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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who attacks the Josef and the other children with anti-Semitic abuse during their tour of the ship?
(a) Petty Officer Jockl.
(b) Captain Schroeder.
(c) Officer Sturmer.
(d) Schiendick.

2. When a boy offers to show Mahmoud and his family somewhere they can sleep, how much money does he charge them for the information?
(a) 500 Syrian pounds or about $2.50 American dollars.
(b) 1,000 Syrian pounds or about $5 American dollars.
(c) 6,000 Syrian pounds or about $30 American dollars.
(d) 2,000 Syrian pounds or about $10 American dollars.

3. Isabel's grandfather Lito makes her angry on the boat by telling her that her father is a what?
(a) A liar.
(b) A deadbeat.
(c) A fool.
(d) A thief.

4. When the narrative rejoins Josef in 1939, each member of the family is now wearing what item?
(a) A red jacket.
(b) A prisoner number placard.
(c) A Star of David tattoo.
(d) A Star of David armband.

5. Even though Fidel Castro announces to the Cuban people that they are now free to leave Cuba whenever they want, why is Isabel's mother still especially wary about the trip?
(a) She does not think her ill mother will survive the trip.
(b) She believes that Fidel Castro's announcement is a trap.
(c) She is pregnant.
(d) She worries that the family will starve during the trip.

6. Who does not attend Josef's bar mitzvah, much to Josef's dismay?
(a) Josef's sister.
(b) Josef's mother.
(c) Josef's best friend.
(d) Josef's father.

7. Isabel knows that Ivan and his father are actually building a boat in order to travel where?
(a) To Canada.
(b) To the United States.
(c) To Mexico.
(d) To the Dominican Republic.

8. Josef's family is traveling on a train in order to get on a ship headed for what country?
(a) Cuba.
(b) Germany.
(c) Columbia.
(d) The United States.

9. For what transgression do the Nazis say they are taking Josef's father into "protective custody" (3)?
(a) For writing a newspaper article about the Nazis' violence.
(b) For practicing medicine as a Jewish man.
(c) For continuing to run his tailoring business as a Jewish man.
(d) For practicing law as a Jewish man.

10. What is Josef's father's profession at the start of the novel?
(a) Lawyer.
(b) Reporter.
(c) Doctor.
(d) Tailor.

11. What is the age difference between Isabel and Ivan?
(a) Isabel is one year older than Ivan.
(b) Ivan is two years older than Isabel.
(c) Isabel is two years older than Ivan.
(d) Ivan is one year older than Isabel.

12. During Isabel's boat journey, her grandfather Lito tells her that she does have family in what part of the world?
(a) Miami.
(b) San Diego.
(c) Atlanta.
(d) Argentina.

13. What does Ivan want to be when he grows up?
(a) A doctor.
(b) A marine biologist.
(c) A professional baseball player.
(d) A professional soccer player.

14. What is NOT a way in which Josef's father has changed since being imprisoned in a concentration camp?
(a) He is paranoid.
(b) He has rage in his eyes.
(c) He is gaunt.
(d) He is thin.

15. Schiendick enrages Josef's father by saying that German law states that what object must be covered with the Nazi flag?
(a) A body buried at sea.
(b) The coffin of a deceased crew member.
(c) The door of the captain's quarters.
(d) The ship's stock of water.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Mahmoud's family arrives in the refugee camp in Turkey, Mahmoud's father reveals that he has found a smuggler who can get family from Turkey to what country?

2. What do Mahmoud and his brother Waleed do when they see two boys robbing another boy of a loaf of bread?

3. The horrific historical event called Kristallnacht means what in the English language?

4. Who takes on the role of being "in charge of the boat" (81) on which Isabel and her family are traveling?

5. Risking his life by running through gunfire back to the car, Mahmoud's father retrieves what object from the car?

(see the answer keys)

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