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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Lily lives with her grandparents, Mémère and Pépère, above their general store in rural Maine. Her best companion is Lucky, an aging black Labrador who is slowly going blind from cataracts. Lily is saving up money by painting mason bee houses to sell, hoping to pay for Lucky's eye surgery. One summer day, Lucky slips his collar and bolts across the wild blueberry barrens, and the only thing that stops him is the quick thinking of a girl named Salma Santiago, a migrant worker's daughter from Florida who offers Lucky her own lunch. That chance meeting sets off a friendship that pulls Lily into a summer full of painting, blueberry facts, and a local queen pageant that neither girl expected to be part of.
Free Battle of the Books questions for A Handful of Stars
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 Handful of Stars. 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 blind dog escape his collar and run across blueberry fields?
✓ Answer
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
In the opening chapter of A Handful of Stars, Lucky the blind Labrador slips out of his collar and takes off running across the wide-open blueberry barrens. Lily chases him, shouting every command she can think of, terrified he'll reach the road or the woods.
- First half
In what book do two girls pick sea lavender at a boat landing for wreaths to sell at a festival?
✓ Answer
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
Hannah asks Lily to help her gather sea lavender at the boat landing so Hannah's mom can make wreaths to sell at the blueberry festival. Sea lavender grows wild just below the high-tide mark and smells both sweet and salty. Lily brings a sprig home to show Salma.
- First half
In what book does a girl ask why blueberries aren't called purpleberries?
✓ Answer
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
After mixing red and blue paint to make purple, Salma paints purple blueberries on a bee house and wonders why they aren't called purpleberries. Lily explains that wild blueberries come in many colors but most growers sort out the non-blue ones because people think they aren't ripe.
- Second half
In what book do two girls eat warm berries of every color until their lips and fingers turn blue?
✓ Answer
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
Walking home from picking blueberries at the cemetery, Lily and Salma eat red, blue, black, purple, and even striped berries until their teeth are full of seeds and their lips and fingers are stained blue. The narrator describes it as filling themselves with stars.
- Second half
In what book does a to-do list end with the item "Cross fingers"?
✓ Answer
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
The day before the Downeast Blueberry Queen pageant, Lily takes out her copy of the to-do list she and Salma made. The last item, number nine, says 'Cross fingers' and is assigned to both girls. The list includes cooking filling, making tortillas, painting bee houses, and getting the pageant dress.
- Near the end
In what book does a contestant answer "Fractions!" when asked what she is still learning?
✓ Answer
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
During the personality round of the pageant, Salma rolls her eyes and blurts out 'Fractions!' when asked what she's still working on. The audience laughs loudly, and even the judges find it funny. Salma wins them over by being honest instead of trying to give a polished answer.
