68 pages • 2 hours read
Pictures Of Hollis Woods
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During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
FIRST PICTURE-FOURTH PICTURE
Reading Check
1. What are the only two things Hollis requires to “get along?”
2. What is Josie carrying in her hand the first time that Hollis sees her?
3. According to Josie, what two types of people are there?
4. Which memory does Hollis express in the Third Picture?
5. What special gift does the Old Man give Holly?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is Holly’s “W” picture? How do the adults in her life respond to the “W” picture?
2. Who is Josie Cahill? How does Hollis think of this person?
3. What does Hollis try to capture with her Second Picture? How does she feel about the result?
4. What is Josie’s relationship to money? Describe the observations that Hollis makes about her guardian’s spending habits.
Paired Resource
“Obituary: Patricia Reilly Giff”
- This obituary from Publishers Weekly provides an overview of Giff’s life and novels.
- The discussion of her life’s work connects with the themes The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories; Running, Hiding, and Being Found; and Using Art To See Life Clearly.
- Based on the text as well as the above resource, what topics did Giff focus on in her novels? How did she use her personal life to shape her writings, such as Pictures of Hollis Woods?
CHAPTER 4-SEVENTH PICTURE
Reading Check
1. What phrase does Hollis like enough for her “next absence note?”
2. According to Beatrice, what does Hollis have that most people do not?
3. What message was written on a note found near Hollis when she was a newborn?
4. What does Steven teach Hollis to do?
5. What is Izzy doing in the sketch Hollis intends to give her?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Beatrice respond to Holly’s artistic work, and what advice does she give her?
2. What did the Old Man say about Holly’s art? How did Hollis respond to these comments?
3. Summarize Holly’s concerns regarding the mustard woman. How do these concerns place a strain on her time in Josie’s house?
4. What information does Hollis learn from the surprise visit from the mustard woman? How does she react to the situation?
5. What did Hollis overhear Izzy and the Old Man discussing? How does she react to this information?
Paired Resource
“Every Time Foster Kids Move, They Lose Months of Academic Progress”
- The Atlantic explores the connection between low school attendance and the foster care system. (Note: this article may require a subscription.)
- This article connects with the themes The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories and Running, Hiding, and Being Found.
- Based on the text as well as the above resource, in which ways does the foster care system affect Hollis’s attendance at school?
CHAPTERS 8-12
Reading Check
1. What word does Hollis try to capture in the content of her Eighth Picture?
2. What did Izzy make to celebrate Holly’s inclusion in the family?
3. What keeps Hollis and Josie isolated in the Branches house over Christmas?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What are Hollis’s major worries regarding Josie? What plan does she hatch as a way of finding a solution to the problem?
2. How does Hollis guide Josie? Summarize their arrival at the Branches.
3. Describe Christmas Eve at the Branches. How do Hollis and Josie spend their time there? What does Hollis keep thinking about?
Paired Resources
“Fact Sheets: US Adoption & Foster Care Statistics”
- The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute shares a plethora of statistics related to adoption and foster care in the US.
- These facts connects with the themes The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories and Running, Hiding, and Being Found.
- Based on the text as well as the above resource, what are the different paths that the foster care system leads to? For example, how common is it for families to adopt from the foster care system? How does this information connect with Hollis’s story?
“Demographics of Adoptive Parents”
- The National Council for Adoption shares a breakdown of the socio-economic backgrounds of adults who choose to adopt.
- This information connects with the themes The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories and Running, Hiding, and Being Found.
- Based on the text as well as the above resource, how do the profiles of adoptive parents from the foster care system differ from those who adopt outside the foster care system?
ELEVENTH PICTURE-FOURTEENTH PICTURE
Reading Check
1. What is Holly’s favorite color of drawing pencil?
2. What does Hollis find hanging on the door of the shed?
3. What does Hollis believe that she had “messed up?”
4. Who is Christina?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What story does Hollis tell in her description of the Eleventh Picture? How is this story significant to her relationship with Steven?
2. What gift does Josie give Hollis for Christmas? How does this gift lead to a conversation about Holly’s character?
3. Summarize the reunion scene between Hollis and Steven. What did Hollis realize about Steven’s relationship with the Old Man? How do Steven’s words confirm the truth?
4. What two phone calls does Hollis place at the end of the novel, and what message does she send in each?
Recommended Next Reads
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Giff’s 1997 novel centers on the protagonist Lily’s friendship with a Hungarian refugee in the US during World War II.
- Shared themes include The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories and Running, Hiding, and Being Found.
- Shared topics include female protagonists in children’s books and natural settings.
- Lily’s Crossing on SuperSummary
A Child Called It by David Pelzer
- Pelzer’s 1995 nonfiction account tells of his traumatic experience of abuse as a young child.
- Shared themes include The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories and Running, Hiding, and Being Found.
- Shared topics include difficult family environments, childhood trauma, and the desire for a stable family.
