Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. Seaward Pines Academy (Chapter 1)

2. Her abuela/her grandmother (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. Edna comments that Merci should not worry about how her pictures come out because it is likely her family did not buy a big picture package. This is meant to target two things Merci is insecure about: her amblyopic eye and her family’s relative poverty. (Chapter 1)

2. When Lolo went to pick up his twin grandsons from school, he tried to bring the wrong set of twins home. (Chapter 2)

Chapters 3-5

Reading Check

1. Sunshine Buddies (Chapter 3)

2. El Caribe (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. She is assigned to Michael Clark, and Edna teases her about being assigned a male Sunshine Buddy. (Chapter 3)

2. Merci wants to use cloth and buttons to make the map, but Edna insists that they use clay. (Chapter 5)

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. Manny Cruz (Chapter 7)

2. The movies (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. Lolo falls from his bike, and he asks Merci not to tell anyone about it—especially Abuela.