BATTLE OF THE BOOKS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
ELEMENTARY LEVEL
Dancing Home by Alma Flor Ada
1. In which book is a character encouraged to use her Spanish but refuses to do
so, because she lives in America?
2. In which book does a character learn that there are pink dolphins in the
Amazon River?
3. In which book does a character share a book with a famous painting by Diego
Rivera, which depicts white calla lilies in a large clay pot?
4. In which book does a character receive a guitar as a farewell present?
5. In which book does the main character feel resentful and a bit jealous of the
time her mother spends braiding her cousin’s hair?
6. In which book does a character become the understudy for a folklorico dance
group?
Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger
1. In which book does a character use some of his birthday money to buy a firstclass, “man-about-town” suit?
2. In which book does it still cost just ten cents to ride a trolley in a character’s
home town?
3. In which book does a character wonder how his friend got the power to make
ordinary accordion players, librarians, truck drivers, party clowns and fast-food
employees turn into his henchmen and henchwomen?
4. In which book does a character disguise himself as a cowgirl with pink hair, pink
clothes and a pink guitar?
5. in which book is a character appointed governor by a unanimous vote of the
state lawmakers?
Fake Mustache (contd.)
6. In which book do characters hide in boxes of confetti?
7. In which book do characters eat an edible chicken-shaped eraser and find that
it is delicious?
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
1. In which book does the main character draw the same thing over and over,
never getting bored?
2. In which book does a character like to throw “me-balls” at people?
3. In which book does a character get a baseball and bat for his 6th birthday, but
the bat is taken away after he cracks a window and breaks out a small piece?
4. In which book does a character first observe his new family on TV, then through
a glass wall?
5. In which book does a character dream he is eating a furry doughnut, only to
wake up with a tiny puppy on his belly?
6. In which book is a character afraid to go into a box, because the last time he did
this his sister died?
The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore
1. In which book does a family move to the home their mother inherited, so their
father can get special medical treatment?
2. In which book does a character choose the library for her bedroom?
3. In which book is a character assigned the explorer Robert Peary as his research
topic, because he is the only student at his school who doesn’t know who he is?
4. In which book is a character amazed that his school has an electrostatic
generator that produces high voltages of electricity?
5. In which book is a character shocked by a lightning bolt, when he reaches his
hand out of the protective metal cage he’s riding in?
6. In which book do three friends research three different explorers that each
claim to have been the first to reach the North Pole?
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
1. In which book is a character born the same year as the Supreme Court decision
that ended “separate but equal” education?
2. In which book is the main character unhappy to be going to a different school
than her friends?
3. In which book do parents keep their children home from school to protest a
new law?
4. In which book is there an excerpt written by the author John Steinbeck about
witnessing the main character walking into school?
5. In which book do U.S. Marshalls escort a character to school?
6. In which book is a character reunited with her first grade teacher after 35
years?
The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac
1. In which book does a character refer to his favorite sport as the “Creator’s
Game”?
2. In which book does a character have a habit of touching her left earring when
she is nervous?
3. In which book is a character shot and gravely wounded during a robbery at a
convenience store?
4. In which book does a character realize how lucky he is that his room faces the
sunrise?
5. In which book does a special game help someone get well?
6. In which book is it said that the drumbeat of the heart is the first sound every
person hears?
Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
1. In which book does a character learn that teachers think she should repeat
sixth grade?
2. In which book does a character agree to help his sister write letters to America?
3. In which book does the main character live on a farm once owned by her
grandparents?
4. In which book does a character enjoy spending time in the woods on the family
farm?
5. In which book does a character create a bulletin board that includes a map and
a flag?
6. In which book does a character send a letter with an array of stamps, including
a deer, Mickey Mouse, a baseball player and the U.S. flag?
The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech
1. In which book does a character make music by tapping on bottles and cans with
slender sticks?
2. In which book does a character paint a swirling blue tree on the side of a barn?
3. In which book does a character trade his used jacket for a used guitar?
4. In which book does a character build a shelf for children’s shoes?
5. In which book does a character find a parcel by the front door that contains a
beautiful painting?
6. In which book do characters become foster parents to many children?
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles DeLint
1. In which book does the main character change form from human to animal?
2. In which book is a character bitten by a deadly snake?
3. In which book is a character sent to the bear people to help her sort out her
dreams?
4. In which book does a fox named T. H. say his initials stand for truthful and
handsome?
5. In which book is a character changed from a kitten to a girl by a panther?
6. In which book does a character have to soak his madstone in milk to make a
spell work?
Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
1. In which book does a character often remind herself, “do not hope: instead,
observe” ?
2. In which book does a character discover that cheese puffs are delicious and
eats an entire bag of them?
3. In which book does a character have the annoying and extremely persistent
habit of introducing himself to everyone all the time, even to people he has
already met?
4. In which book do characters go to the Giant Do-Nut for a meal?
5. In which book does a character have a slippery horsehair sofa in her
apartment?
