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey"





Robert McCloskey Trivia Questions
1. How many miles out of Centerburg did Homer live?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: two miles

Centerburg was a town in Midwestern America founded by Ezekiel Enders many years ago. Ezekiel Enders bought all of the land from the Indians for a jug of cough syrup. Ezekiel soon found 42 pounds of edible fungus and took it as a sign, so he settled down and founded a town and named it Edible Fungus. Many years later, Edible Fungus came to be known as Centerburg.

2. In "The Case of the Sensational Scent," what kind of pet does Homer have?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Skunk

His pet's name is Aroma. Aroma helps Homer catch a group of bandits.

3. Mr and Mrs Mallard, a duck couple, are looking for a place to live and raise a family. What issue does Mrs Mallard have with the first places that Mr Mallard chooses for their new home?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: There might be foxes in the woods or turtles in the water

In the first few pages, we already can see that Mrs Mallard has a mind of her own! Since she is the one who will be sitting on the eggs as they incubate, it is important for her to be satisfied with the spot they choose for their nest.

4. What is Homer's favorite hobby?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: building radios

Homer Price loves building radios and makes a hobby out of them. Sometimes, when he goes up to his room to work on building a radio, he has the family cat Tabby for company.

5. What do the bandits in "The Case of the Sensational Scent" steal?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Money and shaving lotion

Aroma finds them by smelling the shaving lotion. The story makes the papers: "Boy and Pet Skunk Trap Shaving Lotion Robbers by Smell."

6. They get tired of flying, and decide to spend the night in what city?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: Boston

There they spotted a nice island in a pond of the Public Garden, which looked like a good place for an overnight stay before they continued their nesting quest. The next morning they fished for their breakfast in the mud at the bottom of the pond, but with little luck.

7. How did Homer Price know that skunks could make an extremely bad smell if frightened?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: He had read about it somewhere

Homer was very careful not to frighten the skunk when he saw him for the first time, but he soon tamed him and named him Aroma, which means smell in Latin. He had also read that skunks could make good pets.

8. What is the name of the superhero that Homer's friend Freddy admires?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: The Super-Duper

Homer says that the Super-Duper stories are all alike, but Freddy protests. After a movie, they meet the "real" Super-Duper, who gets caught in a barbed-wire fence.

9. At the Public Garden, Mr and Mrs Mallard are interested in what they think is an enormous bird. What is it really?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: a boat in the park's pond

The boat is one of Boston Public Garden's famous Swan boats, which appear to have a large swan perched on the back end, covering the pedal mechanism by which the operator moves the boat, and looking forward at the tourists who are taking a ride. Mr and Mrs Mallard were a bit disappointed that the swan wouldn't respond to them, but they were very happy to be fed peanuts by the tourists.

10. When he was fully tamed, Aroma kept visiting Homer while Homer was working on his hobby. He spent most of the time during his visits sleeping. What was Aroma's favorite sleeping place?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: inside Homer's suitcase

Aroma's home was right beneath Homer's window. To let him come up when he needed company, Homer used some rope and a basket to build him an elevator. When Homer would whistle, Aroma would climb into the basket, and Homer would pull the basket up using the rope, so that Aroma could come up and visit Homer while he was working on radios.

11. In Homer's uncle's lunchroom, what kind of confection will the machine not stop making?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Doughnuts

This story is called, not surprisingly, "The Doughnuts." The machine wasn't put together properly and when Telly tried to turn it off, the machine kept making doughnuts. The illustration shows doughnuts piled on the countertops, stools, windowsills, and the floor.

12. No sooner have they agreed to settle down and build their nest in the Public Garden than something happens that makes Mr and Mrs Mallard change their minds and leave the Public Gardens. What happens?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: Mr Mallard is nearly run over by a boy on a bicycle.

Just when Mr Mallard thought he had located a suitable nesting site (no foxes, no turtles, and plenty of peanuts from the tourists), this incident led Mrs Mallard to conclude that this was no place for babies. So on they fly.

13. What did N. W. Blott win for writing the best slogan about Dreggs After Shaving Lotion?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: $2000 and a dozen bottles of Dreggs After Shaving Lotion

After the suitcase containing the reward was stolen by the four robbers, N. W. Blott offered half the money and lotion bottles to anyone who gave him the suitcase, though a lot of the lotion bottles were broken in the end. The smell of Dreggs After Shaving Lotion came to be known as "that distinctive invigorating smell that keeps you on your toes."

