These questions may be used as the teacher reads the story aloud stopping on the appropriate pages to build understanding by eliciting answers from the students.
I created these questions as a guide but, of course, your own questions would work just as well. I’ve provided answers to my own questions if you’d like to use them. However, please feel free to accept all reasonable responses.
The first seven questions are pre-reading questions to ready the students for the story.
Q. Can you tell us something that you like about a pet?
Q. Can you tell us something that you do not like about a pet?
Q. Perfect is usually spelled p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Why do you think the author spelled it Purr-fect?
A. Purr is the sound cats make and it sounds like per. So, the author is connecting to Georgie, the cat, in the title. Also, the word purr-fect is not spelled correctly so it’s not perfect just as the cat it’s connected to is not perfect.
Q. We see two boys and one cat on the cover. What is one boy offering the cat?
A. Food
Q. What is the cat doing?
A. Begging for food
Q. Do cats usually beg for food?
A. No, most don’t
Q. Using the title and the cover illustration can you predict what the story may be about?
You don’t love because, you love despite; not for the virtues, but despite the faults.— William Faulkner
The following questions and answers may be used during the actual reading. The teacher may choose to stop at certain points in the story to elicit answers to particular questions.
Q. This refers to page 3. Anomaly means something that is different from what we expect. Name three things that Georgie does that are an anomaly.
A. Greets people like a dog, begs for food, eats ham
Q. If you hear me say the same words over and over you may want to say them with me, so join me during the reading.
Q. This refers to page 11. How did the fur get in the cat’s belly?
A. A cat licks itself to be clean. The fur gets on its tongue and is swallowed into its belly.
Q. This refers to page 15. What is an animal chip?
A. It is the size of a grain of rice, it has an ID number on it. It is controlled by a radio frequency so a micro scanner must be used to get the ID number.
Q. This refers to page 16. What does Jake mean when he says “sad is not a big enough word” to tell how he feels?
A. Sad is a small three letter word. Jake has strong and powerful worries and fears about his missing cat. These feelings are so much bigger than the small word sad.
Q. This refers to page 21. What do you think happened to Georgie? Take predictions.
Q. This refers to page 27. How did Grandma feel about Georgie at the beginning of the story?
A. She was disappointed in his behavior and angry at him most of the time.
Q. How does she feel about him at the end of the story?
A. She loves him and is happy he is in the family.
Explanation: Her change is called a transformation which means her character went through a change in thought, feeling, and behavior.
Q. What caused this transformation in Grandma?
A. She saw how distraught her grandsons were when Georgie was missing. She realized that their deep love for the cat was something she too felt as she searched for their missing pet and hoped he wasn’t suffering.
Q. This refers to page 27. The word expectations refers to what we think someone or something should do or be. If a pet or person doesn’t act as we expect them to we may feel disappointed in or angry at them. What is the lesson in the story then?
A. We must love our pets, family, and friends even if they are not perfect and they do not live up to our expectations. That’s the meaning of the title.
Q. Bonus question: Why did the author write a story with a dad, his two boys, and two grandparents all living together without a mom?
A. The reader might expect one kind of family so the author created another kind of family. Each is good just different. The author did not want to meet the reader’s expectations.
George was abandoned by his first family. It took four homes for him to find his forever home. He is not angry or bitter. Rather he is loving and playful.