Show:
Comprehension Questions
Language
Perspective (what people think)
Comprehension Part 2
Comprehension Part 3
100

What is Kek's new nickname?

Cowboy

100

Hannah's laugh is described as "like bells on a windy day." This shows the reader this about Hannah.

She is cheerful, friendly, and welcoming to a new friend.  

100
This past experience impacts Kek's perspective of the American grocery store.
What is watching a baby die of starvation?
100

What happens with the apple?

A boy threw an apple on Kek's desk.  He threw it back and it hit him on the nose.  Kek receives detention.  

100

Why is it hard for Kek to understand money (green paper)?  

In his country, cows showed your wealth.  
200

The name Kek chooses for the cow, Gol, means this.

Family

200

When Kek buys Hannah chocolate for Valentine's Day, it says, "My own heart grows so big with pride I fear it might pop open like a ripe seedpod." This shows that Kek feels this emotion very strongly.

So happy, very proud he bought it with his own money
200
Hannah's experience with her mother affects her perspective on Kek quitting Lou's farm in this way.
What is that she knows how much it hurts when someone you love leaves, so she understands that Kek doesn't want to go back?
200

When Lou tells Ganwar, "Well, I guess you'll have to use the other one," about his missing hand, her choice of language shows that she is this kind of person.

Practical, doesn't feel sorry for herself, funny

200

To Kek, cows symbolize this.

Family, home, pride, wealth

300

Why is Ganwar about getting a job?

Worried about working with only one hand.  Nervous because Kek got a job first.  

300

The simile, "Ganwar's words lie in my lap like huge rocks I am not strong enough to move," shows that Kek is feeling this.

Sad, defeated, helpless

300
When Kek runs away, he doesn't say goodbye. This experience from his past makes him hate goodbyes.
What is the war in Sudan (losing his entire family)?
300

When Kek says, "You would not believe it! They teach you and feed you and I have my own desk," about school, his word choice and the way he says things tells the reader this about his character.

Kek is enthusiastic, happy, and excited?

300

What bad news does Lou give Kek?

She is selling the farm.  

400

Where did the class go on a field trip?

The zoo

400

When Kek is at the grocery store he says, "I stand like a tree rooted firm, my eyes too full of this place with its answers to prayers on every shelf." This simile shows that Kek feels this emotion.

Shocked, confused, overwhelmed

400
Kek's experiences in Sudan have impacted his perspective on life in America in these ways (name at least two).
He is used to violence due to the Sudanese Civil War as a result he has many violent dreams when he sleeps in the United States. He is has not gone to school consistently due to the Sudanese Civil War. Consequently, he values many parts of his American school: his desk, his teacher, the cafeteria food, his uniform etc.
400

When Hannah has Kek over, she says, "Sorry, it's a dump, I know. [She sighs.] My last foster parents were total neat freaks." Her voice shows that she feels this emotion.

Embarrassed 

400
How does Kek feel when he tells Hannah the story at the farm?

Sad, he doesn't want to keep working at the farm because he knows it will soon be gone.  Wants to give up now before he is hurt.  

500

On the field trip. why isn't Kek bothered by waiting in line?

He is used to it.  He waited 9 hours for a handful of corn.  

500
The proverb at the beginning of the last section says, "A sandstorm passes; the stars remain." This proverb explains the ending of the book in this way.
What is it shows that the important things in life like family and friends are always there, even when things are tough.
500

How are Kek and Ganwar's perspectives are different in these ways?  (From any part of the book so far)

Kek is hopeful and Ganwar is hopeless, that Kek is an optimist and Ganwar is a pessimist, that Kek keeps trying no matter what and Ganwar has given up.

500

When Ganwar says, "I didn't come to this country to sweep floors...A man does not wear a paper hat and hand out ketchup packets," it tells the reader this about him.

He is hurt and too prideful to work at a fast food store.

500

What happens on the last day of school in Kek's ESL class?

Ms. Hernandez makes a speech about how she is proud of the class.  They eat cake and read a poem from the base of the Statue of Liberty.