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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. Why is Bernie afraid to put down rat poison?

2. What birds appear as the weather warms?

3. What birds cause the horses to tear around because the noise reminds them of crowds at the horse races?

4. Who identifies Ben's reading problem as dyslexia?

5. Where does Dick Whittington's cat put his killed rats while aboard ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Will Price get his scar?

2. What horse operation does Bernie describe seeing?

3. What does Fitzwarren do at the docks?

4. What is the livery of Fitzwarren's guild?

5. Who brought the horses' ancestors to the Americas, and why?

6. What reaction does the cook have when Dick faints at her door?

7. How does Lady stay safe from the rats?

8. What does Dick ask for, in addition to the king's initial offer, in exchange for his cat?

9. Why was a good rat hunter invaluable to Dick Whittington?

10. What does the Lady tell Whittington about the horses, when Whittington first arrives in the barn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Storytelling is an important aspect of the novel. Discuss storytelling and its role in the novel.

1) How does Whittington's storytelling affect the novel? How does his storytelling affect the characters in the barn, as well as Ben and Abby?

2) How and why do other characters tell stories, including the other animals in the barns? What role do these stories play in the novel?

3) What is the history of storytelling that brings Dick Whittington's stories to Whittington? Why is it significant?

Essay Topic 2

Ben struggles with reading. Discuss the role of reading in the novel and how it is portrayed.

1) What difficulties does Ben have with reading? What helps him learn to read?

2) Why is reading important in the novel? What are different characters' perspectives on reading, including Dick Whittington, the animals in the barn, the children, and their grandparents?

3) How do different characters learn to read? What variations are their in these characters relationships with reading?

Essay Topic 3

The central characters of the novel are animals. Discuss this aspect of the story.

1) How are the animal characters in the novel similar to human beings? How are they non-human?

2) Why does the author choose talking animals as central characters? What do these animals show the reader about humanity and life as a human?

3) How is Dick Whittington's cat portrayed differently than the other animal characters? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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