Chapter 11 - The Watsons

Which piece of evidence best explains Kenny’s surprise when he meets Grandma Sands?

• I thought Grandma Sands would be bigger than Dad, I thought she’ be foaming at the mouth like she had rabies.

• I’d imagined the cane would be as big as a tree trunk with crow and owls and lizards living in it.

• Man, if you think Momma can talk Southern-style, you should hear Grandma Sands!

• Grandma Sands waved a little skinny stick in the air and said, “What are you all doin’ here today? You ain’t supposed to be here till Monday!”

1. Reread the following passage from pages 157-158:

I don’t know what got Joey started but she was off to the races with her tears. She was the only one who’d practiced what she’d say to Grandma Sands. She sniffed a couple of times then said, "Hi, Grandma Sands, it’s a really pleasure to meet you." You could only half understand what she was saying, she was blubbering so much.

What does the above passage reveal about Joey as a character?

• Joey is a careful person who plans things very well.

• Joey overreacts to many different types of situations.

• Joey is a loving and emotional person.

• Joey was very nervous and scared to meet Grandma Sands.

What does Kenny mean by “instead of Dracula and Frankenstein it was like Dracula and a giraffe, and Byron was all neck” on page 161?

• Byron is going soft and showing his neck to her.

• Byron is treating Grandma Sands differently than how Kenny expected him to.

• Byron is being rude and disrespectful to Grandma Sands.

• Byron’s reaction to Grandma Sands shows that he is going to lose in the battle against her.

How does the change of setting affect the plot in the passage?

• It introduces a potential conflict between Byron and Grandma Sands.

• The Watsons faced unexpected dangers and mysterious on the road.

• It shows how disrespectful Byron is towards Grandma Sands.

• It reveals how different Birmingham is from Flint.

Grandma Sands is

• a smaller and older version of Momma

• a tall intimidating woman

• an angry old woman

• a large woman