Youthful Characters II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Peter Pan

It is often claimed that J.M. Barrie invented the name 'Wendy' in 1903 for his character from "Peter Pan", but it was used earlier in the 1890s. It is certainly true that its appearance in Barrie's play made the name much more popular. Wendy along with her younger brothers, John and Michael, are taken by Peter to join the Lost Boys in Neverland and to become their 'mother'.

Answer: A Wizard of Earthsea

"A Wizard of Earthsea" (1968) is the first book in "The Earthsea Trilogy" by Ursula LeGuin, to which she later added two more novels and a collection of short stories. On an island (Gont) in the world of Earthsea, which contains no mainland but only islands, lives a young boy who discovers that he has the powers of a mage and that his true name is "Ged".

The book traces his career from apprentice to his becoming the Archmage of all Earthsea. The book has deservedly become a classic and had won several awards.

Answer: To Kill a Mockingbird

This is the proper name of the narrator of Harper Lee's incredibly popular and respected novel, who prefers the nickname "Scout". The novel was published to great acclaim in 1960 and tells the story from the mid-1930s, set in Maycomb Alabama. Scout is the younger child of Atticus Finch, a lawyer whose integrity and human compassion dominates the book.

She relates in flashback the adventures of herself and her brother (Jem) during these years, climaxing with Atticus' defence of a black man falsely accused of rape.

Answer: The Yearling

Jody Baxter is the main character in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' best-selling novel "The Yearling" (1938). Jody lives in Florida with his parents and in the course of the story 'adopts' a young fawn (Flag) as a pet. This is very much a coming-of-age story in which the boy must deal with the fact that his fawn is growing into an adult deer and is ravaging their crops. Finally he has to kill the deer, which marks the end of his childhood and his coming to terms with the realities of life.

A film was made in 1946 with Gregory Peck as the father and Claude Jarman Jr as Jody.

The latter won a Juvenile Oscar for his performance.

Answer: Anne of Green Gables

Lucy Maud Montgomery has become a Canadian icon with her novels about the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. The first of these was "Anne of Green Gables", published in 1908. Anne Shirley is a red-haired orphan from Nova Scotia who comes to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

They wanted a boy to adopt and help on the farm, but Matthew brings Anne home instead. She has a great imagination and wants desperately to become a writer.

Answer: Mary Poppins

Michael Banks is the younger child in P.L. Travers's novel "Mary Poppins", which was made into one of Walt Disney's most successful and well-regarded films (1964). He is portrayed as more than a little mischievous and responsible for the resignation of a series of governesses. Distant from his parents, he comes into a comfortable relationship with them in the end.

A sequel to the Disney film ("Mary Poppins Returns") was released in 2018, in which an adult Michael is the main character, now a widower with three children and dealing with a crooked bank president scheming to re-possess the family house.

Answer: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Becky Thatcher is the "love interest' for Mark Twain's hero, Tom Sawyer. In "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" she is a newcomer to St Petersburg, Missouri, where her father is a distinguished judge. She and Tom become "engaged" and then "unengaged" when she finds out about his previous girl-friend.

In the climactic scene at the end of the novel, Tom and Becky are trapped along with the murderous Injun Joe in McDougal's Cave, from which they eventually escape.

Answer: The Hobbit

In J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel "The Hobbit", Kili and his older brother Fili are the nephews of Thorin Oakenshield, the king-in-exile of the Dwarves under the Mountain. In both the book and Peter Jackson's movie version he is portrayed as a rather impulsive and hot-headed youth, whose heart is in the right place when it comes to the crunch. Both he and his brother die along with their leader Thorin in the Battle of the Five Armies.

In the movie he is given a love interest in Tauriel, a Wood-elf.

Answer: Swallows and Amazons

"Swallows and Amazons" was the first book in a series of stories for young readers by Arthur Ransome. The name has spread to include all twelve complete novels, plus a fragment of a thirteenth. "Swallows and Amazons" is set in the Lake District, where Ransome lived for much of his life, and introduces readers to the Walker children on holiday ("the Swallows") and the two Blackett sisters, Nancy and Peggy, ("the Amazons") who live beside the lake. Nancy is very much a tom-boy, given to bursts of wild enthusiasm, an interesting vocabulary, and a very strong sense of adventure.

They appear in nine of the twelve stories.

Answer: The Tower Treasure

Chet is part of the Hardy Boys universe. Although a rather plump boy, he is proficient in several sports, especially on the high-school football team. He is the reticent member of the group but usually comes through with flying colours. He is especially known for his car, which is always called "the jalopy". His sister, Iola, provides the romantic interest for Joe Hardy.