Karen's New Year. Comprehension Questions & Reading Journal
Karen's New Year. has 20 chapters · Grades 3–5 · 90 pages
Book 13 of the Baby-sitters Little Sister Graphix series
Free, no sign-up. Customise to reword questions or add your reader’s name.
Inside the journal: 20 chapter pages, one question each · 3 example answers · a cover for your reader’s name
Written for this book Questions about this story, good after any chapter.
What seems most important to Karen Brewer so far? Describe a detail from your reading that helped you decide.See all 20 questions ↓
A printable reading journal for Karen's New Year.: one question per chapter, with example answers.
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Karen's New Year. questions by chapter
We know the book, its characters, setting and story, but not what happens in each chapter. So every question is written for this book, and any of them works wherever your reader has just stopped. One question per chapter, across all 20 chapters, and every one is editable before you print. The example answers under 3 of the chapters are the ones printed at the front of the booklet.
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Chapter 1
What seems most important to Karen Brewer so far? Describe a detail from your reading that helped you decide.
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Chapter 2
How does Karen's family affect her choices in what you have read? Choose one interaction and explain its effect.
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Chapter 3
Which detail so far helps you picture Karen's world in Stoneybrook? Explain what that detail adds to the story.
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Chapter 4
Based on the title and what you have read, what do you predict Karen will learn about making promises? Explain the clues behind your prediction.
Example answer: I predict Karen will learn that making a promise is easier than keeping it. The New Year in the title makes me think about resolutions and fresh starts. A promise can sound simple until you have to remember it every day. I will watch for choices that show whether my prediction is right.
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Chapter 5
What feeling does Karen show in your latest reading? Explain how her words or actions reveal that feeling.
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Chapter 6
Which word or phrase in the chapter you just read deserves a closer look? Explain what you think it means and which nearby words helped you.
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Chapter 7
How do the holidays connect to what matters to Karen so far? Use a detail from your reading to explain the connection.
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Chapter 8
What question would you ask Karen about something she has said or done? Explain why you want to know her answer.
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Chapter 9
Describe a choice someone makes in the chapter you just read. What happens because of that choice?
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Chapter 10
Where do you notice a difference between Karen's point of view and someone else's? Explain both viewpoints using what you have read so far.
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Chapter 11
Do you think a New Year's promise should be easy to keep or challenging? Connect your opinion to something you have read in Karen's story.
Example answer: I think a New Year's promise should be a little challenging, but not impossible. The story's focus on promises makes me think about choosing a goal carefully. If I picked something too easy, I would not learn much. If I picked something too hard, I might give up instead of making progress.
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Chapter 12
Which relationship helps you understand Karen better so far? Describe what it shows about her.
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Chapter 13
If you could give Karen advice at this point in the story, what would you say? Explain why that advice fits her situation.
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Chapter 14
What does your latest reading suggest about being fair to other people? Explain a moment that supports your idea, even if it shows unfair behavior.
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Chapter 15
Choose a sentence from the chapter you just read that stands out to you. What makes its wording funny, clear, surprising, or meaningful?
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Chapter 16
What might another character say about Karen's behavior so far? Explain your answer with a detail from the story.
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Chapter 17
The title includes the words 'New Year.' What ideas do those words suggest, and how do they shape your expectations for Karen's story?
Example answer: The words 'New Year' make me think of a fresh start. I connect them with celebrating and deciding what I want to do better. That makes me expect Karen's story to explore promises or changes. I also wonder whether starting a new year will change how she thinks about herself.
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Chapter 18
Which moment in your latest reading would you most want to discuss with a friend? Explain what makes it worth talking about.
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Chapter 19
What have you learned so far about the difference between saying you will do something and actually doing it? Connect your thinking to Karen or another character.
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Chapter 20
Looking back over what you have read so far, has your opinion of Karen changed? Explain what shaped your first impression and what you think now.
Discussion questions for after Karen's New Year.
Bigger questions for when the book is finished, each printed on its own ruled page at the end of the booklet.
- How does Karen's understanding of promises develop across the whole story? Compare her thinking at different points, explain what influences her, and decide whether her actions show a change. Support your answer with details from the book.
- What do you think Karen's New Year is really saying about making resolutions and treating other people? Explain the lesson you took from the story, discuss two moments that helped you see it, and describe how that lesson could matter in your own life.
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How to use this Karen's New Year. reading journal
At home, as a discussion guide
After each chapter your reader writes a few lines on that chapter’s question. Read the answer together at bedtime: it shows what they understood and gives you something real to talk about, without a quiz.
In class, as a novel study
Print a class set (booklets fold from plain letter paper) and use one question per chapter as the reading-response or literature-circle prompt. The example answers at the front show what a full answer looks like.
Homeschool
One booklet covers the whole book, 20 chapters, so it doubles as the reading log for Karen's New Year.. Reword any question before printing to match your reader.
Printing
The booklet PDF prints on ordinary 8.5 × 11 paper: print double-sided (flip on the short edge) at 100%, fold the stack in half and staple on the fold. There is also a one-page-per-sheet PDF and A5 binder pages.
Where the questions come from
Questions about this story, good after any chapter. We know the book, its characters, setting and story, but not what happens in each chapter. So every question is written for this book, and any of them works wherever your reader has just stopped. The questions were drafted with AI from what is known about the book and checked before publishing; every one is editable before you print.
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