BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Jonathan Palmer is stuck on Magpie Island, a remote campground in northern California, when his mother breaks her ankle and his father drives her to town for help. Left in charge of his six-year-old sister Abby, who uses a walker because her legs are partially paralyzed, Jonathan plans a quiet afternoon waiting in the camper. Then the ground begins to shake, and a massive earthquake tears through the island, flattening trees, destroying the camper, and cutting off the only bridge to the mainland. With no shelter, no supplies, no way to call for help, and a sister who cannot walk without assistance, Jonathan has to figure out how to keep them both alive until rescuers can reach them.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Earthquake Terror
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 Earthquake Terror. 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 twelve-year-old boy bring his golden retriever named Moose on a camping trip?
✓ Answer
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Jonathan picked Moose at the animal shelter when the dog was a year old. His father joked the dog was half moose because of his size, and the name stuck.
- First half
In what book does a boy lift his sister over a fallen tree using "the Great Abby Elevator"?
✓ Answer
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Jonathan invents the silly name to make Abby relax and go limp like her Raggedy Ann doll. He clasps his hands across her chest and pulls her up and over the trunk.
- First half
In what book does a boy discover a steel bridge has been snapped in two by the disaster?
✓ Answer
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Jonathan runs the last fifty yards up to the bridge and stops in horror. The far half slants from the opposite shore straight down into the water like a giant water slide, leaving no way off the island.
- Second half
In what book does a brother tell his sister to wet her pants because they cannot leave their floating trees?
✓ Answer
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Floating down the swollen river in the dark, Abby announces she has to go potty. Jonathan tells her to go in her pants since there is no other option. Astonished, she actually does, and tells him not to tell their mother.
- Second half
In what book does a frantic father pound on the door of a stranger's home looking for any working telephone?
✓ Answer
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Three hours into his hike toward town, Mr. Palmer is desperate to call for rescue and pounds on the first house he reaches. The man who answers tells him no phones, water, or power are working anywhere in the area.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy grab the roots of a swept-past stump to rest while swimming for his life?
✓ Answer
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Ten minutes after he rolls off his tree boat to swim for shore, Jonathan grabs the outstretched roots of a passing stump and rides along to catch his breath. The thought that more debris will float by gives him hope that he can keep going until he reaches shore.
