Book Report: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Which of the following is a central theme of the excerpt?

• Friends react differently to stressful situations when playing together.

• Friendship has obstacles that must be overcome to form a close bond.

• Friendship can develop between people with different preferences

• Friends can be unaware of an inequality within the relationship.

What do the following lines from the excerpt most likely reveal about Shmuel?

“‘Wait there, I’ll cut some off for you,’ said Bruno, opening the fridge and cutting another three healthy slices.‘No, if he comes back—’ said Shmuel, shaking his head quickly and looking back and forth towards the door.‘If who comes back? You don’t mean Lieutenant Kotler?’‘I’m just supposed to be cleaning the glasses,’ he said, looking at the bowl of water in from of him in despair and then looking back at the slices of chicken that Bruno held out to him.”

• Shmuel is too busy to eat and is annoyed with Bruno for trying to distract him from his job.

• Shmuel is hungry but is afraid he will get into trouble if he stops polishing the glasses.

• Shmuel is envious of Bruno’s sandwich and is overwhelmed by the responsibilities he has been given.

• Shmuel is determined to win Lieutenant Kotler’s respect and feels he must complete his task of polishing glasses.

Based on the actions by Lieutenant Kotler in the excerpt, which inference can most likely be made about how he will act after he asks, “Do you know this boy, Bruno?”

• He will realize he has been cruel to Shmuel and Bruno.

• He will get angrier with Shmuel for being Bruno’s friend.

• He will apologize to Shmuel and Bruno for frightening them.

• He will let Shmuel stop polishing the glasses to play with Bruno.

What do paragraph 21 and the last paragraph of the excerpt reveal about Bruno?

• Bruno presents himself as being more courageous than he acts.

• Bruno behaves with discipline and manners in front of authority.

• Bruno shows his fear to his friend but hides his fear from others.

• Bruno has responsibilities that require him to behave maturely.

What does the reader most likely understand about the relationship between Bruno and Shmuel that Bruno does not understand?

• That Shmuel is a harder worker and is unwilling to play with Bruno

• That Bruno’s words to Shmuel are thoughtless and inconsiderate

• That Shmuel has visited Bruno’s home many times before

• That Bruno has had more schooling than Shmuel has had

Which sentence from the excerpt most strongly supports the answer to Question 5 (the previous question)?

• “‘What are you doing here?’”

• ‘They asked me to polish the glasses,’ said Shmuel.”

• “‘If only you didn’t have to polish the glasses, I could show you my room.’”

• “‘Can you believe he’s never even read Treasure Island?’”

What mostly causes Bruno to recognize that he and Shmuel are dissimilar?

• The kind of glasses they own

• The type of food they eat

• How they respond to orders

• How their hands look

Which statement from the excerpt most strongly supports the answer to Question 7 (the previous question)?

• “…he saw sixty-four small glasses, the ones his Mother used…”

• …his hand appeared healthy and full of life.”

• “…his eyes were focused on the chicken and stuffing…”

• “He looked towards Bruno, his eyes pleading…”