- A Child Called It on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
FIRST PICTURE-FOURTH PICTURE
Reading Check
1. “[P]encil and paper” (First Picture)
2. A knife (Chapter 1)
3. “There are saltwater people, and freshwater people.” (Chapter 2)
4. Her time fishing with the Regans (Third Picture)
5. A drawing set of pencils and paper (Fourth Picture)
Short Answer
1. The “W” picture was an assignment that Hollis had to complete where she chose a picture to represent the letter “W.” Her picture, which shows a family with a house, represents “W” as in she “wishes” for a family, but her teacher and guardian are not pleased with the submission and punish her. (First Picture)
2. Josie Cahill is an artist and Holly’s new foster guardian. She tries to make the place warm and inviting for Hollis, opening Hollis up to her world of art and showing Hollis places that are important to her, such as the beach and the local movie theater. (Chapters 1-3)
3. Hollis tries to draw the memory of the first time that she met Steven and they played chess together. This is an important memory for her since it is the first time that she feels that she has a brother; however, she is disappointed with the drawing because she does not believe she accurately captures Steven. (Second Picture)
4. Although Josie depends on support checks, she often lives lavishly by buying expensive food items and not saving money for essentials such as gas. Hollis has some money saved; however, she calls this her “running money” and only uses it for escaping. (Chapter 3)
CHAPTER 4-SEVENTH PICTURE
Reading Check
1. “A lingering cold” (Chapter 4)
2. Something to say (Chapter 4)
3. “CALL HER HOLLIS WOODS” (Fifth Picture)
4. Drive (Sixth Picture)
5. Flipping a pancake (Seventh Picture)
Short Answer
1. Beatrice is taken aback by Holly’s talent. She reviews all her drawings, gives her feedback and tips on how to progress, and tells her drawings contain truths that even the artists don’t know. (Chapter 4)
2. The Old Man says that Holly’s art is a “gift” and she “shines” through her drawings. Hollis is deeply touched by these comments but is too embarrassed to show it. (Picture 5)
3. The mustard woman threatens to reveal that Hollis has been regularly missing school, a fact that Josie does not seem to be aware of. When the mustard woman visits the home one day and sees that Hollis is not in school, Hollis realizes that she needs to start attending again so she can stay with Josie and ensure that she will not be alone. (Chapters 5-6)
4. On another day that Hollis skips school, the mustard lady appears, informing Josie and Hollis that she will be moving Hollis to another house. Josie is surprised, and Hollis is frustrated and emotional with the decision. (Chapter 7)
5. On her way to give Izzy the drawing, she overhears Izzy and the Old Man discussing that they want to keep Hollis, but they need to add an extension to the house so she has her own room. Hollis realizes that the Regans want to adopt her, and she has “never been so happy.” (Seventh Picture)
CHAPTERS 8-12
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. After the mustard woman decides to move Hollis to another house, Hollis is concerned about leaving Josie alone. Hollis plans so that she, Josie, and Henry escape from the mustard woman in Josie’s car. (Chapter 8)
2. After Josie agrees to the plan, Hollis begins to pack and navigate a tired Josie off of Long Island and to the Branches house. The two make it safely there, and Hollis is able to reconnect with her former abode and locate her cherished drawing set. (Chapters 9-10)
3. The combination of their remote location and the snowy weather means that time seems to stop at the Branches house. While they run low on supplies, especially those for Christmas delicacies, they enjoy their time together doing art and listening to Christmas music. Over the course of the week that they spend there, Holly’s thoughts continually return to her time with the Old Man, Izzy, and Steven. (Chapter 12)
ELEVENTH PICTURE-FOURTEENTH PICTURE
Reading Check
1. French Blue (Eleventh Picture)
2. One of Steven’s sweaters (Chapter 13)
3. “I’d messed up the whole family.” (Twelfth Picture)
4. Her sister in the Regan family (Fourteenth Picture)
Short Answer
1. In the Eleventh Picture, Hollis recalls the day that she trekked up the mountain alone. After a difficult journey up, she celebrated her achievement, but then had an accident and hurt her head. Luckily for her, as she needed help, Steven realized that she was gone a long time and came to get her. The two bonded over feeling left out at school. However, on the drive home, their car flipped over; Steven, injured, saved Holly’s life. (Eleventh Picture)
2. Josie gives Hollis the newly finished tree figure carving. Hollis is touched, remarking that although the carving resembles her, it is “not as tough” and is not a “mountain of trouble” as she is. Josie reminds her that she is not trouble, but a good and kind person. (Chapter 14)
3. Hollis encounters Steven outside of the Branches house and realizes that he has been their Santa Claus while she and Josie were snowed in. Contrary to her prior belief that the Old Man preferred her to Steven, she realizes that this is just the nature of their relationship and she did not mess anything up within the Regan family. (Chapter 16)
4. First, she calls Beatrice to tell her that they are safe and together, leading Beatrice to come back from her trip. Second, she calls Izzy, asking if she “could come home.” (Chapter 17- Fourteenth Picture)
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