PUSHPALATA VIDYA MANDIR

CLASS X – ENGLISH – FP 10. THE BOOK THAT SAVED THE EARTH - NOTES

I. Answer the questions in about 30 – 40 words:

1. How did the children’s book transform Think-Tank’s life?

The children’s book transformed Think-Tank’s life as he had to leave his kin and
evacuate the entire planet. He had to go to Alpha Centauri, a hundred million
miles away to save his life.

2. Why did Think-Tank react in alarm to the third passage read?

Think-Tank reacted in alarm as he misunderstood the meaning of the poem and
thought that they could actually grow crops of rare metals and even explosives
also, which were dangerous for him.

3. What different guesses were made by the Martians about the books?
In the process of Martian invasion on Earth, they landed in a library. They took
the books as hats, haberdashery, sandwiches and tried to understand the meaning
of the code. And for that, they had to take vitamins given by the chemical
department. They thought it would increase their intelligence.

4. What steps did the Crew take to decipher the code in the sandwich?
Martians reached the library in the process of invasion of earth. They had never
seen books before that. They did not understand where they were and what
things were placed in different racks. First, they thought that they were
sandwiches and tried to eat them. Later they took them as eye communication
and not ear communication, and understood that they had to take vitamins to
understand all these codes. Think-Tank misinterpreted the line from the rhyme
‘dish ran away with the spoon’. He thought that Earthlings had taught their
domesticated animals’ musical culture and Space Techniques. They might be
launching some sort of communication device.

5. Why did Think-Tank send his crew to the earth?

Think-Tank, the ruler of Mars regarded the Earth as a mass of mud, and Earthlings
as ugly, tiny-headed creatures. He planned to invade Earth and expand his
domain. He sent Probe One to Earth to get more information about the
Earthlings.

6. How did Think-Tank interpret the poem ‘The Cat and the Fiddle’?
The second rhyme was about the cat and the fiddle, wherein the cow jumped over
the moon, the dog laughed to see it. Earthlings have taught their domesticated
animal’s musical culture and space techniques. Even their dogs have a sense of
humour and they may be launching an inter-planetary attack of millions of cows.

7. How does Think-Tank describe the people on Earth? Why does he command
Noodle to contact the Space probe?

Think-Tank thought Earthlings were weak, ignorant, uncivilised persons and

hence planned to invade Earth. He sent his commander, Noodle, to make contact
with the crew of the manned space probe, now on Earth to seek more information
about the Earth.

8. What do the historians speak about the books?

The historians tell that the twentieth century was called - The Era of Books. They
illustrated, educated, punctuated, and even decorated. They are man’s best
friends and companions. They give us pleasure and knowledge.

9. What does Noodle suggest to Think-Tank about the books?

Noodle tells Think-Tank that the Earthlings did not listen to the sandwiches, they
opened and watched them. Think-Tank had thought that the books were
sandwiches. Noodle gave the hint that they used these books as a device of
communication.

10. Who was Omega? Why did he try to eat the book?
Omega was the captain of the space control Probe One, on Earth. Think-Tank
asked him to pick up the most colourful sandwich (book) and report him about
his observation on it. So, he had to eat the book on compulsion.

11. Why books are referred to as a man’s best companion? Which book saved the
Earth from Martian invasion?
Books are our best friends and companions. They are never demanding but always
giving knowledge and pleasure. They give us company. The book that saved the
Earth from Martian invasion was ‘Mother Goose.’

12. Why did Think-Tank decide to evacuate Mars?

Think-Tank misinterpreted the rhymes and thought Earthlings were a threat to
him as well as to Mars. He got scared and called back Probe One, dropped the
idea of invading and escaped to Alpha Centauri, a hundred million miles away
from Mars.

13. Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his
mistakes. How does he manage to do that?
Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his
mistakes in a very clever way. He used to present his ideas as a thing of less
importance but this would help think tank in correcting his mistakes.

14. If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s mistakes?
If I would have been at Noodle’s place, I would have handled the situation just
like Noodle did. I would have suggested my master the right things but in a way
that he may not feel being pointed out by a subordinate.

15. Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do away
with books altogether?
Yes, it is true to some extent that books are being replaced by the electronic
media but we cannot do away with the books completely. It is so because books
still serve the purpose of deriving information from them. It is so because still
there are many things which are sometimes not available on the electronic media.
16. Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do away
with books altogether?
Yes, these days online reading has replaced traditional books to a large extent.
Internet, Facebook, twitter etc. have decreased interest in reading. But the truth
is that books cannot be totally replaced. Books can never go out of life although
they may exist in a different form.

