View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What name does Mary Alice tell Joey she is giving to the puppy that she found in "The Phantom Brakeman"?

2. How old does Mrs. Weidenbach claim her father is in "Centennial Summer"?

3. Where does Mary Alice claim she found a puppy in "The Phantom Brakeman"?

4. When did the Great Fire of Chicago occur?

5. During what historical period are the stories set in A Long Way from Chicago?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Joey contact Grandma Dowdel in “The Troop Train"? What information does he relay to her?

2. Why does Grandma Dowdel send Mary Alice and Joey to the attic in “Centennial Summer"? What do they find?

3. What do Joey and Mary Alice discover in Grandma Dowdel's attic in “Things with Wings"?

4. How is the theme of friendship developed in the stories from A Long Way from Chicago?

5. What does Mrs. Weidenbach comes to ask of Grandma Dowdel in “Centennial Summer"? What is Grandma's reply?

6. What exchange do Mary Alice and Joey witness between Vandalia Eubanks and her mother at the Coffee Pot Cafe in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

7. What childhood dream is Joey Dowdel pursuing in “The Troop Train"? How?

8. How is Uncle Grady Griswold described in “Centennial Summer"?

9. What is the ghost story that Grandma Dowdel relates in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

10. What fight breaks out during the parade in “Centennial Summer"? How is the fight resolved?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the antagonists in "The Mouse in the Milk." Who are the antagonists in the story? How does Grandma Dowdel outwit the antagonists? What is the outcome of the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of Grandma Dowdel and Idella Eubanks in the stories. How are these women similar? How do they differ? What conflicts arise between Grandma Dowdel and Idella Eubanks? How are the conflicts resolved?

Essay Topic 3

What does Grandma Dowdel achieve by lying to the Peoria reporter in “Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night above Ground"? How do Grandma's actions in this story impact the town where she lives? What are Joey and Mary Alice's impressions of Grandma's actions?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 866 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample