Book Selection: Floors by Patrick Carman
Book Summary:
Ten-year-old Leo lives with his father in the
basement of the extraordinary Whippet
Hotel in New York City, where his dad works as the hotel’s caretaker. The
hotel, designed by eccentric inventor Merganzer
Whippet, is filled to the brim with strange and mysterious rooms and
gizmos. Merganzer does not encourage too many guests to stay at this spacious
yet sparsely populated hotel. The few who are there are wealthy, odd, and seem
to be permanent residents.
There are few other children
at the hotel, aside from a snotty six-year-old heiress who snubs Leo, and Remi, the new boy who watches the front
door and is not allowed to leave his post or go anywhere in the hotel. The
basement where Leo lives is shabby and overfilled with gadgets that help to
keep the hotel running and alert Leo’s father when something goes wrong.
There’s a giant pinball room, a cake room, a ponds-and-caves room with
four-foot-long koi, a “Central Park” room that features a thrilling arcade
ride, and an entire haunted floor
The fictional Whippet Hotel
has ducks living on the hotel rooftop, and riding the duck elevator to march
through the lobby to the grounds for their daily walk. Betty, their enigmatic leader, appears to possess some uncanny
talents, making her a useful ally in tight spots. Perhaps this is why Merganzer
has always insisted that one must always bring a duck along on an adventure.
When Merganzer disappears
suddenly, it falls to Leo to learn who or what might be behind this ominous
event. After Merganzer has been missing for over 100 days, strange boxes filled
with mysterious clues start to arrive in secret for the boy. Each box leads Leo
to still more boxes and to secret rooms and places in a thrill-a-minute
scavenger hunt through the hotel. It appears that the fate of the hotel and
Leo’s own future rest in his hands. Luckily, Remi, who watches the front door
(not always assiduously), becomes Leo’s new friend and partner-in-crime. The
boys team up to solve the puzzles in the strange boxes, explore the hotel’s
secrets, and learn what must be done to save the beloved Whippet Hotel.
http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/floors
This scavenger hunt is
intertwined with the story of Bernardo
Frescobaldi, a millionaire who wants to buy the hotel. He has sent his
right-hand man, Martin, to the hotel to find someone willing to sabotage the
hotel in hopes of making the owner willing to sell. The Bernardo plot is how
Carman exposits some of Merganzer's background. At the end, Leo solves all of
the puzzles and is brought to meet Bernardo. Bernardo offers Leo millions of
dollars for the hotel. Leo keeps the hotel and Bernardo reveals himself to be
Mr. Whippet.
Introduction: Say
your name and favorite hotel
Summary Ball:
Throw
around a ball that says Who, What, When, Where, Why and How? To the children
whom have read. Where ever their right thumbs land on or closest to, they
answer the question.
Who: Who are the main characters in this story?
Leo. Remi, Mr. Whippet, Ms. Sparks. Betty
Who is the owner of the hotel? Mr.
Whippet
Who
is the mean lady at
the front desk? Ms. Sparks
What are the animals allowed in the
building? Ducks
What is Leo’s job at the hotel?
Maintenance man
What is the hotel called? The Whippet
When
did Mr. Whippet
reveal his identity to Leo? After Leo discovered all of the boxes and passed
his test
When
did Leo recognize Mr.
Whippet? At the end of the story
When
did Leo realize Remi
was a good friend?
Where did Remi live? Far far away from the
Whippet in a small hotel
Where did Leo find the first box? The duck
elevator
Where
did the ducks stay?
On the roof
Why
was the hotel falling
apart? Someone was sabotaging it.
Why did Ms. Sparks fire Remi and his mom?
Ms. Sparks accused them of stealing a dimond necklace.
Why did Mr. Whippet give Leo the hotel?
He passed all of the tests and Mr. Whippet was leaving.
How did Leo know where to look to find
the other boxes? The old box had a clue for different room.
How do guests and employees get around in
the hotel? Like get into their rooms and passageways? Special key cards
How
did Leo escape the
maze in the room of rings? A fog wrote where he should go.
Book Discussion:
·
Why do you think Merganzer D. Whippet
has made it so difficult, and at times so dangerous, for Leo to find the hidden
floors and rooms in the Whippet Hotel? He wanted to make surer he was giving the hotel to the
right person.
·
Why did he choose to write such
baffling clues for Leo to decipher? He
wanted to make the adventure challenging for Leo
·
How were the secret boxes helpful to
both Leo and Merganzer?
The secret boxes told Leo where to go next.
·
If you could live in any room in the
Whippet Hotel, which room would you choose? Pinball room, Cake room, Central Park Room, the Lake
room, scary room, ring of rooms, train room, Flying animals room, Library,
·
Why do you think Merganzer D. Whippet
chooses to leave the Whippet Hotel to Leo Fillmore? Would you have made the
same choice? Why or why not? He
wanted to move on with his life.
·
The author mentioned that “Even at his
young age, Leo knew his dad was a little bit broken, a little bit
sad.” Why did Leo say that his dad was a little bit broken? Leo’s mom died
·
How does the scene inside each mystery
box relate to Merganzer D. Whippet’s childhood experiences? They are all memories of his mom.
· How does the discovery of each hidden
room change the life experiences of Leo and his father? Bring them closer together and make
them happier. Leo finds his moms ring in one of the rooms and gives it back to
his dad.
Duck, Duck, Goose
Ducks are prevalent
throughout this book. Leo takes care of the ducks on the roof and Mr. Merganser
tells him to take a duck with his. Merganser is actually a type of duck. Show.
Duck in hotels aren’t that
weird. The Peabody Hotel in Orlando used to have ducks roam the lobby and roof.
How did ducks like Betty help
Leo? They warned him about the flying bowling balls and helped him escape the garbage
maze.
Do you think a duck would
make a good pet? Explain why or why no
Let’s play duck duck goose!
Elevation
of Hotel:
There were officially 9 floors in the Whippet but there
were many more secret floors. Each floor had a theme. The floors got more and
more crazy as you went up. Some rooms include, Cake room, Central Park room,
Pinball room, Flying Barn room, Haunted room, and Lake Room. Let’s all create a
floor.
Hand out strips of paper. Show Elevation view. It is like
you cut the building in half and looked inside. Everyone makes a crazy floor
with a cool name. Everyone goes and presents.
Box Riddles:
Have colored boxes full of riddles. Try to solve the
riddles.
Leo is thrown a series of cryptic boxes are left for him.
The boxes lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles
Mary's father has 4 children; three are named Nana, Nene,
and Nini. So what is is the 4th child's name? Mary
Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open wide my
jaws. Linen cloth, quills, or paper, I am greedy and devour them all. Who am I?
Scissors
What's full of holes but still holds water? Sponge
Have you heard the saying what goes up must come down?
Well what goes up and never goes down? Your age
I can sizzle like bacon, I am made with an egg, I have
plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg, I peel layers like onions, but still
remain whole, I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole, What am I? A
snake
What gets wetter as it dries? A towel.
With pointed fangs I sit and wait, with piercing force I
serve out fate. Grabbing bloodless victims, proclaiming my might; physically
joining with a single bite. What am I? A stapler
There is an ancient invention still used in some parts of
the world today that allows people to see through walls. What is it? A window
What has 4 fingers and a
thumb, but is not living? A glove
Give me food, and I will
live. Give me water, and I will die. What am I? A fire
You use a knife to slice my
head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I? An onion
I have every color, but no
gold. What am I? Rainbow
