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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Donte Ellison is one of the only Black students at Middlefield Prep, an elite private school in Newton, Massachusetts, where his lighter-skinned brother Trey fits in while Donte is blamed for anything that goes wrong. When the school bully Alan throws a pencil and Donte gets blamed, the headmaster calls the police instead of Donte's parents, and Donte ends up handcuffed and locked in a jail cell. Now facing a juvenile court hearing and a school suspension, Donte is furious and determined to make Alan pay, until his brother finds a magazine article about a former Olympian who coaches kids at the local Boys and Girls Club.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Black Brother, Black Brother
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 Black Brother, Black Brother. 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 is a seventh grader taken from his prep school in handcuffs for slamming his backpack?
✓ Answer
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
When Donte explodes in frustration at Middlefield Prep, the headmaster calls the police rather than his parents. The arrest sets the rest of the plot in motion.
- First half
In what book does a kid grind out his first ten push-ups for an 8 AM Saturday training session?
✓ Answer
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Donte arrives early for his first lesson and is told to drop and give ten under Coach's watchful eye. By the end he is proud of himself for being physical.
- First half
In what book does a basketball star get his feet tangled and fall backward during a fencing bout?
✓ Answer
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Trey, used to winning at basketball, gets schooled on the strip by Alan and finally collapses backward. Donte runs down from the bleachers to stand beside him.
- Second half
In what book do families wait all morning in a marble hallway for their last name to be called?
✓ Answer
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Donte watches families pass into the juvenile courtroom and notices most of the kids waiting are children of color. Some families come out smiling, others wailing without the kid they brought in.
- Second half
In what book does a kid worry that an electric scoring vest will zap him during a fencing bout?
✓ Answer
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
At the preseason meet, Donte is suited up with cables attached to his foil tip and his hand clasp. He worries about a short circuit zapping him as he waits for his bout to begin.
- Near the end
In what book do kids learn that a famous general in Napoleon's army was the son of a slave?
✓ Answer
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Zarra shares the biography of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, who was father to the famous novelist. The marquess made sure he could fence, and he became the real inspiration for the heroes in his son's books.
