44 pages • 1 hour read
Deborah Howe, James HoweBunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1979A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
EDITOR’S NOTE-CHAPTER 1
Reading Check
1. What animal is responsible for writing the Bunnicula manuscript?
2. What does the Monroe family bring home from the movie theater?
3. What movie serves as the inspiration for Bunnicula’s name?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does the Editor’s Note lend credibility to Bunnicula? What other reactions might the reader have to the note?
2. What does Harold establish as the social hierarchy of his household? How does the home typically function, according to Harold?
3. How does Bunnicula create conflict in the Monroe household?
CHAPTERS 2-3
Reading Check
1. What are Chester’s favorite book genres?
2. Which author wrote The Fall of the House of Usher, which is being read by Chester?
3. What is the feeling Harold experiences the day after Bunnicula arrives at the Monroe home?
4. What is unusual about the tomato Mr. Monroe finds in his refrigerator?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What elements contribute to the mood of Chester’s encounter with Bunnicula on the first night?
2. How does Chester feel about books, and what impact might books have on his perception of reality?
3. What does Chester believe serves as proof that Bunnicula is a vampire? How does Harold feel about Chester’s claims regarding Bunnicula?
Paired Resource
- This 3-minute video from Lincoln Learning Solutions explores narration and point of view.
- Shared themes include The Combining of Mystery and Comedy.
- Is Bunnicula told from a first-person or third-person point of view? How can you tell?
- This 4-minute video from bio.com describes the life and writings of Edgar Allan Poe.
- Shared themes include Overcoming Fear.
- What is Poe best known for? How might the mood created in Poe’s writings contribute to Chester’s feelings toward Bunnicula?
CHAPTERS 4-6
Reading Check
1. Who holds a meeting with Harold regarding Bunnicula’s strange behavior?
2. What does Chester use to draw a comparison between Bunnicula’s behavior and vampire lore?
3. What do the humans dress Chester in, causing him embarrassment?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What evidence is prepared by Chester to convince Harold that the bunny is a vampire? What finally convinces Harold his friend may be correct?
2. What misunderstandings occur between the humans and the animals in the novel? What might be the cause of these misunderstandings?
3. How does Chester attempt to outsmart Bunnicula, and what are the consequences of his actions?
Paired Resource
- This 5-minute video from Easy Teaching explores cause and effect in literature.
- How can cause and effect be identified in a text? What examples of cause and effect can you identify in Bunnicula?
CHAPTERS 7-9
Reading Check
1. Who has Harold developed a fondness for in the absence of Chester?
2. What is the place Harold hates most?
3. What does Chester begin to read after his diagnosis?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is troubling to Harold about Chester’s behavior when he returns from being banished outside?
2. How has Harold’s perception of Bunnicula changed since Bunnicula’s arrival?
3. What is the veterinarian’s diagnosis for Chester, and what clues from the novel support this diagnosis?
- This 5-minute video from SciShow Psych describes the best way to confront and overcome fear.
- Shared themes include Overcoming Fear.
- What tools can be used to overcome fears? How does Harold overcome his fear of being replaced by Bunnicula? How is Chester able to overcome his fear of Bunnicula?
Recommended Next Reads
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
- This book includes a collection of stories that take place in the mysterious and unusual Wayside Elementary School.
- Shared themes include The Combining of Mystery and Comedy.
- Shared topics include fear, absurdity, and unusual character traits.
- Sideways Stories from Wayside School on SuperSummary
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
- This novel is about three recently orphaned children who are adopted by a greedy distant relative.
- Shared themes include Friendship, Overcoming Fear, and The Combining of Mystery and Comedy.
- Shared topics include dark comedy, schemes, and suspicion.
- The Bad Beginning on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
EDITOR’S NOTE-CHAPTER 1
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. The note lends credence to the reliability of the narrative because the editor claims it was written by a dog who experienced the events within the book. Additionally, the note creates an element of humor by informing the reader the story will be told from the perspective of a dog. (Editor’s Note)
2. Harold describes himself as being dependable and following a typical routine. Harold claims to oversee the household while the Monroes are gone and states that he is Toby’s favorite. (Chapter 1)
3. The bunny that is brought home from the theater disrupts the relative ease of Harold’s routine life. The Monroe boys, Pete and Toby, fight over the naming of the bunny, while Harold and Chester are jealous and suspicious of the new animal in the household. (Chapter 1)
CHAPTERS 2-3
Reading Check
1. Horror and mystery (Chapter 2)
2. Edgar Allan Poe (Chapter 2)
3. Loneliness (Chapter 3)
4. It’s white. (Chapter 3)
Short Answer
1. Chester awakens in the night to an “eerie stillness,“ notices Bunnicula’s fur coat looks like a cape, hears strange music, and believes he sees fangs protruding from Bunnicula’s mouth. The darkness, stillness, music, and descriptions of Bunnicula at night all contribute to the fear and suspicion of Bunnicula. (Chapter 2)
2. Chester is described as an avid reader because of his affiliation with Mr. Monroe, an English professor. Chester’s favorite genres, horror and mystery, may contribute to his vivid imagination and the eerie feelings he gets when he sees Bunnicula. (Chapters 2-3)
3. After Mr. Monroe discovers the tomato drained of color, Chester is convinced it is proof that Bunnicula is a vampire and is sucking the juices from foods in the fridge. Harold is skeptical of Chester’s claims, believing Chester to be experiencing paranoia. (Chapters 2-3)
CHAPTERS 4-6
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. Chester uses a book to attempt to convince Harold that Bunnicula matches the description of a vampire. He points out that Bunnicula sleeps through the day and has sharp teeth, and provides evidence of white vegetables stashed behind Bunnicula’s cage. Harold continues to be skeptical until a noise interrupts their meeting and the two discover a white zucchini in the kitchen. (Chapter 4)
2. Chester believes the humans are ignorant because they are unable to identify the reason behind the white vegetables. He attempts to convey that Bunnicula is a vampire through body language and by biting Harold, but the Monroes are puzzled by his strange behavior. The miscommunication stems from the inability of the animals to communicate effectively with the humans and the disbelief the Monroes would feel at Chester’s outrageous theory. (Chapter 5)
3. Chester places garlic around Bunnicula’s cage to prevent the bunny from leaving it. He mistakenly believes giving the rabbit a steak (rather than the stakes described in vampire lore) will serve as a bribe for Bunnicula. When the Monroes discover Chester’s antics, he is given a bath because of the garlic smell and banished outside for giving Bunnicula a steak. (Chapter 6)
CHAPTERS 7-9
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. Harold is suspicious of Chester’s behavior when he returns from his punishment outside because he is unusually well-behaved. Harold believes Chester may be plotting something because of his altered behavior. (Chapter 7)
2. Initially, Harold is jealous of Bunnicula and the attention he receives from Toby, but after spending some time with Bunnicula, Harold becomes attached to the rabbit. When Bunnicula falls ill from malnutrition, for example, Harold attempts to assist Bunnicula by alerting the Monroes to his illness and getting him food. (Chapters 1-8)
3. The veterinarian diagnoses Chester as being “emotionally overwrought” because of his sibling rivalry with Bunnicula. Chester’s initial paranoia escalates from spying on Bunnicula to using antivampire tactics in literature, to preventing Bunnicula from getting the nutrition he needs. (All chapters)
