Character & Setting
Q: This main character in Waiting for the Biblioburro lives in Colombia and loves stories.
Ana
Q: In Rain School, the students use this natural material mixed with water to build their school walls
Mud
Q: In Nasreen's Secret School, Nasreen stopped speaking because this family member went missing.
Her father
Q: Across all three books, this main subject is something the children work very hard to get.
A: What is an education (or learning/books)?
Q: Unlike Thomas in Rain School, Ana in Waiting for the Biblioburro gets her learning materials from this mobile source.
A: What is a librarian on donkeys (the Biblioburro)?
Q: In Rain School, Thomas and his classmates live in this African country.
Chad
Q: In Nasreen's Secret School, the girls must hide their books under these items when walking outside.
Cloaks or dresses, or burqas
Q: The librarian brings books to Ana’s village because of this geographical problem.
A: What is living in a remote area with no library/school?
Q: In Rain School, the rebuilding of the school every year shows this character trait in the community.
A: What is perseverance (or determination/resilience)?
Q: While Nasreen must keep her school a secret from the Taliban, Thomas and Ana can learn out in the open because of this difference.
A: What is safety/government rules (Nasreen faces danger from rulers)
Q: This brave relative takes Nasreen to the secret school so she can learn.
A: Who is her grandmother
Before the Biblioburro arrives, Ana only owns this specific number of books.
What is one book?
Q: At the end of the school term in Rain School, the school building washes away because of this seasonal event.
A: What are the heavy rains (rainy season)?
Q: Nasreen's Secret School demonstrates that education can give people this emotional power.
A: What is hope (or a voice/healing)?
Q: Thomas learns by building his classroom with his hands, while Nasreen learns in secret inside a home. This shows how their environments differ in these ways.
A: What is Thomas's challenge being nature/weather, while Nasreen's challenge is human/war?
Q: These are the names of the two donkeys that carry books to Ana's village.
Who are Alfa and Beto?
Q: In Nasreen's Secret School, who helps Nasreen open up?
A: What is reading/learning with her friend Mina?
Q: In Rain School, the children feel proud at the end of the first day because they helped do this.
A: What is build their own school/desk?
Q: The traveling librarian in Waiting for the Biblioburro travels for hours in the heat to show this core message.
A: What is sharing knowledge and helping others access books is worth great effort?
Q: Compare how the adults support the children's learning in Rain School versus Waiting for the Biblioburro.
A: In Rain School, the teacher leads the community to build a physical space; in Biblioburro, the librarian travels to bring resources to them.
Q: In Nasreen's Secret School, this country serves as the story's setting.
What is Afghanistan?
Q: When the librarian leaves, Ana does this special activity to make sure she has new stories before his return.
A: What is writing and illustrating her own book?
Q: The students in Rain School do not mind that their school was destroyed by the rain because they gained this permanent benefit.
A: What is the knowledge/learning in their minds (which cannot wash away)?
Q: The title Rain School symbolizes the water cycle regarding education and nature. How can we relate that to education?
A: What is education takes effort to rebuild, but the knowledge lasts forever?
Q: Explain how all three main characters (Ana, Thomas, Nasreen) show determination when facing different obstacles to reading.
A: Ana overcomes a lack of resources by writing her own; Thomas overcomes physical destruction by rebuilding; Nasreen overcomes fear and strict rules to attend school.