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

Short Answer Questions

1. In a dank basement, they discover ______________, who is doubling as a janitor.

2. Mrs. Pensinger comes back for seconds on what?

3. How does Grandma react to Mary Alice's arrival?

4. This farmer told Grandma she could have any ___________ that fell from his tree, but hardly any are on the ground.

5. Mildred intends to do what by following Mary Alice?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Grandma greet Mary Alice? Why might she act this way?

2. How does Mildred go about attempting to collect the dollar from Mary Alice? What does this reveal about Mildred?

3. Why does Mary Alice move in with her grandmother? What does this reveal about the Great Depression?

4. What does Grandma do instead of participating in the sharpshooting competition? Why might she do this?

5. How does Grandma handle these pranksters?

6. Where does Mary Alice go directly after arriving in town? What is happening there when Mary Alice arrives?

7. How has Bootsie changed since he moved in with Grandma? What has led to this change?

8. What warning does Grandma give Mary Alice before she leaves her at school? What does this warning foreshadow?

9. How does Mary Alice react to Mildred's plan for getting her dollar from Mary Alice? What does this reveal about her?

10. Why is Mary Alice afraid at night in her room? How does she deal with this fear?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Christmas season brings many surprises.

Part 1) What are the Christmas season surprises? How does each surprise come about? How are these surprises significant to the plot and/or character development?

Part 2) How is surprise an important aspect of this book? What other surprises take place throughout this book? What are the purposes of all these surprises? How are various characters change by the surprises in this story?

Part 3) What surprises have been significant in your own life? How have you been changed by surprise events? How can you relate to the characters in this book, regarding surprising events?

Essay Topic 2

The Daughters of the American Revolution meeting is used as a lesson.

Part 1) Describe the events leading up to the DAR meeting. Why is Grandma asked to participate? Initially, why did you believe she wanted to hold the meeting at her home? What takes place at this meeting? How was this foreshadowed?

Part 2) Why does Grandma decide to teach Mrs. Weidenbach a lesson? How is this lesson taught in typical Grandma fashion? Should she have put Mrs. Weidenbach in her place like this? Why or why not?

Part 3) Do you believe Mrs. Weidenbach learned a lesson? Why or why not? Might there have been a better way to teach Mrs. Weidenbach a lesson? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 3

Pride is a theme.

Part 1) What is pride? How is this a theme in this story? What role does Grandma play in this theme? Why? How is this a universal theme?

Part 2) How can you relate to this theme? When has pride been an important theme in your own life? What can you learn about pride from this story?

Part 3) What other themes are important to this story? How is each theme significant? How are these themes connected to the main characters? How are these themes connected to one another?

(see the answer keys)

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