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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn 1377 England, a thirteen-year-old serf known only as "Asta's son" has always lived on the fringes of Stromford Village, shunned by the other peasants and treated with contempt by the steward, John Aycliffe. When his mother dies and he stumbles upon a secret midnight meeting in the forest, Aycliffe declares him a wolf's head, meaning any person may legally kill him on sight. Accused of a theft he did not commit, with his home burned to the ground and the village priest warning him to flee, the boy learns for the first time that he has a name, Crispin, and that there is something about his past his mother kept hidden. With nothing but a lead cross that belonged to his mother, and no idea where to go, he sets off alone into an England he has never seen beyond the boundary crosses of his village.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Crispin: The Cross of Lead
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 Crispin: The Cross of Lead. 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 an orphaned peasant boy ordered to hand over his ox as a death tax?
✓ Answer
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Right after the burial, the steward John Aycliffe tells the boy he must surrender his ox to the manor as the death tax. When the boy protests that he cannot work the fields without it, Aycliffe coldly tells him to starve.
- First half
In what book does a man hold a boy's keepsake to the firelight and quietly read its words?
✓ Answer
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Bear asks to see the boy's small metal keepsake and brings it close to the fire, clearly reading the words on it. He hands it back saying the light is too weak, but the boy senses Bear has learned a secret he will not yet share.
- First half
In what book does a performer juggle a cup snatched from a furious one eyed youth?
✓ Answer
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
During his act, Bear plucks a mazer from a one eyed young man and adds it to his spinning juggle. The youth, who wears a patch and a scraggly beard, keeps trying to grab it back, storms off, then glares at the boy with suspicion.
- Second half
In what book does a woman tell a boy that his is "a highborn name for a lowly lad"?
✓ Answer
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Widow Daventry remarks on Crispin's grand-sounding name when she meets him at the Green Man. It is an early hint, before he knows the truth, that his name carries more weight than a peasant boy should have.
- Second half
In what book does a boy kneel in a cathedral where stained glass turns the floor into pools of color?
✓ Answer
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Crispin is awed by the huge town church, its candles and chant making him feel he has entered paradise. The wonder turns to terror when he spots a familiar enemy kneeling nearby.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy climb a garden wall to shout a warning that soldiers are coming?
✓ Answer
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Spotting the steward and soldiers approaching the meeting, Crispin races over the wall to warn Bear. His shout lets the rebels scramble for the back wall, though Bear is caught helping the others escape.
