View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the fair that Beetle goes to in Chapter 5?

2. What is carved on the comb that Beetle admires?

3. Where do the boys in the village toss the sack in Chapter 2?

4. Why does Alyce decide that the cat should have a name in Chapter 6?

5. Before the comb, what was the only thing that Beetle had ever owned?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Beetle find the village boys doing when she goes to feed the cat in Chapter 2?

2. What happens one day while Alyce is telling Purr about the delivery of the twin calves?

3. Where does Alyce hear frightening noises coming from in Chapter 8? What do they turn out to be?

4. In Chapter 7, what do the 'Devil's footprints' lead the villagers to on Old North Road?

5. What item catches Beetle's eye at the fair?

6. What does Beetle enjoy watching in Chapter 2?

7. What happens when the village boys chase Alyce in Chapter 6?

8. Why is Alyce made to deliver messages and run errands after dark? Why doesn't this bother her?

9. Who does a man mistake Beetle for at the fair? What amazes Beetle about this?

10. What does Beetle discover and is ordered to keep secret in Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Alyce's character growth throughout the novel. How does her character compare from when the reader is first introduced to her to when the novel concludes? What events or people in her life prompt Alyce's growth?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and interpret the secondary characters of the novel. Who are they and what are their defining character traits? How are they related to Alyce? What is their role in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Karen Cushman, the author of the novel. What other works has she received recognition for? Do the other works have similar themes? Does she always write in the same genre?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample