40 Fun Facts About Because of Mr. Terupt

Which student throws the icy snowball that strikes Mr. Terupt on the class's outdoor reward day?

Peter hurls it in anger after classmates pile on him in the snow, and never means to hit his teacher. The rough play had been allowed to go too far.

Which sport, practiced in high school and college, had already given Mr. Terupt concussions?

Wrestling had already given Mr. Terupt several concussions, which is why one icy snowball could put him in a coma. Author Rob Buyea competed in the same sport from the age of four.

At which fictional school does Mr. Terupt take charge of a fifth-grade class in September?

Snow Hill is a made-up school, and the story stays with one class there for a single school year, told by seven of its students.

What does Mr. Terupt call the game in which Luke hunts for vocabulary whose letters total 100?

Dollar words are ones whose letters, each given a value in cents, add up to exactly 100. Luke enjoys the game so much that he flags them in his own chapters all year.

In September, what does the class prankster overuse to test how much Mr. Terupt will allow?

The bathroom pass gets him out of class again and again until Mr. Terupt catches on and gently teases him. Being joked with rather than yelled at wins the boy over.

From which state has new girl Jessica just moved when she joins Mr. Terupt's class in September?

California is a whole country away from her new home, so Jessica arrives knowing nobody. She warms to Mr. Terupt quickly because he is a newcomer too.

What happens when Luke's homemade plant food starts smoking in Mr. Terupt's class in October?

The fire alarm goes off and the room has to be cleared. Rob Buyea took the idea from the strange potions his own pupils once mixed to feed their plants.

Which procedure does Mr. Terupt undergo in May while his whole class waits at the hospital?

Brain surgery is the doctors' attempt to help him after months unconscious, and he comes through it without waking. The class passes the wait by swapping stories about him.

When Mr. Terupt walks back into class on the last day of school, what does Mrs. Williams announce?

He will teach them again, moving up to sixth grade with the same students instead of saying goodbye, news that thrills the whole class.

In November, what does Mr. Terupt challenge the class to estimate out on the soccer field?

The blades of grass are far too many to count one by one, so the class counts small sample squares and scales up. Luke, who loves a hard problem, is delighted.

In which New England state is Because of Mr. Terupt set, home of the Nutmeg Book Award it later won?

Connecticut is where Jessica lands after her cross-country move, and the state's own Nutmeg Book Award went to the novel in 2013.

What does Mr. Terupt promise newcomer Jessica after they bond over the novel she is carrying?

A happy ending is what he says he will try to give her school year, since the stories they both love finish that way. The accident later puts that promise in doubt.

Which special-needs room does Mr. Terupt's class invite to its December celebration?

The Collaborative Classroom sits downstairs, and it is the class prankster who suggests inviting its pupils. Visits there end up changing students on both sides.

Which job lets Mrs. Williams approve the outdoor reward day for Mr. Terupt's class?

Principal Mrs. Williams gives special permission for the snow play, so afterwards Jessica wonders whether she shares the blame. The principal tells the class it was nobody's fault.

What kind of home does Danielle share with her mother and grandmother in Because of Mr. Terupt?

A family farm is home to Danielle, and her strict grandmother sets the rules there about whom she may befriend. That is why visiting Anna takes her months of courage.

During a January visit in Because of Mr. Terupt, where does Jessica learn Anna's mother works?

A library is where Terri works, and she takes art classes too, which makes Jessica wish artistic Danielle had come along. Danielle had been too scared to ask permission.

What does Danielle weave into her chapters that no other narrator in Because of Mr. Terupt includes?

Prayers to God break up Danielle's storytelling, so she is the only narrator who speaks to two audiences. After the accident she uses them to ask for her teacher's recovery.

Echoing her father's career, in what format are Jessica's Because of Mr. Terupt chapters laid out?

Acts and scenes divide each of Jessica's sections, as if her year were a script. Her father directs small plays, and his job shapes the way she tells her story.

What does Jeffrey set out in the hospital waiting room so Mr. Terupt's students can share memories?

The class microphone is the pretend one passed around at Mr. Terupt's class meetings. Jeffrey brings it out, Danielle picks it up first, and soon everyone is telling stories.

Which filler word does queen bee Alexia keep using in her chapters of Because of Mr. Terupt?

Like is the word, and it turns up in the very first sentence Alexia narrates. Her chatty voice hides the fact that she was once picked on herself.

How does Mr. Terupt respond to Mrs. Williams after Luke's October plant experiment goes badly wrong?

He takes the blame himself, although Luke mixed the smoking potion and expected to be punished. Shielding a student this way wins the class's trust.

What kind of December celebration does Mr. Terupt's class plan instead of an ordinary one?

A multicultural party means groups work on projects about winter holidays. It is during this group work that Alexia's bullying finally boils over.

After removing Alexia from the room in December, what does Mr. Terupt scold her groupmates for?

Not standing up to her is the failing he points out to Jessica, Anna, Danielle and Jeffrey. He wants them to defend one another, not wait for a teacher to step in.

What does Alexia call the feud she stirs up among her classmates in Because of Mr. Terupt?

A girl war is Alexia's own name for it, fought with rumors that turn friends against each other. New arrival Jessica is one of its first targets.

In Because of Mr. Terupt, what caused townspeople to shun Anna's mother Terri years earlier?

A teenage pregnancy made Terri an outcast, and Anna wrongly assumes she herself is to blame. When she finally asks, her mother says she would do it all again to have her.

What does Mr. Terupt's class add for every well-behaved day while working toward a free day?

A link on a chain goes up for every good day, and the reward comes when it stretches from ceiling to floor. One prank or cruel remark from anyone can cost the whole class a link.

Which game do the boys play with Mr. Terupt indoors on the morning of the class's February free day?

Scattergories fills the indoor half of the reward day, and a classmate's cheeky answer in it leaves Luke fuming. That grudge is still simmering when everyone heads out into the snow.

What does Jeffrey do the moment Mr. Terupt collapses in the snow, something he only later admits?

Jeffrey runs for help at once, yet he is so used to blaming himself that he says nothing about it. He only gives himself credit once life at home starts to mend.

Whom does Anna's mother recognize from high school as the girls set off to visit Mr. Terupt?

Danielle's brother Charlie is the same age as Terri, and both are single, a fact matchmaker Anna spots at once. This March hospital trip is the first outing with Anna that Danielle's mother permits.

How does Jessica make peace when she, Danielle and Anna find Alexia alone at Mr. Terupt's hospital?

With a hug, Jessica wipes the slate clean, and Alexia then embraces Danielle and Anna too. Alexia arrived by herself and walks out with three friends.

Who from the special-needs class tells the snowball thrower Mr. Terupt's accident was not his fault?

James, who is autistic, says it in front of everyone, and his words open the way for the others to stop shunning the boy. Luke then owns up to his own part.

Which fellow teacher does Jessica overhear at the hospital saying she cares about Mr. Terupt?

Ms. Newberry says she cares about him and has been trying to get closer. Anna, the class matchmaker, had hoped all year to pair him with a single teacher.

Which Rob Buyea sequel follows the same seven narrators through their first year of junior high?

Saving Mr. Terupt is the third book, set in seventh grade, where a fight threatens to split the seven friends. They soon learn that their old teacher is the one who needs rescuing.

Which classic novel is Jessica clutching when Mr. Terupt wins her trust on her first day?

A Wrinkle in Time is in her grip as she walks in, and Mr. Terupt notices it and talks to her about it. Books are how Jessica steadies herself whenever she is nervous.

In Because of Mr. Terupt, which design detail changes with each narrator's name atop a section?

The font is different for every student, chosen to suit each personality: a flamboyant script for Alexia, a plain bold one for Jeffrey.

Which classroom display does Mr. Terupt defend when an official orders it taken down in October?

Student artwork is what the official wants off the walls, and Mr. Terupt argues to keep it up. Watching him, Jeffrey sees that the teacher values everyone's effort, even his.

What does the class prankster fling at Alexia, Frisbee-style, in Mr. Terupt's November project?

A cardboard cutout, made for measuring sample squares on the field, sails across and smacks Alexia from behind. She is unhurt, and he is only told to sit down.

Which subject did Rob Buyea teach at Northfield Mount Hermon as his first Mr. Terupt books came out?

Biology was his high school subject, taught alongside coaching, after six years with younger grades. Classroom science found its way into the novel's plant project.

Which group does Jessica notice is missing as everyone waits at the hospital for Mr. Terupt?

His own relatives never appear, and Jessica recalls that his desk held no photos of loved ones either. Teachers, parents and classmates fill the room, yet no one from his private life.

In Because of Mr. Terupt, what did Jeffrey donate to try to save his brother Michael?

Bone marrow from Jeffrey could not cure Michael, and the boy has blamed himself ever since. That guilt is why he starts the year wanting nothing to do with school.