Name ______

The Breadwinner Reading Questions

Directions: Use pages 30-52 to answer the following questions.

  1. On page 30, it says, “Her anger melted when she saw her mother pick up the parcel of Hossain’s clothes and put it away on the top of the shelf of the cupboard. Her mother always looked sad when she touched Hossain’s clothes.” Which details below best explain why Parvana and her mother become sad when they see Hossain’s clothing?
  1. Hossain had laughed a lot.
  2. Nooria hadn’t always been the oldest. Hossain had been the oldest child.
  3. Hossain would always kick the ball to her in a way that she could stop it.
  4. Hossain had been killed by a land mine when he was fourteen years old.
  1. Read the sentence from page 31 below.

Every now and then he would realize he was falling asleep and would rouse himself, as if he hated the thought of missing something.

The underlined word, rouse, most likely means

  1. wake
  2. calm
  3. sleep
  4. lessen
  1. Read the sentence from page 34 below.

The whole family was laughing when four Taliban soldiers burst through the door.

Based on what you have read so far, how do you think this sentence will fit into the overall plot of the story?

______

  1. Read the sentences from page 35 below.

Parvana watched helplessly as two soldiers dragged him down the steps, his beautiful shalwar kameez ripping on the rough cement. Then they turned a corner, and she could see them no more.

Based on what you have read so far, how do you think this sentence will fit into the overall plot of the story?

______

  1. Read the sentence from page 37 below.

The ripped toshaks could be repaired, but that would wait until tomorrow.

The underlined word, toshaks, most likely means

  1. shoes
  2. mattresses
  3. dishes
  4. door
  1. On page 38, it says, “’You can’t truly be an Afghan if you don’t know someone who’s been in prison,’ her mother sometimes said.” Which detail below best explains why Parvana’s mother made this comment?
  1. No one had told her what prison was like.
  2. Parvana had never been inside a prison.
  3. One of her aunts had been arrested with hundreds of other school girls for protesting…
  4. The Taliban had ordered all windows painted over with black paint so that no one could see the women inside.
  1. On page 41, it says, “Nooria suddenly did something very unusual. She gave her sister a hug.” Which detail below best explains why Nooria did this unusual act?
  1. Most of the Taliban didn’t know how to read.
  2. Mother wasn’t supposed to be out of her home without a man, or without a note from her husband.
  3. The prison was a long way from their home.
  4. They would have to walk the whole way.
  1. On page 42 it says, “…and held out a photograph of Father. She didn’t say anything, just showed them the photo. Parvana held her breath every time her mother did this.” Which detail best explains why Parvana’s mom made her nervous by doing this?
  1. Everyone looked at the photo, then shook their heads.
  2. She took out Father’s photograph and held it in front of the face of one of the guards.
  3. They know what mother was asking without her having to say anything.
  4. Photographs were illegal. Any one of these people could turn Parvana and her mother over to the militia.
  1. Write a 4-5 sentence summary of pages 30-44. In your summary, you should include important details about what is happening. However, you should leave out personal opinions.