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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 "The Thief's Story," what does Romi give to a stray dog?

2. In "Wild Fruit," what is ironic about the lessons Vijay listens to at school?

3. In "A Traveller's Tale," what is the name of the ghost who appears in the narrator's room?

4. In "The Night the Roof Blew Off," what wild animal ends up inside the house?

5. In "The Overcoat," where does the narrator find his overcoat?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "When the Trees Walked," in what sense do the trees "walk"?

2. In "Those Three Bears," what do the villagers do with their pumpkins, and how does this cause a surprise for the narrator one night?

3. In "And Now We are Twelve," who are the people that Ruskin Bond considers to be his family?

4. In "Wild Fruit," why is Vijay so hungry?

5. In "The Thief's Story," where does Hari meet Romi, and why does he choose Romi to approach for work?

6. In "The Coral Tree," why is the narrator leaving his grandfather's house?

7. In "A Traveller's Tale," what does the narrator expect to see in Gopalpur, and what is the reality?

8. In "Pret in the House," what causes the family to decide that they need to move to a new house?

9. In "The Coral Tree," what is the significance of the narrator's repeated claim that the girl is "fresh and clean like the rain and the red earth" (118, 121)?

10. Why is the narrator of "The Overcoat" unconcerned that neither he nor anyone at the party knows Julie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose three stories in which characters travel a long distance by walking or riding a bike. Compare and contrast their situations and their attitudes, and then offer an analysis about what Bond is using these journeys to "say" about life. Be sure to support your claims with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the stories in Great Stories for Children feature acts of kindness--between people, between people and animals, and even between people and ghosts. Choose two stories that feature acts of kindness and compare and contrast how these stories use plot and characterization to convey ideas about kindness.

Essay Topic 3

The collection Great Stories for Children features many stories that have children as main characters. Think about what these children have in common and how they differ. Write an essay that explores the importance of what the children have in common and explains what values are being conveyed by their similarities. Use evidence from at least five of the stories to support your claims.

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