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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTen-year-old Zoe Elias has one dream: to play the piano at Carnegie Hall, wear a tiara, and become the next Vladimir Horowitz. But when her anxious, homebody dad goes to buy her a piano, he gets mesmerized by a salesman at the mall and comes home with a wheezy, wood-grained organ called the Perfectone D-60. Now Zoe is stuck learning TV theme songs from an organ teacher named Mabelline Person while her workaholic mom barely seems to notice her practicing and her only school friend has ditched her for the popular crowd. As Zoe works toward performing in the regional Perfectone Perform-O-Rama, she starts to wonder whether the instrument you play really matters as much as she thought.
Free Battle of the Books questions for A Crooked Kind of Perfect
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about A Crooked Kind of Perfect. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a dad hear a boompa-chucka sound near a fountain with a stone hippo?
✓ Answer
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Zoe's dad was supposed to buy her a piano but instead wandered past a mall fountain and got mesmerized by the boompa-chucka rhythm of the Perfectone D-60 demonstration. A salesman lured him in, and he came home with an organ instead of a piano.
- First half
In what book does a boy follow a girl home from the bus stop because he's hungry for cookies?
✓ Answer
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Wheeler Diggs, who normally rides with his brother, starts taking the bus. When Zoe says she has more cookies at home, Wheeler asks where she lives and gets off at her stop. This is the first time he comes to Zoe's house, and he keeps coming back.
- First half
In what book does a boy give a girl a yellow envelope on her birthday and say, "It's a card"?
✓ Answer
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Colton Shell nervously hands Zoe a yellow envelope at lunch, says happy birthday, and then clarifies "It's a card" before walking away. Emma Dent goes wild, but Zoe tucks the card into her spelling book so Emma can't read every word over her shoulder.
- Second half
In what book do characters program speed dials for emergencies like tow trucks, tsunamis, and alien invasions?
✓ Answer
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Wheeler helps Zoe's dad manage his anxiety about driving to the Perform-O-Rama by programming emergency numbers into his cell phone. For every worst-case scenario the dad names, Wheeler finds a number in the Yellow Pages. It starts serious but turns silly when they add pest control for alien invasions.
- Second half
In what book does a father freeze in a hotel lobby full of searchlights and kids riding suitcases?
✓ Answer
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Zoe's jittery dad does great on the drive, but the overwhelming chaos of the Birch Valley Hotel lobby stops him in his tracks. Blue searchlights sweep the room, kids are everywhere, and the noise echoes off the cathedral ceilings. He simply cannot move.
- Near the end
In what book does a mother use a compact mirror to spy on judges' scoring sheets?
✓ Answer
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Zoe's mom angles her two-sided compact mirror to peek over the judges' shoulders and see how many mistakes they mark on each competitor's sheet. She records every score with slash marks and coded notes. Zoe says this is how her mom has fun.
