Test Bank
Chapter 11 – Biographies Multiple Choice 1.
What has been the major influence on the authors of biographies for children over the years? a. Social attitudes toward children b. Religious convictions c. Political persuasions d. Knowledge of stages of children’s cognitive development
2.
Biographies written for children in the 17th and 18th centuries usually emphasized which of the following? a. Developmental character b. Political values c. Religious values d. Social values
3.
In the late 1800s the goal for children’s biographies changed from a. A political to a religious one b. A religious to a developmental one c. A social to a religious one d. A religious to a political one
4.
What is the main reason that few biographies of the early 1900s dealt with women, African Americans, Native Americans or members of other ethnic and racial minorities? a. The contributions of women and non-whites were not highly regarded. b. Traditional social patterns kept women and non-whites out of positions of power. c. Americans did not consider women and non-whites to be appropriate subjects for biographies. d. All of the above.
5.
What is the most likely reason that biographers writing for young readers have often focused on the boyhood years of their characters? a. They wanted to show the roots of the character’s greatness. b. They wanted to increase the ability of the children to empathize with political heroes. c. They wanted to show how the American Dream can come true. d. They wanted to simplify the characters so that children could understand them.
6.
What is the most serious result of glorifying biographical subjects, avoiding any of their weaknesses, mistakes, and flaws? a. It discourages children from trying to be great because they cannot possible be as great as the biographical subjects. b. It gives children a distorted, rather than a realistic model of the contributions people have made and can make. c. It gives children a false view of history. d. It diminishes the value and importance of the contributions of people children know who have flaws.
7.
The greatest change in the attitudes toward the biographical content of children’s books occurred in the a. 1920s b. 1930s c. 1950s d. 1970s
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