Narrative Summary of The Riddle Club Through the Holidays

Overview:

I am part of the Riddle Club, a group of six kids who love to solve riddles and have adventures. The story takes place in River Bend, a town on the Rocio River. We meet in a clubroom in the Larue barn, but when winter arrives we have to find a new location. We end up moving to a spare room at the Marley house. We have a fun Hallowe’en party, but things get scary when a giant ghost appears. We discover it’s a prank by Joe Anderson and Albert Holmes. We go to Tom’s Island for Thanksgiving and have a great time coasting in the snow. On a trip through the woods with Mr. Meade, Artie falls asleep in a pile of logs and gets lost. We all go on a thrilling adventure to find him. We have a special Riddle Club meeting where we collect money for a poor family. We build a huge snowman named Riddle Chap, who becomes a symbol of our fun. Then, we have a Christmas celebration, finding gifts in our stockings and receiving amazing rings from our friend, Mr. Kirby. The story ends with a big snowstorm that traps us on a snowy road, leading to a fun adventure at Mrs. Wicks’ house.

Main Parts:

Finding a Winter Clubroom: We need a new place to meet when it gets too cold to stay in the barn. Polly’s mother gives us her spare room.
Hallowe’en Party: We have a party at the Williamson house, dressed as animals. Joe Anderson and Albert Holmes try to scare us with a giant ghost, but we outsmart them.
Thanksgiving at Tom’s Island: We go camping on the island with Mr. and Mrs. Williamson. We coast, have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and enjoy the snowy landscape.
Artie’s Adventure: While riding on a sleigh through the woods with Mr. Meade, Artie falls asleep in a pile of logs and gets lost. We have to search for him, and he eventually wakes up and walks back to us.
Riddle Club Meeting: We have a special meeting where we collect money for a poor family. Mr. Williamson offers a prize for the person who solves his riddle, and Margy wins the five dollars for the club.
Building Riddle Chap: We build a huge snowman named Riddle Chap and have a lot of fun with him.
Christmas Celebrations: We hang up stockings and receive wonderful gifts. We also get beautiful rings from Mr. Kirby.
The Snowstorm: We get caught in a blizzard while skating to Jackson’s Pond. We take shelter in an abandoned barn and eventually find a house with Mrs. Wicks, where we spend the night.
The Rescue: Mr. Marley and Mr. Larue find us at Mrs. Wicks’ house and drive us home.

View on Life:

Importance of Friendship: We are a close-knit group and our friendship helps us through difficult situations.
Generosity and Kindness: We are encouraged to be generous and kind to those less fortunate, shown by our collection for the poor family and our kindness to Mrs. Wicks.
Perseverance and Courage: We learn to face challenges and overcome obstacles, demonstrated by our search for Artie, our rescue from the snowstorm, and our ability to solve riddles.
Importance of Family: Our parents are supportive and loving, helping us to have fun and solve our problems.

Scenarios:

The Giant Ghost: Joe Anderson and Albert Holmes try to scare us with a giant ghost made by one sitting on the other’s shoulders.
Artie’s Lost in the Woods: We are riding on a sleigh with Mr. Meade when Artie falls asleep in the pile of logs.
The Blizzard: We get caught in a big snowstorm while skating on the river.
The Abandoned Barn: We find shelter in an abandoned barn.
Mrs. Wicks’ House: We are rescued by Mrs. Wicks and spend the night in her house.
The Missing Bank: Fred loses the Riddle Club bank and its money.
The Snowman: We build a huge snowman named Riddle Chap and decorate him for Christmas.

Challenges:

Finding a Winter Clubroom: The barn becomes too cold to meet in.
Solving the Mystery of the Giant Ghost: We have to figure out who is behind the ghost prank.
Finding Artie in the Woods: We have to search for Artie when he gets lost in the snow.
The Snowstorm: We get caught in a blizzard, far from home.
Finding Fred’s Lost Bank: Fred has to find his lost bank and the club money.
Creating the Snowman: We have to work together to build a huge snowman.
Saving the Flowers: Polly’s flowers are replaced with snow in a prank.

Conflict:

Joe Anderson’s Jealousy: Joe Anderson is jealous of the Riddle Club and tries to sabotage our activities. This is resolved through our cleverness, perseverance, and good sportsmanship.
Fred’s Carelessness: Fred loses the club’s money. This is resolved when he finds the bank in the melting snowman.

Plot:

The story begins with the six Riddle Club members facing the challenge of winter and finding a new meeting place.
We experience a series of adventures and challenges, including a Hallowe’en party, a trip to Tom’s Island for Thanksgiving, Artie’s adventure in the woods, and a snowstorm.
We have a special Riddle Club meeting to raise money for a poor family.
We build a huge snowman, Riddle Chap, and decorate him for Christmas.
We have a wonderful Christmas celebration, including gifts from Mr. Kirby and a rescue from the snowstorm.

Point of View:

The story is told from the perspective of one of the Riddle Club members, allowing us to experience the events through their eyes and understand their thoughts and feelings.

