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. About how long was the plot of land in Chapter 8, where Nanny planted a garden?

2. When Rasul was in high school, how long did he have one girlfriend?

3. How many people could a table sit that Johnson's father brought out twice a year--Thanksgiving and Christmas?

4. What did Aunt Crystal grab to hit Desiree with in Chapter 10?

5. In Chapter 11, when was Johnson transitioning to adolescence?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Lil' Rall, Rasul, and Lil' Kevin carry box cutters around?

2. In Johnson's letter to Nanny, what are some things he remembers doing with her?

3. Why did Johnson call Nanny a cool lady even as she got older?

4. Why did Uncle have Lil' Rall and Rasul leave the Big Yellow House?

5. What was life like for Lil' Kevin?

6. How did the things Johnson did when he hit puberty change?

7. Where did Nanny move in 1993?

8. In Garrett's letter to Nanny, what occasion did he remember when she was especially proud of him?

9. Why did Johnson have to get stitches in Chapter 7?

10. What thoughts did Johnson have about healing from the abuse he suffered from Lil' Kevin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nanny often said that if you put trash on the curb, you did not go back out and bring it inside again. What did Nanny mean by that Nannyism? What did the statement she made communicate about relationships?

Essay Topic 2

Johnson decided to write the book a few days before his grandmother died. What was Johnson’s process of writing? Why did he write the book?

Essay Topic 3

Johnson believed that change was “one of the only constants in life” (129). Why did Johnson believe that change was one of the only constants in life? What were the pros and cons of change?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 826 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample