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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. What does Mallory do to Simon?

2. What does Jared remember about sod?

3. What do the elves admit about the Field Guide?

4. What is Mallory's stipulation about what her brothers want to do?

5. What does Lucinda have to be sedated?

Short Essay Questions

1. What confuses Jared about the walk and what does he remember from the Field Guide?

2. What do the three beings who come through the trees look like?

3. How does Helen react to Jared and Mallory fighting in Lucinda's room and what happens to Lucinda?

4. What begins to make the children nervous and what happens as they reach a meadow?

5. What does Jared order his siblings to do and how do they accomplish this?

6. How does Mallory feel about the guide being gone and what does Jared say to her about it?

7. What did Mallory find that has them all excited and what do they find out about Arthur through her find?

8. How does Mallory feel about the conversation with the rabbit-monkey creature and what does Simon ask it? What is the creature's response to Simon's question?

9. How do the children find out where the guide is and what do they do about it?

10. What does Lorengorm say to them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lucinda's Secret is the third book in a series, called the Spiderwick series. Discuss the following.

1. Discuss two advantages of writing a series of novels about the same characters and having the plot continue from one book to the next. Use examples.

2. Discuss two disadvantages of writing a series of novels about the same characters and having the plot continue from one book to the next. Use examples.

3. Do you prefer to read a standalone book, or books in a series with the same main characters? Explain your response.

4. Do you think it is easier or more difficult (or about the same) to write a standalone book versus one in a series? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Whenever reading a science fiction or fantasy novel, one must become familiar with new terminology that explains concepts or technology that is not a part of the "real" world. In the case of Lucinda's Secret, much of the setting is familiar to the reader, though there are new ideas and terms to learn. Discuss the following:

1. Find five terms that are a part of Lucinda's Secret's world that occur in the "real" world but are used differently in Lucinda's Secret's world. Define the words as used in in Lucinda's Secret's world and compare those five words as to how they are currently used in the American English language.

2. There are ways of learning about a new world or time when reading a science fiction or fantasy novel. Discuss the ways you were able to understand the world of Lucinda's Secret. Did you have to look up any words? What does it mean to learn a word through its context? Do you have to do that in Lucinda's Secret? What word(s)?

3. Were there any words you never really understood from Lucinda's Secret? Which ones?

Essay Topic 3

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think Lucinda's Secret is? Explain your response.

(see the answer keys)

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