Click-Clack the Rattlebag Quiz

What does the word unsettling mean, as used in the sentence below? "I felt like his big brother, and I stood taller, and if there was something unsettling about the empty house I would not have admitted it for worlds" (P24).

• confusing
• miserable
• uncomfortable
• annoying

Which of the following is an example of direct characterization?

• "He was a precocious child, and was unimpressed by his sister's boyfriend's ignorance." (P16)
• "His hand found mind, and he held onto my fingers comfortably, trustingly, as if he'd known me all his life." (P24)
• "It really was a big house. I wished I had a flashlight." (P30)
• "He said, 'I think maybe you should take me up to my bedroom, and then you can tell me a story before I got to sleep, but a very not-scary story because I'll be up in my bedroom then, and it's actually a bit dark up there, too.'" (P18)

How do these comments from the boy characterize him? "'They come from the dark,' said the boy, holding on to my hand. 'I think they're probably made of dark. And they come in when you don't pay attention. That's when they come in. And then they take you back to their... not nests. What's the word that's like nests, but not?'" (P31)

• ignorant
• curious
• trusting
• childish

What method does Gaiman use to create suspense in the following passage? "He pushed open the door to the attic room. It was perfectly dark, now, but the opening door disturbed the air, and I heard things rattle gently, like dry bones in thin bags, in the slight wind. Click. Clack. Click. Clack Like that. I would have pulled away then, if I could, but small, firm fingers pulled me forward, unrelentingly, into the dark." (P59-60)

• foreshadowing
• cliffhanger
• setting choice
• imagery

Which of the following passages would be the best example of developing suspense using setting choice?

• "We walked along the upper corridor in the shadows, walking from patch of moonlight to path of moonlight. It really was a big house. I wished I had a flashlight." (P30)
• "Our eyes adjusted to the shadows. The moon was almost full, and blue-white moonlight shone in through the high windows on the staircase, down into the hall." (P23)
• "The stairs creaked beneath the threadbare stair-carpet." (P25)
• "I held on to the railing on my left, held his hand with my right, as he walked besides me. It smelled like dust and old wood, that high in the house." (P53)

How does the following line develop the suspense in the story? "We walked out of the warm and cosy kitchen into the hallway of the big house, where it was chilly and draughty and dark" (P21)

• It hints at how the author's tone changes.
• It confirms that danger is ahead of them.
• It highlights the character's fears.
• It describes a change in the atmosphere.

How does the following passage create suspense in the story? "'So what do these Click-Clacks look like?' Even as I asked him, I wished I could take the question back, and leave it unasked. I thought: Huge spidery creatures. Like the one in the shower that morning. I'm afraid of spiders. I was relieved when the boy said, 'They look like what you aren't expecting. What you aren't paying attention to.'" (P51-52)

• imagery
• setting choice
• foreshadowing
• limit perspective

Which piece of evidence best supports the idea that the narrator was possibly near or around a Click-Clack?

• "I would have pulled away, then, if I could, but small, firm fingers pulled me forward, unrelentingly, into the dark."
• "There was that precocious amusement again."
• "He pushed open the door to the attic room."
• "I heard things rattle gently, like dry bones in thin bags."

Which statement best describes a theme within the story?

• Beware of large old homes and little children.
• Always tell young children bedtime stories.
• Things are not always what they seem.
• Do not leave children with strangers.

How does the paragraph below contribute to the story? “'Yes,' said the boy, soberly. 'I am very glad you’re here.' He seemed less precocious now. His hand found mine, and he held on to my fingers comfortably, trustingly, as if he’d known me all his life. I felt responsible and adult. I did not know if the feeling I had for his sister, who was my girlfriend, was love, not yet, but I liked that the child treated me as one of the family. I felt like his big brother, and I stood taller, and if there was something unsettling about the empty house I would not have admitted it for worlds." (P24)

• It criticizes the narrator’s ability to understand why the boy needs a bedtime story.
• It highlights how the narrator views his relationship with his girlfriend and her brother.
• It asks questions about how the narrator is related to the boy he is spending time with.
• It reveals the narrator’s feelings about having to tell bedtime stories to his girlfriend’s brother.