6. In which book do characters say “I promise to always turn back to you”, instead
of good-bye?
The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich
1. In which book is a character given the nickname “baby wildcat,” because he is
always watchful?
2. In which book is a character very upset when she is given the job of tanning the
hide of a moose killed by her bragging cousin?
3. In which book is a character frustrated that there is no enemy for her to attack,
so she decides to attack an old woman’s pack of dogs?
4. In which book do some characters put rocks inside their snowballs so they’ll
hurt more when they hit people?
5. In which book does a character learn from experience how deadly cold can be,
as it lures you to lie down and sleep?
6. In which book is a character warned to use her gift for dreaming to help her
people, not to gain power for herself?
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
1. In which book does a group of men, all named Jack, try to catch and kill the
main character?
2. In which book does a character use fading to escape from a killer?
3. In which book is the main character able to walk the borderland between the
living and the dead?
4. In which book does a Sleer guard a buried treasure and wait for the master to
return?
5. In which book does a character state: “I want to see life. I want to hold it in my
hands. I want to leave a footprint on the sand of a desert island. I want to play
football with people…I want everything”?
6. In which book is a character buried with a copy of Robinson Crusoe?
Hot Foot Teddy: The True Story of Smokey Bear by Sue Houser
1. In which book does a character go to his first doctor’s visit in Santa Fe, New
Mexico?
2. In which book do the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts throw a going away party for a
character?
3. In which book do TWA hostesses give a character a bottle of warm milk?
4. In which book does the main character prefer honey sandwiches and swimming
to a new companion?
5. In which book does the main character finally retire because of arthritis and
difficulty walking?
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers
1. In which book does a character curl up and sleep in a sarcophagus to protect
herself from black magic and troublesome spirits?
2. In which book does a character accidentally transfer evil spirits from a statue to
her own cat?
3. In which book does a character seem to have a natural talent for sensing curses
or magical spells on objects?
4. In which book does a character decide that a mud bath is the best way to stop
her cat’s demonic behavior?
5. In which book does a character discover that an odd scratching noise is being
made by a nest of scorpions hiding under the curtains in her hotel room?
6. In which book does a fortune teller advise a character that Isis will protect her
and the ancients will help her?
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
1. In which book does a character’s best friend give her a tin of flower seeds,
because she is leaving their country?
2. In which book does a character bury her mouse-bitten doll with her brother’s
dead chick at sea?
3. In which book does a character think that “whoever invented English must
have loved snakes”?
4. In which book does an American “cowboy” from Alabama agree to sponsor an
immigrant family?
5. In which book does a character become very upset when a boy says she should
be a pancake, because she has a flat, pancake face?
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
1. In which book is a character concerned that the sea otter will be hunted to
extinction?
2. In which book is there a deadly fight when a group of hunters prepare to leave
their hunting site?
3. In which book does the main character sleep on a rock every night for safety?
4. In which book does a character use whale bones and bull kelp to build a fence?
5. In which book does a character plan to spend the winter making a specialized
spear to kill devilfish?
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
1. In which book is a character home-schooled for many years, because of all the
surgeries he has?
2. In which book did the doctor faint when a character was born?
3. In which book does a character let his bangs cover his eyes to block out the
things he doesn’t want to see?
4. In which book does a character have to chew food in the front of his mouth, so
he eats like a tortoise?
5. In which book does a character have a big bowling birthday party instead of a
little party at home?
6. In which book do characters make a Spud Lamp for their science project?
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
1. In which book is the main character sent to spy on a family who hides fugitive
slaves?
2. In which book does the main character believe the best kind of lie has some
truth in it?
3. In which book does a character escape in a hot-air balloon?
4. In which book does a character help the soldiers in the Battle of Gettysburg?
5. In which book are the main character and his brother adopted by a man who
helped fugitive slaves during the Civil War?
6. In which book is a 17-year-old character conscripted into the Union Army to
serve for three years or until he is dead?
Home Court by Amar’e Stoudemire
1. In which book does a character’s nickname mean “standing tall and talented”?
2. In which book does a character like to dress well, especially on Fridays?
3. In which book do characters play one basketball game for the opportunity to be
the only players that can use the neighborhood court?
4. In which book does a character realize that his experience is a lot like Dr.
Martin Luther King’s – standing up for his rights against tough odds?
5. In which book does a character make a basket while riding his skateboard?
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by
Catherynne Valente
1. In which book does a character like anything orange: leaves, marigolds, cheese,
pumpkins, orange juice and marmalade?
2. In which book does a character take three baths: a bath of courage, a bath of
wishing, and a bath of luck?
3. In which book does a character eat dried tire jerky and drink axle grease?
4. In which book does a character throw her beautiful, glittering, black shoes as
far as she can into the sea?
5. In which book does a character end her journey where she began, at the
kitchen sink washing a pink and yellow teacup?