The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick
Noah, his sister Megan, and their best friends, Richie and Ella, live next door to the zoo. Megan is the first to notice the puzzling behavior of some of the animals. One day Megan disappears, and her brother and their friends realize it's up to them to find her. Their only choice is to follow a series of clues and sneak into the zoo. But once inside, they discover there's much more to the Clarksville City Zoo than they could ever have guessed...
1. How do Noah and Megan go beyond just being siblings to being friends? Why do you think Noah is so determined to find his sister? Do you think he feels guilty for not believing her the night she claimed to see monkeys on the rooftops? Explain.
2. Why do you think Noah has a hard time telling Ella and Richie about the messages from the animals at the zoo? Why does he decide that he needs their help and “cannot do this alone” (p. 35)?
3. Why don’t the Action Scouts trust the zoo employees? Are they right to be suspicious? Why is it hard sometimes for young people not to trust adults?
4. How is the City of Species a “union of humans and animals, city and nature” (p. 162)? Do you know of any real places like the City of Species? Explain.
5. Which of the four scouts do you most relate to and why? Which one do you most admire and why?
6. How are the Action Scouts good problem solvers? Give specific examples from the novel.
7. When Mr. Darby invites the scouts to help protect the Secret Zoo as Crossers, Ella is surprised because they’re “only kids” (p. 286). Do you ever feel discouraged because you’re “only” a kid? What can you do as a kid that might surprise a lot of adults?
8. Mr. Darby says that Podgy is able to fly not because of his flippers but because of “the strength of his spirit” (p. 287). How can the spirit be more powerful than physical ability? How do the scouts prove that they have strong spirits?
9. What is foreshadowing? At the beginning of the story, the narrator says that Megan’s journal “would eventually alter the course of the world” (p. 7). How is this statement an example of foreshadowing? What other examples of foreshadowing can you find in the novel?
10. How do the Action Scouts support and take care of one another? Why are they more powerful together than apart? Why is it important to have good friends and also to be a good friend?