How it’s Written:

The book is written in a light-hearted and engaging style with a lot of dialogue. The author uses a descriptive language, bringing the characters and setting to life. For example, “As soon as it was light, Artie and Polly were downstairs to examine their stockings. Whoever had filled them, knew exactly how the job should be done and Ward and Jess, and Margy and Fred, had the same report to make.”

Tone:

The tone of the book is optimistic, cheerful, and full of adventure. It emphasizes the importance of friendship, kindness, and good sportsmanship.

Life Choices:

The Riddle Club members make the choice to be generous and help a poor family by collecting money.
Fred chooses to be responsible for his carelessness and promises to pay back the lost money.
The characters decide to help Mrs. Wicks even though they are tired and cold.

Lessons:

Friendship is important: The strong bond between the Riddle Club members helps them through tough times.
Be kind and generous: Helping others is a rewarding experience.
Perseverance pays off: We learn to never give up, even when facing difficulties.
Being responsible is key: Fred learns to be more careful with his responsibilities.
It’s okay to make mistakes: The characters learn to forgive themselves and each other for their mistakes.

Characters:

Polly Marley: President of the Riddle Club, tactful, resourceful, and always willing to help.
Fred Williamson: Treasurer of the Riddle Club, responsible, enthusiastic, and a good leader.
Margy Williamson: Fred’s twin sister, outspoken, loves to dress up, and sometimes complains about being cold.
Artie Marley: Polly’s younger brother, loves to read and tell stories, and is often forgetful.
Ward Larue: A kind and good-natured boy who is easily excited and sometimes clumsy.
Jess Larue: Ward’s sister, practical, resourceful, and always ready for an adventure.

Themes:

Importance of friendship: The story highlights the importance of friendship and the power of a strong bond between friends.
The value of helping others: The characters show kindness and generosity towards a poor family and Mrs. Wicks.
The importance of being responsible: Fred learns that being responsible is important, even when it’s hard.
The joy of adventure: The story emphasizes the excitement and joy of adventure and exploring new places.

Principles:

Integrity and honesty are essential: The characters learn the importance of honesty and fairness in their actions.
Perseverance is key to overcoming challenges: The story shows that with determination and effort, we can overcome obstacles.
Kindness and generosity make the world a better place: The book promotes the value of kindness, compassion, and helping others.

Intentions of the Characters:

The Riddle Club members: Want to have fun, solve riddles, and be good friends.
Joe Anderson and Albert Holmes: Want to play pranks on the Riddle Club members.
Mr. Kirby: Wants to give the Riddle Club members gifts.
Mrs. Wicks: Wants to be kind and helpful to the stranded children.

Unique Vocabulary:

Whistle: The characters use a piercing whistle as a way to signal to each other.
Round Robin: The children write a letter to Mr. Kirby and each signs it in turn.
Scenter: Margy uses this word to describe someone’s nose, because it can smell.
Hod: Fred uses this word to refer to a flat board he uses to carry snow.
Spic and Span: This describes the neatness of Mrs. Wicks’ house.
Tomahawk: Ward calls Mrs. Pepper’s hatchet a tomahawk.
Gauntlets: Jess describes her new gloves as gauntlets.

Anecdotes:

The Giant Ghost Prank: Joe Anderson and Albert Holmes create a giant ghost by one sitting on the other’s shoulders, and they try to scare the Riddle Club members.
Artie’s Adventure: Artie falls asleep in a pile of logs while on a sleigh ride with Mr. Meade.
The Missing Bank and Glove: Fred loses the Riddle Club bank and Jess loses her glove. They are both found in the melting snowman.
Mrs. Wicks’ Story: Mrs. Wicks tells the children a story about a time when her cousin played a prank on her with mice.

Ideas:

The importance of friendship: The story emphasizes the importance of strong friendships and how they can help us through difficult times.
The power of generosity: Helping others can be a rewarding experience, and can make the world a better place.
The value of overcoming challenges: We learn that with determination and effort, we can overcome obstacles.

Facts and Findings:

The importance of a good treasurer: Fred’s responsibilities as treasurer highlight the importance of being careful with money.
Building a snowman: The story provides a guide for building a large snowman.
Snowstorms: The story provides insight into the dangers and challenges of being caught in a snowstorm.
Winter traditions: The story illustrates various winter traditions, such as coasting, skating, building snowmen, and hanging up stockings for Christmas.

Statistics:

The Riddle Club bank: The club collects $6.00 for the poor family and then puts $6.00 in their bank.
Jess’s gloves: They cost $6.00.
Joe’s new sled: The cost of the sled is not mentioned, but it is described as expensive.

Point of View:

The story is told from the perspective of one of the Riddle Club members, allowing us to understand the events through their eyes and understand their thoughts and feelings.

Perspective:

The story highlights the perspective of children experiencing the joys and challenges of winter. It allows readers to understand the importance of friendship, kindness, and perseverance from a child’s point of view.

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