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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the visitor in Chapter 7 do at dinner that tempts Little Tree to forget one of his lessons about taking things?
(a) He takes three slices of Granma's sweet potato pie, and Little Tree silently craves the last slice.
(b) He brings only three small corns so Little Tree has to do without.
(c) He tells Little Tree he can have one of the corns, and Little Tree is tempted to take the biggest one.
(d) He wears bright yellow high-top shoes that Little Tree secretly craves.

2. What does Little Tree find interesting that makes him watch the umbrella spider for hours?
(a) How the spider climbs out of the water.
(b) How the spider crawls back to the same place repeatedly.
(c) How the spider outwits and eats several flies.
(d) How persistent the spider is in building a wide web across ferns, even though it keeps falling into the water.

3. Why does Granpa want Little Tree to learn his trade when he is only six-years-old?
(a) Because he is growing old and Little Tree will soon have to take over.
(b) Because even if Little Tree switches trades later, he will always have something to fall back on.
(c) Because Little Tree should be kept from being idle.
(d) Because Little Tree is smart enough to learn.

4. What two important characteristics of Granpa are revealed by the description of the fox and the hounds episode?
(a) Granpa's speed and agility.
(b) His immense respect for nature and animals and his sense of humor.
(c) Grandpa's great ability to catch foxes and control the hounds.
(d) Granpa's love for swimming and diving.

5. How do the visitor's ambitions contrast with the values of Granpa and Granma?
(a) The visitor wants quick riches but Granpa and Granma prefer to get rich by selling crops.
(b) The visitor wants to get easy money but Granpa and Granma know they own inherited land so they need no schemes to get rich.
(c) The visitor is intent on getting rich while Granpa and Granma have no interest in having more than they need to survive.
(d) The visitor wants money but Granma and Granpa don't want to be rich, they just want to protect Little Tree's inheritance.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Granpa's story, why did his father's friend enter the church with a pistol?

2. How does Granpa help Little Tree relate the lessons about nature to the behavior of some people?

3. What is Little Tree learning from the way in which Granma and Granpa deal with any extra money that they get from the whiskey?

4. From the incident with the black car, what is revealed about Granpa's attitude towards words?

5. At the end of Chapter 1, what kind of house is Little Tree taken to by his grandparents?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the behavior of some of the people on the bus help to introduce one of the themes of the novel?

2. What does the reader learn in Chapter 3 about the librarian's attitude to lending books to Little Tree and Granpa when they visit the library?

3. In Chapter 3, what does the author reveal about Granpa's views on politicians and authority figures?

4. Give two important place names and one animal's name that occur in chapter 4. Explain why the names are very appropriate.

5. Summarize the story about 'Coon Jack' and explain Granpa's reason for telling it to Little Tree.

6. State an important purpose that is served by this chapter in regard to the social setting of the book.

7. How does Granma explain the existence of body and spirit to Little Tree in Chapter 8?

8. How do Granpa and Granma ensure that there is a balance in Little Tree's education?

9. How does Chapter 5 establish some of the special roles played by Granma in the family?

10. Why does Little Tree go to bed feeling happy even though he has lost his father and mother?

(see the answer keys)

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