Question 2

Imaginative

At this time in his life Zinkoff sees no difference between the stars in the sky and the stars in his mother’s plastic Baggie. He believes that stars fall from the sky sometimes, and that his mother goes around collecting them like acorns. He believes she has to use heavy gloves and dark sunglasses because the fallen stars are so hot and shiny. She puts them in the freezer for forty-five minutes, and when they come out they are flat and silver and sticky on the back and ready for his shirts.

Narrator, p. 35

In this passage, Spinelli reveals the depth of Zinkoff's imagination. To Zinkoff, the silver stars his mother gives him are not simply dollar-store stickers—they are no different than the stars in the night sky. He believes that the stars fall to Earth, shiny and hot, and that his mother collects them while wearing heavy gloves and dark sunglasses as protection. The passage is significant because it speaks to Zinkoff's profound mix of innocence and creativity, qualities that often go unrecognized by his teachers and classmates.