BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Cassius Clay grows up in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1950s, dreaming of fame and determined to escape the two-tiered world around him — one set of rules for white residents, another for Black families like his own. Told in alternating voices, the novel blends the first-person verse of the bold, boastful Cassius with the prose of his best friend Lucius "Lucky" Wakely, as the two boys navigate segregation, school, neighborhood rivalries, and the moment a stolen bicycle leads Cassius into a gym basement and changes everything.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Becoming Muhammad Ali
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 Becoming Muhammad Ali. 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 do two officers with Colt 45 pistols stop boys at the Fontaine Ferry Park fence?
✓ Answer
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Cassius and Rudy sneak off to try the amusement park rides next to their neighborhood, but the Whites Only sign and two armed officers turn them away. The moment fuels Cassius's later dream of buying the park.
- First half
In what book does a boy get banned from Churchill Downs after racing the morning thoroughbreds?
✓ Answer
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Cassius likes to race the thoroughbreds during their morning exercise. One time he gets in front of a horse, the rider falls hard on the dirt, and Cassius is banned from the track for good.
- First half
In what book is a boy's new Schwinn stolen during a home and kitchen expo in a thunderstorm?
✓ Answer
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Cassius, Rudy, and Lucky duck into Columbia Auditorium to escape a thunderstorm during the Louisville Defender Expo. When they come back out, his sixty-dollar red Schwinn is gone.
- Second half
In what book does a coach say the fight is won before you get in the ring?
✓ Answer
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Joe Martin tells Cassius the fight is won before you get in the ring, meaning preparation of body and mind matters more than the bout itself. Cassius later repeats this wisdom to Rudy.
- Second half
In what book does a boy lose his first girl to his best friend at age thirteen?
✓ Answer
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Teenie told Cassius she chose Riney because Cassius was married to his boxing gloves and the ring. The same year he lost his first fight, he lost his first girl.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy explain his card trick as misdirection at a sendoff party?
✓ Answer
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Cassius explained that his card trick worked through misdirection, the same way he planned to outmaneuver boxers. He shuffled the deck while telling a story so the audience would commit to believing in him first.