14. What item of jewelry does the rich lady lose in the batter?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Diamond bracelet

It accidentally was baked inside one of the doughnuts. They offer a reward to whoever finds the bracelet (but the finder has to return the bracelet).

15. Mr and Mrs Mallard consider a number of sites for their home. Where did they decide to build their nest?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: the Charles River

They check out the other three Boston locations, but each has issues. Then they spot an island near the bank of the Charles River, near the Public Garden (and its peanuts), which meets all of their requirements, so they settle down to build their nest.

16. Which robber spotted Aroma in the suitcase for the first time (when the robbers were in the forest)?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: the second robber

The fourth robber picked up a rock and threw it at Aroma to scare him away, and Aroma immediately released his bad smell for protection.

17. What's the name of the town where Homer lives?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Centerburg

The strangest things happen in this town. Doughnut machines that won't turn off, traveling mousetraps, large balls of yarn...

18. Mr and Mrs Mallard visit the park on the riverbank frequently while preparing for the arrival of their eggs. What is the name of the policeman there?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: Michael

They have lost their flying feathers, but they can still swim, and also walk across the ground to get to the spot where Michael is stationed. Michael feeds them some peanuts, and they make a visit with him part of their daily routine.

19. How much were the robbers SUPPOSED to pay to rent the cabin for the night?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: $4

They were supposed to pay $4, but they paid Homer $5 and told him to keep the change. When Homer was about to put the $5 bill in the counter, he smelled a mixture of Dreggs After Shaving Lotion and Aroma's horrible smell, so Homer came to the conclusion that the four men were the robbers.

20. In the story "Mystery Yarn," who wins the contest for the largest ball of yarn?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Miss Terwilliger

She wins by unwinding the yarn in her dress along the track. Since the sheriff and Telly were betting on who would get to marry her by who won the contest, Miss Terwilliger gets to choose for herself.

21. While hatching the eggs, Mrs Mallard cannot visit the park. She only stops sitting on them to get a drink, have her lunch, and do what else?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: count the eggs

Mrs Mallard lays eight eggs (which is not that many for a mallard, since a clutch is usually 8-13). After about a month, they hatch and the ducklings that emerge are named (in order) Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. Mr Mallard decides to head off exploring the rest of the river, and Mrs Mallard is kept busy raising the ducklings.

22. Where were the robbers planning to drive to?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: Mexico

Two of the robbers wanted to drive to Mexico in the night, but the other two were afraid of driving during nighttime and were reluctant to go. The robbers thought they smelled Aroma, so they all decided to go to Mexico straightaway, but Homer didn't let them, and the robbers were soon arrested by the sheriff.

23. What strange item did the old man bring into the town with him in "Nothing New Under the Sun (Hardly)"?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: A truck

The truck was a moving mousetrap. He built it so that the world would "beat a path" to his door, as the saying goes.

24. What was the title of the headline in the news about Homer Price catching the robbers?

From Quiz The Case of Sensational Scent

Answer: BOY AND PET SKUNK TRAP SHAVING LOTION ROBBERS BY SMELL

Homer and Aroma led the robbers from the cabin to the barbershop, so that the sheriff could handcuff them and put them in jail. The robbers weren't accustomed to walking on ground barefoot, so they couldn't escape. After they were arrested, the sheriff congratulated and thanked Homer for helping him.

25. What animal did old man Michael Murphy, from "Nothing New Under the Sun (Hardly)," offer to rid the town of?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Mice

He used his moving mousetrap to take the mice out of town. The truck played a special tune, and to make sure that the children also would not be lured out of town as in "The Pied Piper of Hamlin," the doctor put cotton in the children's ears.

26. One day while Mr Mallard is away, Mrs Mallard decides the ducklings are ready for an expedition, and takes them on a trip to the Public Garden. What is the first obstacle they encounter?

From Quiz Make Way for Ducklings

Answer: traffic on the road

When they get to the highway on the far side of the park, they are horrified by all the traffic. Fortunately, Michael sees the problem, and stops the traffic so they can cross the road. Then he organises other policemen to help them through the other intersections on their route, so they arrive safe and sound. This is the source of the book's title, as all the traffic has to 'Make Way for Ducklings'.

27. What did Homer and Freddy dress as for the town's Progress Week play?

From Quiz It's a Little Bit "Homer" Pricey

Answer: Indians

The play, from "Wheels of Progress," tells of the town's founding. The town was originally called Edible Fungus, as the settlers survived in the wilderness by eating fungus.

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