II. Answer the following questions in 120-150 words:

1. ’Pride has a fall’. Justify this statement giving relevant points from how Think-
Tank reacted to the readings from Mother Goose.
Martians invaded the earth and reached in a library. Think-Tank was their boss.
He was very proud of his wisdom, as he had a big balloon like head. He thought
that he was the wisest person on Mars. Nobody could disobey him, or even dare
to speak against him. He claimed that he had a quick mind. He had no respect
for anyone and regarded other views as trifling. He was also fickle-minded.

He misinterpreted the rhymes in a complete verbal manner. The rhyme Mistress

Mary made him ponder over the discovery of the earth. From the poem diddle-
diddle he was more alarmed and from the poem Humpty-Dumpty, he was so
frightened that he decided to leave his kingdom and run away to Alpha Centauri.
Thus, his great wisdom was defeated and had a great fall.

2. Attempt a character-sketch of Noodle highlighting the values projected by him.

Noodle is one of the crew members of the invasion team that came to invade
earth. He is known as Apprentice Noodle. He is the coordinator between Think-
Tank and the invasion team. He echoes Think-Tank in every manner. He is a very
clever creature. He knows that Think-Tank being commander-in-chief has to be
obeyed. So, he keeps on praising Think-Tank and also passing sarcastic remarks.
It is only Noodle who thinks practically and differently about the books which
were considered as sandwiches to eat. But Think-Tank took over the idea as his
own. But Noodle is not sad at all. He is a blind and true follower of Think-Tank.

3. Historians speak highly about books. How can books help you in preventing a
catastrophe?
The Historian is placed in the twenty-fifth century. He is trying to clear of the
twentieth century. She calls it as the Era of the Book and speaks highly about
the books. According to him books control all life. Books teach children and
people how to, when to, where to and why to. They illustrate, educate, punctuate
and even decorate the life of the people.
According to the Historian, only the books saved the earth from Martian invasion,
for the Martians had misunderstood the meaning of the poems and got frightened
of them. So, they left the earth in a hurry and even evacuated the Mars and
headed over to Alpha Centauri. Even in our day-to-day life, we get all our
solutions from books whether—it is health related or anything else. So, we can
say that books help us in preventing a catastrophe.

4. How did one old book of nursery rhymes save the earth from a Martian invasion?
(Or) How do the three nursery rhymes frighten Think-Tank? (Or) In what ways does
Think-Tank misinterpret innocent nursery rhymes as a threat to the Martians?
The old, dusty book of nursery rhymes was ‘Mother Goose’. Think-Tank wanted
to invade Earth. He had sent Probe One to get more information about the
Earthlings. The crew enters a library. There, after taking vitamins, they take out
‘Mother Goose’ and decipher the rhymes.
The rhymes are misinterpreted as threats by Think-Tank. After listening to the
first rhyme, ‘Mistress Mary,’ he concluded that Earthlings had discovered how to
combine agriculture and mining. The second rhyme, ‘Hey Diddle, Diddle’, seemed
to suggest to him that the Earthlings might be launching an interplanetary
attack of millions of cows. The third rhyme, ‘Humpty Dumpty’ wherein Humpty
had a great fall, and its picture that resembled him, threatened him and his planet
Mars. He got so scared that he dropped the idea of invading Earth, and escaped
to Alpha Centauri. Thus, a book of nursery rhymes saved Earth from Martian
invasion.

5. Justify the title of the play ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’.
A good title should reflect the theme, idea or the traits of a character. It should
revolve around any of the above. The story or the play should be woven around
any one of them.
In the play ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’, a book of nursery rhymes of ‘Mother
Goose’, is responsible for stopping the Martian invasion on Earth. Think-Tank,
the ruler of Mars plans to invade Earth before lunch and sends Probe One to get
more information about the Earthlings. They enter a library but can’t figure out
what books are. They take vitamins, increase their intelligence then read the
rhymes from ‘Mother Goose’. Think-Tank misinterprets the rhymes, takes them
as threats to him and the Mars. Scared, he calls back Probe One, drops the idea
of invading and escapes with his subjects to Alpha Centauri, a hundred million
miles away from Mars.

Thus, the book ‘Mother Goose’ was responsible for stopping the Martian invasion
of Earth. The title ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ reflects the theme of the play,
so it is an apt (appropriate) title.

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CHECKED & APPROVED BY

MS. BLISS BERNARD