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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 "Secret Samantha," who does Samantha get to deliver her gift?

2. In "Secret Samantha," what surprising thing does Samantha's mother say to her when she comes to the school?

3. How old is the narrator when she learns to read?

4. In "Secret Samantha," what does Samantha use to recreate the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon she already used?

5. In "How to Transform," when the narrator finally gets into a game, who is he supposed to guard?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Beans and Rice Chronicles," who is Miz Rita?

2. In "The Beans and Rice Chronicles," who is Mr. Shephard?

3. In "How to Transform," how does the narrator finally get into his first game?

4. In "Secret Samantha," what happens when Samantha goes to see the school nurse?

5. In "Secret Samantha," how and why must Secret Santa change?

6. In "The Difficult Path," how does Lingsi feel about the donkey ride she takes to the temple and what she sees along the way?

7. In "Sol Painting, Inc.," what does Roli want to be when he grows up?

8. In "Sol Painting, Inc.," how does Roli act when they are at the school, and what does his behavior reveal?

9. In "Sol Painting, Inc.," how does the girls' soccer team act in trying to get into the gym?

10. In "How to Transform," why does the narrator decide to give up going to the gym, and what happens when he does?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two or more stories from this collection and write an essay in which you compare/ contrast how money plays an important role in what happens and the messages the authors are trying to get across.

Essay Topic 2

In an essay, consider how the title "Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push" relates to the story itself. What does it literally mean? What does it mean metaphorically? How does it set up the writer's theme(s)?

Essay Topic 3

Many images seem to reappear over the course of this story collection: the beach, ice cream, basketball, water, cars, etc. Choose one image that shows up in at least two stories. The compare and contrast how the image is used in each story to develop the stories' themes.

(see the answer keys)

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