Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka

Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka

1.  What makes Yang the Youngest different from the rest of his family? He’s the only one who can’t play an instrument well

2.  Why doesn’t he know that he can’t play well? Because he can’t hear the notes the way that he should- he has a terrible ear

3.  How could he tell that he had a bad ear? When he sang, people moved away from him

4.  What did his sisters suggest that Yang the Youngest, Yingtao put on his violin strings? Mutes to mute the wrong notes coming from his violin

5.  Why was the recital so important to the family? It would show the audience what a good teacher Yingtao’s father was and he would get more students

6.  Why didn’t Yingtao’s father play with the Symphony all the time? Because he was an alternate which meant that when the regular violinist was out, he would be asked to play

7.  When Yingtao’s teacher walked into the classroom, how did he show her respect (as they did in China)? He stood up at attention

8.  After hearing Yingtao play at the audition for the school orchestra, what instrument did the conductor suggest for Yingtao? The triangle

9.  Why did the family cut the tea bags apart? To get the loose tea so that it would steep better and would taste better than in the bags

10.  What was the dresser made of in their bedroom? Bricks with boards on top and orange crates for drawers

11.  Why did they have to make furniture like that? They were too poor to have anything else

12.  When Matthew went into the bathroom, what did he see that was strange? Fish swimming in the bathtub for their dinner

13.  What did Matthew learn to use at dinner at Yingtao’s house that he said would help him play the violin? Chopsticks

14.  When Yingtao played baseball with Matthew after school, what did he have a problem with? The vocabulary of the game- bat, plate, strike, ball, out

15.  How was Yingtao’s father different in the way that he let his children speak? He allowed them all to have their own thoughts and to share them with him

16.  Who was giving Matthew violin lessons? Oldest brother

17.  When Matthew stayed for dinner, what did he help do after with the family? He played Yingtao’s part in the quartet

18.  Why did Matthew’s Mom not want him to go to Yingtao’s house so often? Because he was always eating their food and she was embarrassed about that

19.  How did Matthew’s home differ from Yingtao’s home? What differences were there in the “things” that they considered important? Matthew’s house was big, made of wood, with a yard, they each had their own rooms with furniture and posters on the wall, but he couldn’t afford music lessons- Yingtao’s family shared an apartment and bedrooms but they had expensive instruments.

20. How did Matthew and his brother earn money to buy their clothes and games? They each had a paper route

21.  What job did Matthew suggest for Yingtao’s sisters? Babysitting- making babies sit and getting paid for it??????

22. What name was upsetting Matthew’s brother, Eric, and their Dad? He was being called a nerd because he liked to play his violin so much and not sports

23. What idea did Yang have that might make both families happier? That he and Matthew change places- Yingtao would play sports and Matthew would play the violin

24. How was this going to happen? They were going to bow sync at the concert. Yingtao would pretend to play and Matthew would be behind the curtain

25. How did Mr. Conner, Matthew’s Dad, sound like Yingtao’s father? When Matthew made the last out in baseball he said that Matthew wasn’t trying hard enough and wasn’t paying attention

26. What happened with Matthew’s baseball and Yingtao’s violin playing? Their parents didn’t want them playing anymore. Yingtao’s parents wanted him to practice the violin so no more baseball and Matthew’s parents wanted him to practice baseball, so no more violin practicing.

27. What did Yingtao’s mother do to make Matthew’s parents realize that playing music was a good thing and not wasting time? Invite them to the recital so that they could listen to the music

28. What did Mother buy to give out after the recital to everyone? Where did the family first see them? Fortune cookies- they ate out at a restaurant and fortune cookies were served

29. What happened at the recital so that Mr. and Mrs. Conner finally knew that it was Matthew who was playing? The screen was knocked down and Matthew was there with his violin.

30. What did Yingtao’s parents think about the “trick” at the recital? They were embarrassed at first but as they talked to more and more parents and especially the Conners, they realized that Yingtao’s gift was NOT playing the violin.

31.  What did Eric say at the end of the baseball game about Yingtao? That he had a great eye!