Scat

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. A pencil (Chapter 1)

2. Black Vine Swamp (Chapter 2)

3. A Florida panther (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Mrs. Starch is described as cruel and strict. When a student, Marta, vomited, she forced her to write an essay on the physiology of regurgitation. She also ridicules Duane Scrod Jr. in front of the class. (Chapter 1)

2. The children hear a gun shot and an unearthly scream. Following those incidents, the class smells smoke and must leave the area before a wildfire breaks out. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. An inhaler (Chapter 4)

2. Duane Jr. (Chapter 5)

3. A letter (Chapter 6)

4. A pen from Red Diamond Energy Corporation (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Nick is concerned when he doesn’t hear from his father who is serving in Iraq. After his return, Nick learns that his father has lost his arm in a grenade attack, and Nick feels guilty because his father’s service in the military enabled him to attend Truman School. (Various Chapters)

2. Dr. Dressler indicates that he has learned Mrs. Starch has no living relatives. It is suspicious that Mrs. Starch would claim to be with relatives if she doesn’t have any. (Chapter 7)

Chapters 8-10

Reading Check

1. Red Diamond Energy Corporation (Chapter 8)

2. Duane Jr. (Chapter 9)

3. Environmental science (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. Duane Jr. comes to school in neat clothing with his hair combed. He speaks respectfully to authority figures and does not retaliate when he is berated. (Various chapters)

2. Bayliss is worried if he involves police in an investigation in the Everglades, they will discover that the Florida panther, an endangered species, is being harmed by Bayliss’s business operations. (Chapter 10)

Chapters 11-13

Reading Check

1. Her taxidermy (Chapter11)

2. An ammo belt (Chapter 11)

3. Duane Jr. (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. McBride purchased land in the Everglades so the government would buy out his oil rights on the land. When McBride discovered that he did not have oil on the land he purchased, he decided to pump oil from neighboring properties onto his land. (Chapter 12)

2. Twilly occasionally takes drastic measures in favor of conservation. He bubble-wrapped the Red Diamond Energy Corporation employee to a tree and stole pipes from the drilling site. (Chapter 13)

Chapters 14-17

Reading Check

1. Duane Jr.’s backpack (Chapter 14)

2. A biology textbook (Chapter 15)

3. Scat (Chapter 16)

4. A government man (Chapter 17)

Short Answer

1. They steal his backpack, removing papers that are dated after the incident and planting a butane torch to make it appear as though Duane Jr. started the fire. (Chapter 16)

2. The novel Nick reads glorifies monkeywrenching. Monkeywrenching is a form of environmentalist sabotage. (Chapters 16)

Chapters 18-20

Reading Check

1. Game wardens (Chapter 18)

2. A Florida panther cub (Chapter 19)

3. The mother panther (Chapter 20)

Short Answer

1. Mrs. Starch is described as cruel and unfeeling, but as she nurses the panther cub, she takes on a maternal role as she extends care to the creature. (Chapter 20)

2. Duane Jr. and Mrs. Starch realize they have similar interests and experiences. They both like the wilderness and know what it feels like to be abandoned. (Chapter 20)

Chapters 21-23

Reading Check

1. Nick’s house (Chapter 22)

2. Horace (Chapter 22)

3. The dog trainer (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. Twilly was in the swamp when the Red Diamond Energy Corporation scared the mother panther away from her cubs. One of the cubs of the panther died and Twilly feels it is his duty to protect the panthers. (Chapter 21)

2. Detective Marshall tracks the butane torch to a local company where the torch was purchased and realizes it was not purchased by Duane Jr. (Chapter 23)

Chapter 24-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. McBride (Chapter 24)

2. A gunshot (Chapter 25)

3. In his right arm (Chapter 26)

Short Answer

1. McBride attempts to shoot at the mother panther in a panic while Detective Marshall and Torkelsen are in the Everglades attempting to locate them for an arrest. (Chapter 25)

2. If the cub is kept from its mother for too long, the mother panther may no longer recognize it as her own. The group attempts to reunite the panthers on the ground, but Nick is forced to climb a tree to take Squirt to its mother when gunshots are heard. (Various chapters)