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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 is an aurochs?

2. What animal did Jan raise at the zoo to feed German soldiers?

3. Where in the zoo did the Germans build a weapons storehouse?

4. Who did Jan meet while on a daily bicycle tour of the zoo?

5. What happened to Morys?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Dr. Muller help Jan return to Warsaw?

2. Why did Jan feel such a strong connection with the Jews?

3. Why did Wanda and Adam Englert divorce?

4. Why did Jan purposely draw attention to himself when he was thanking Ziegler for bringing him to the Ghetto to see Szymon Tenenbaum?

5. What made Antonina feel hopeful at first when Lutz Heck came to visit the villa?

6. Why were the Warsaw Zoo’s polar bears shot by Polish soldiers?

7. Why were Jan and Antonina so frightened when they witnessed a trolley being bombed?

8. Why did the Germans take children with Aryan features to be raised in Germany?

9. How does the author describe the sounds of the zoo in the morning before the war?

10. What was unusual about the baby badger that Antonina raised?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of the book. Why did the author choose to write about Antonina rather than Jan? How does making Jan the protagonist of the book support Ackerman’s themes?

Essay Topic 2

When Maurycy is renamed Pawel (Paul), he gives the hamster a new name, Piotr (Peter), and says they will be like the disciples. Write an essay that explains what Maurycy means by this and what or who they will be disciples of.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the importance of Janusz Korczak to the book. Why does the author include his story? How does the author use his story to develop themes? What impact does his story have on readers?

(see the answer keys)

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