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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn the kingdom of Orïsha, magic vanished eleven years ago, and King Saran's soldiers then killed the maji in what survivors call the Raid. Among them was Zélie Adebola's mother, a Reaper who could command the spirits of the dead. Now seventeen, Zélie is a divîner, one of the white-haired children who would once have become maji at thirteen, and she lives in the floating fishing village of Ilorin with her grieving father and her older brother, Tzain. She trains in secret with a staff under Mama Agba, whose school turns into a seamstress's shop the moment a lookout spots guards, and the king's guards keep raising the tax on divîners. When they threaten to put Zélie in the stocks, she rides with Tzain and Nailah, the giant horned lionaire she raised from a cub, to the capital city of Lagos to sell a rare sailfish. There a cloaked girl begs for her help, and the runaway turns out to be Princess Amari, who has fled the palace with a scroll that can wake magic in divîners. With Amari in tow, Zélie and Tzain set out to bring magic back, while Amari's brother, Crown Prince Inan, hunts them for the king. The story is told in turns by Zélie, Amari and Inan.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Children of Blood and Bone
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 Children of Blood and Bone. 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 black rod flick into a staff carved with the akofena?
✓ Answer
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Mama Agba surprises Zélie with this collapsible staff after the graduation match, telling her she fought like a warrior and deserves to graduate. Each carved symbol, like the akofena's crossed swords and the akoma heart, recalls one of Mama Agba's lessons.
- First half
In what book does a prince pocket a tear-shaped bottle of black dye?
✓ Answer
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
While Admiral Kaea questions a nervous merchant in Sokoto, Inan slips the dye into his pocket. Later he dyes his hair to cover his white streak, and in the dreamscape Zélie teases him that some of the white is still peeking through.
- First half
In what book does a desert well's sign read "ONE CUP = ONE GOLD PIECE"?
✓ Answer
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
In Ibeji, a guard slashes his sword into the well's rim to stop Zélie from drinking without paying, while the laborers in the stocks drink filthy water. Amari pays three gold coins, and Zélie gives her canteen to a laborer girl in a white dress.
- Second half
In what book do masked ambushers wrap bolas around a giant horned lion's legs and snout?
✓ Answer
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
While Zélie and Inan duel in the forest near the Gombe River, masked fighters ambush the group, netting Nailah and Tzain and knocking Amari out with a soaked cloth. They carry off the scroll and the bone dagger, but the sunstone stays in Zélie's pack.
- Second half
In what book does a brother say his sister, dressed in a silk kaftan, looks like their mother?
✓ Answer
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Still upset after their fight, Tzain walks into the tent where Amari has dressed Zélie and painted her makeup for the celebration. His words about Mama touch Zélie deeply, because he never speaks of their mother this way.
- Near the end
In what book does a turbine-powered boat cross a sea that glows with blue plankton?
✓ Answer
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Roën's sleek iron boat carries the group across the Lokoja Sea, where glowing plankton make the water sparkle like stars. Zélie thinks it would be a beautiful sight if they weren't packed in so tightly beside men they can't trust.
