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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. As Toby recalls the night his mother packed, what song does he remember her singing?

2. What does Toby's dad ask him to take to Mrs. McKnight?

3. What was made of the foil taken from the cake?

4. Where do Toby and Cal go to see all of Antler?

5. What kind of walls block off the sideshow boy from the visitors?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the town rumor about Ferris?

2. Why does Toby believe that Cal is good with kids?

3. Other than the emotional attachment Toby has with his mother, why does he miss her so much?

4. Why does Toby quickly march Tara out of the sideshow trailer on their first visit there?

5. How do Toby and Cal try to determine whether Zachary really is the fattest boy in the world?

6. Discuss the development of Gossimer Lake.

7. What is ironic about Kate's announcement that she passed her driver's test and now has her license?

8. What is ironic about Cal and Toby chasing taunting fourth graders away from Zachary's trailer?

9. What is exciting about the trailer that pulls into town in Chapter 1? Why is it exciting?

10. Why does Cal always get up so early?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast best friends Toby and Cal in When Zachary Beaver Comes to Town.

Essay Topic 2

What is the significance of Kate to the story? How might the novel had differed if she had not been introduced as a minor character?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the point of view from which the novel is written. Does this point of view make the story more or less believable? Select a different point of view and explain how this novel would have changed if written from it.

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