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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Palmer question about Nipper when the bird does not come home?
(a) The golden bird on his father's trophy.
(b) The mailman.
(c) HIs parents.
(d) The neighborhood cat.

2. What do the boys leave at Fishface's front door?
(a) A plastic bag of chocolate.
(b) A plastic bag of mud and sticks.
(c) A plastic bag of eggs.
(d) A plastic bag of garbage.

3. Who is Fishface?
(a) Dorothy Gruzik.
(b) Palmer's mother.
(c) Palmer.
(d) The fourth grade teacher.

4. Where did Arthur put the body of the first ever pigeon whose neck he had rung?
(a) Wrapped it up and put it in his dresser drawer.
(b) Wrapped it up and put it under his bed for kids to see.
(c) Wrapped it up and hid it in his mother's closet.
(d) Wrapped it up and buried it in his back yard.

5. Before going to sleep, what does Palmer do with his flashlight?
(a) Checks his parent's room.
(b) Checks outside his window.
(c) Checks the bathroom.
(d) Checks inside his closet.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Palmer learn about pigeons?

2. What do Beans, Mutto, Henry and Palmer sometimes call themselves?

3. As Palmer and the gang continue treestumping and teasing Dorothy, what does Palmer expect to happen?

4. Why does the town sponsor a pigeon shoot?

5. How does Palmer feel running with the boys?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Palmer come up with the name for his pigeon? What do people feel about animals when they name them? How does Palmer feel about his pigeon?

2. When Palmer opens the door on his birthday and finds Beans, Mutto and Henry there, he is elated. Why? Who are these boys? What do they represent in Palmer's life?

3. Palmer begins to identify a certain smell associated with the pigeon shoot. Describe the smell and how it injects itself into Palmer's life.

4. Palmer comes home after the boys see a pigeon flying overhead and he cries. Why is he crying? What does he admit about his day?

5. What does Beans pull out of the freezer when the gang is at his house? What does he do with it? The author does not tell us how Palmer feels about what Beans has done. Based on what you know of Palmer, how does he feel about the prank?

6. Palmer asks his mother for a favor. What is the favor, and why does Palmer ask her? How does he explain this to his mother?

7. How does Palmer react when the gang tell him they believe he has a pigeon for a pet? What does Palmer want the gang to believe and why?

8. How does Palmer resolve his problems of meeting his friends at the cannon on the day of the pigeon shoot? Why? What do we learn about Palmer?

9. When the boys find Farquar, he is on the soccer field and all but Palmer rush over to see him. Why does Palmer lag behind? What is he experiencing walking onto the field?

10. When the gang attacks Dorothy with snow balls on the first day of school, Palmer joins in without hesitation. How does he rationalize his behavior toward her?

(see the answer keys)

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