LEVEL 2: Annotated Reading Questions
The Friendly Giant
Cast
Narrator – A toad on a log
Giant 1 – Grunt
Giant 2 – Gruff
Giant 3 – Grizzle
Giant 4 – Nev
Act 1
Scene 1
The giants are sitting outside their grotto. It is early afternoon.
NARRATOR: As most people are aware, giants are not the friendliest of
creatures, that’s for sure. So when they find that one of their own has a warm
and gentle side, they take it as a personal insult.
There is a sudden grumble, as deep as thunder, coming from the giants.
GRUNT: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!
GRUFF: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and its rider!
GRIZZLE: I’m so hungry I could eat the entire Melbourne Cup field and all their
jockeys!
NEV: I’m rather peckish myself.
Grunt, Gruff and Grizzle laugh and poke Nev in the ribs.
GRUFF: Rather peckish? What do ya mean? Are you a giant or a human?
GRUNT: Oh stop ya moaning and someone find us some grub before I eat one
of you!
Nev wanders off into the forest and soon returns. He passes the grub to the
other giants.
GRIZZLE: What’s this then?
NEV: The latest in gourmet delicacies; roasted mushroom cups, glazed walnut
kernels and for dessert, fresh berries.
GRUFF: I think I’m gonna be sick.
GRUNT: Nev, you’re a disgrace to the name of giant. We don’t eat any of that
fancy vegetarian muck you call “food”. Go and get us something with blood and
flesh, or don’t bother coming back at all!
NARRATOR: What is to become of poor Nev? Can the vegetarian giant become
a carnivore like the others? Or will he succumb to snacking on plump figs and
dates?
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Maximising Test Results: Year 5 Reading and Writing © Blake Education
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Answer these sample questions.
1. What do giants find insulting?
being hungry

being a vegetarian

being gentle and kind

being peckish

2. What is the setting for the play?
the forest

inside a cave

a log

outside a grotto

HINT – Re-read the narrator’s
introductory speech. Here you will
find extra details that the characters
don’t speak.
THINGS TO KNOW – The stage
and setting directions are written at
the beginning of each Act or Scene
for a play. Unlike a narrative, they are
not part of the main text.
3. How does the audience know the giants are hungry?
they ate a horse

HINT – Re-read the stage directions
their stomachs grumbled

in italics. – Think about why a noise
they snacked on plump figs and

like thunder might come from the
giants.
dates
they didn’t like vegetarian food

4. Why does Gruff ask “Are you a giant or a human”?
(Write your answer on the lines.)
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THINGS TO KNOW – Look at how
many lines are given; that is how
long your answer needs to be. One
or two words will not be enough.
– Remember to write in complete
sentences.
HINT – Read the text after the quote
to help you with your answer.
Maximising Test Results: Year 5 Reading and Writing © Blake Education
11/3/09 3:43:56 PM
Answer these questions about the text
“The Friendly Giant”.
1. Who tells the story in “The Friendly Giant”?
Grunt

Toad

Gruff

Nev

2. What does Nev mean when he says he was “peckish”?
greedy

starving

a little hungry

famished

3. According to the text, why was Gruff going to be sick?
(Write your answer on the lines.)
4. What is the meaning of grub?
a type of crawling insect

a caterpillar

vegetarian delicacies

food

5. What is the purpose of the narrator’s last speech?
to lead into the events in the next scene

to conclude the play

to introduce a new character

to give an opinion about Nev’s actions

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Maximising Test Results: Year 5 Reading and Writing © Blake Education
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