Page 1
For three days, Marco heard a tiny mew from the top of the old clock tower. "Someone needs help," he said. At last he asked the clockmaker if he could climb the stairs and look.
Marco and the Clock Tower Kitten
0 / 10Marco and the Clock Tower Kitten
Use the pictures and the words to understand a story.
Read the story
Each page has a picture, described in words, and the words of the story. Read both.
Picture 1: A boy in a green hat stands at the bottom of a tall stone tower. A round clock face with gold numbers glows near the top. Tiny orange ears peek over a ledge beside the clock. Pink clouds fill the sky as the sun sets, and the street lamps are just turning on.
Picture 2: Marco stands in a narrow room full of gears and wheels. One big gear is as tall as he is. His eyes are wide, and he holds the rail with both hands. Dust floats in a beam of light.
Page 2
The stairs went round and round. Marco climbed one step at a time. His legs felt wobbly, but he kept going. At last he pushed open a small wooden door.
Picture 3: Marco holds a small orange kitten with one white paw close to his chest. The kitten's eyes are closed, and it is purring. Through a round window behind them, stars shine over the town.
Page 3
There sat the kitten on a narrow ledge, small and shivering. "Hello," Marco whispered. He held out his hand. The kitten sniffed his fingers and then climbed into his arms.
Picture 4: Marco sits on the bottom step. The kitten is curled in a blanket on his lap, next to a blue bowl of milk. His sister Dina, in a yellow coat, smiles beside them.
Page 4
Marco carried the kitten down all the stairs. At the bottom, his sister Dina waited with a warm blanket and a bowl of milk. "She can stay with us," said Marco. "We will name her Tick-Tock."
Look and read
Use the pictures and the pages to answer each question.
1.
Look at Picture 1. When does the story begin?
2.
Which detail do you learn only from the words on Page 1, not from Picture 1?
3.
Look at Picture 3. Write the color of the kitten.
The kitten in Picture 3 is with one white paw.
4.
Look at Picture 2. Write the missing word.
In Picture 2, one big is as tall as Marco.
5.
Some details come only from a picture. Other details come only from the words. Sort each detail.
Pictures and words together
Think about what the pictures and the words show about the characters and the plot.
6.
Look at Picture 2 and read Page 2. How does Marco feel as he climbs?
7.
Picture 3 shows the kitten purring in Marco's arms. Underline the sentence on Page 3 that goes best with this picture.
8.
Look at Picture 3. Which detail shows that it is now night?
9.
Picture 4 shows the kitten curled in a blanket next to a bowl of milk. What does this tell you about the end of the story?
10.
Look at Picture 4 and read Page 4. Tell how Marco and Dina feel at the end. Use clues from the picture and the words.