Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Oakland, California to visit their mother (Chapter 1)

2. Big Ma (their grandmother) always told the girls their mother was homeless. (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Their mother abandoned them six years ago. They don’t know her; she doesn’t know them. All they know is Brooklyn and traveling 3000 miles away from home and everything familiar. The stories they’ve been told about their mother have led them to believe that she is not a nice person. (Inferences can be drawn from chapters 1-4.)

2. Delphine remembers her mother as erratic, writing on the walls in a smoke-and-music-filled house. (Chapter 4) 

3. Delphine is both confused and fascinated by her mother. She sees a tall woman dressed in dark glasses, men’s pants, a hat, and a scarf. Cecile walks them really fast through the airport and hustles them into a car. (Chapter 3) 

Chapters 5-11

Reading Check

1. Chinese takeout (Chapter 5)

2. Members of the Black Panther Party came over. They want Cecile to print something on her printing press. (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. In addition to abandoning her daughters six years prior, Cecile doesn’t bother to make the girls home-cooked food.