A Child Called "It"
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40 free A Child Called "It" trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
A Child Called "It" spent years on the best-seller lists and is still widely read by teenagers and students. Dave Pelzer's account of the abuse he endured at home as a child in California, and of the day his school finally stepped in, remains one of the more disputed memoirs of its era. This quiz follows the book in order. It covers the opening rescue, the happy early years, the change in his mother's behavior, the hunger and the punishments, the adults who noticed and the ones who looked away, and the final chapter and epilogue. A further group of questions looks at the book beyond its pages: how it was published and promoted, the sequels, the honors and complaints it has drawn, and the arguments over how accurate it is. It is written for students revising a class read or preparing for a reading-comprehension test, for teachers and book clubs who want discussion starters, and for anyone who has read the memoir and wants to check what they remember. The questions treat the events plainly and without graphic detail, and every answer comes with a short explanation.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which job kept Dave Pelzer's father, Stephen, away from the family home on long shifts?
Firefighter
Firefighter Stephen Pelzer was Dave's early hero, and Dave clung to him because the abuse was milder whenever his father was home.
Q 02Which childhood vacation spot does Dave Pelzer revisit with his own son in his memoir's epilogue?
Russian River
Russian River trips ended after one miserable summer there, so returning years later as a loving father closes the story on a hopeful note.
Q 03Which comic-book hero does Dave Pelzer imagine himself as after treating his own wound without help?
Superman
Superman, red cape and all, is who Dave becomes in a dream that night, after his father heard about the stabbing and did nothing to help.
Q 04Which staff member at Dave Pelzer's school fetches the principal on the day he is removed from home?
The nurse
The nurse had examined him again and again, but on this day she fetched the principal, who said he had had enough.
Q 05Which branch of the US military did Dave Pelzer join at 18, a service he says gave him pride?
Air Force
Air Force service lasted thirteen years for Pelzer, who worked as a boom operator refueling aircraft in flight.
Q 06Which chore must Dave Pelzer finish in his memoir's opening scene to be allowed any breakfast?
Washing the dishes
Washing the dishes in time was the condition for being fed, and he had gone without dinner the night before.
Q 07Where in the family home was Dave Pelzer banished to sleep on a cot, away from everyone else?
The garage
The garage also held a freezer, which Dave secretly raided for scraps of frozen food when he could.
Q 08Which sequel follows Dave Pelzer through foster homes and a spell in juvenile hall after his rescue?
The Lost Boy
The Lost Boy sees a court make Dave its ward, then follows him through five foster homes until he is old enough to enlist.
Q 09Which grade is Dave Pelzer in when a police officer drives him away from school and his mother?
Fifth
Fifth grade came late for Dave, who was 12 because his mother had made him repeat a year despite strong marks.
Q 10In which California suburb near San Francisco did Dave Pelzer grow up with his parents and brothers?
Daly City
Daly City was home to a modest family house full of pets, which his mother used to teach the children about animals.
Q 11Which baby brother does Dave Pelzer say he loved, crediting the infant with keeping him sane?
Kevin
Kevin arrived after days the older boys spent with a kind neighbor, and Dave feared the baby would one day learn to hate him too.
Q 12What does Dave silently recite in the car at the very end of chapter seven of A Child Called "It"?
The Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer gives the chapter its title, a striking close because the same chapter opens with Dave deciding there is no God.
Q 13Where does Dave Pelzer's father go to live after Christmas, when his parents finally separate?
A motel
A motel was where the family dropped him, and Dave, made to wait in the car, was handed a small package by his dad as a farewell.
Q 21Which gifts did Dave Pelzer's father buy him one Christmas, enraging the mother who disciplined him?
Paint-by-number sets
Paint-by-number sets cost his father dearly: after the row that followed, Dave sensed his dad would not stand up for him again.
Q 22Which snack did Dave Pelzer steal on his first grocery store raid, then lose from a restroom bin?
Graham crackers
Graham crackers were only the start: he went on to take frozen lunches from the school cafeteria, which his mother soon discovered.
Q 23Which paid work did Dave Pelzer's mother make him do in school vacations, keeping what he earned?
Mowing lawns
Q 14Who at Dave Pelzer's school praised him in a letter home and later wrote a testimony for his memoir?
Mr. Ziegler
Mr. Ziegler heard from his former pupil again in 1992, almost twenty years after he had flagged the abuse to the authorities.
Q 15Dave Pelzer won a contest in his last year at home with his entry for which project?
The school newspaper
The school newspaper win changed nothing at home: his mother read the teacher's proud note and told him nothing he did would impress her.
Q 16Who visits Dave Pelzer at home days after his mother suddenly starts treating him kindly?
A social worker
A social worker asked whether he was happy, and Dave, afraid of what would follow, said yes; the kindness ended once she left.
Q 17Which youth group was Dave Pelzer pulled from after his mother accused him of playing on the grass?
Cub Scouts
Cub Scouts was one more link to other children that she cut, even though she had served as a den mother for the pack herself.
Q 18On which holiday in chapter seven is Dave Pelzer allowed to join a silent, sad family dinner?
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving dinner passed in silence with his father back at the table, and a loud argument between his parents followed it.
Q 19Which title heads chapter five of A Child Called "It", in which a kitchen knife wounds Dave?
The Accident
The Accident fits Dave's telling: his mother, waving the knife as a threat, stumbled and it flew from her hand.
Q 20What did Dave Pelzer's mother tell him to blame for his bruises on the morning of his rescue?
A door
A door was an excuse the school had heard from him only the Monday before, so this time nobody accepted it.
Mowing lawns backfired when a customer took pity and gave him a bag of lunch, which earned him another punishment.
Q 24Which Christmas present was Dave Pelzer made to use outside in the cold, without a jacket?
Roller skates
Roller skates looked like a kind gesture, but Dave came to see them as one more punishment while his brothers stayed warm inside.
Q 25What does Dave Pelzer watch struggling in the surf in his epilogue, comparing it to his early life?
Driftwood
Driftwood pulled in and out by the Pacific waves reminded him of years spent pushed around before he broke free.
Q 26Which San Francisco landmark and its aquarium did Dave Pelzer's mother take her sons to see?
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park outings belonged to the happy years, when she held Dave's hand as he peered nervously at the alligators.
Q 27Which San Francisco district did Dave Pelzer's mother show her sons before cooking a themed dinner?
Chinatown
Chinatown inspired her to hang paper lanterns and serve the meal in costume, the devoted parent she was before the abuse began.
Q 28Beside which appliance did Dave Pelzer first learn that stalling for time could protect him?
The stove
The stove ordeal ended when his brothers came home, and he resolved to play for time whenever she turned on him.
Q 29What breakfast does Dave Pelzer eat quickly in chapter one, before his mother can change her mind?
Leftover cereal
Leftover cereal from his brothers' bowls counted as a lucky morning, since she often withheld meals altogether.
Q 30Which subtitle follows the main title on the cover of Dave Pelzer's first memoir?
One Child's Courage to Survive
One Child's Courage to Survive set a pattern, since both sequels carry subtitles too, about a foster child's search and about forgiveness.