1. Name ______________________________
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
Verna Aardema
Pictures by Leo and Diane Dillon
Prediction
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
______
Author’s Purpose
inform
persuade
entertain

2. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
Focus Skills:
•To summarize important information in a text
•To read and understand a folktale
•To compare two folktales
Genre
Folktale- West African Tale: A tale is a story that has
been passed down through time.
Summary
King Lion calls a meeting to find out what led to an
accident. The reason why mosquitoes buzz in
people’s ears is revealed.
Reading Strategy
Make and Confirm Predictions
When reading a folktale, readers often don’t know
what will happen until the very end of the story. They
must often make a prediction about what might
happen next in a story. Good readers use story clues
and what they know to make predictions about a
story, then read on to see if their predictions are
correct.

3. Page
Why does Iguana put sticks in his ears?
64
Why does Iguana say that Mosquito’s story about the
yams is nonsense?
Page
Why doesn’t Iguana answer Python? Draw it.
66
What does
Python do
after Iguana
ignores him?
Why?

4. Page
68
What happens
after Monkey
hears Crow?
How do
you
know
Mother
Owl is
sad?
Page
70
How does
Monkey feel
when she
stands before
King Lion?
Draw it.
How can you tell?
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
What mistake did Python, Rabbit, Crow and Monkey all make?

5. Page
What reason does Crow give King Lion for spreading the alarm?
72
King Lion agreed. Why?
Page
74
How does the way Rabbit acts compare to the way Crow acted?
What does that tell you about each character?
Rabbit comes
______________________.
She is
______________________.
Page
78
Crow comes
______________________.
He is
______________________.
Did it surprise you that King Lion called Python? Why or why not?
76
Page
Do you agree? Why?
Why didn’t Iguana hear the summons to attend the council meeting?
Summarize
what has
happened at
the council
meeting.

6. Page
80
If you were King Lion, what would you have said to Iguana when
you heard his story abut Mosquito?
What makes
Mother Owl
hoot for the
sun?
What lesson
do you think
this story
teaches?
Think and Respond
1.
How do the iguana’s actions lead King Lion to call a council meeting?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2.
Why does the mosquito have a guilty conscience?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3.
Do you think the mosquito meant to do harm?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4.
What kind of tale is this? Why do you think it is still being told today?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

7. Use the graphic organizer to answer the following questions.
Highlight the answers on the organizer.
1.
What is a yam?
2.
Why does the iguana think that the mosquito’s story is
nonsense?
3.
Why does the iguana put sticks in his ears?
4.
What are the words mek and krik?
5.
Who warns the other animals of danger?
6.
If the monkey leaps “kili wili through the trees,” what
does kili wili mean?
7.
How does King Lion find out why the sun is still
sleeping?
8.
Why doesn’t Iguana speak to Python?
9.
Why did the author repeat some lines in this story?
10. What was the mosquito doing at the end of the story?
11. What does KPAO stand for?
12. What is the same about “Coyote Places the Stars” and
“Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears”?
13. How does Mother Owl wake the sun?
14. Why do mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears?