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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSFinding Winnie is a true story told as a bedtime tale. A mother named Lindsay tells her young son Cole about a Canadian army veterinarian named Harry Colebourn, who in 1914 made a surprising stop at a train station and came away with a bear cub he named Winnie. Harry carries Winnie across the Atlantic with his regiment, and she becomes the beloved mascot of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade. But when Harry's unit is ordered to the front lines in France, he must make a hard choice about what to do with his bear, and what happens next connects Harry's story to something much bigger than either of them could have imagined.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear
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 Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. 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 soldier stretch his legs at a train stop called White River?
✓ Answer
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
After a long train ride, Harry gets off at White River to stretch. It is there that he meets the trapper and the bear cub that will change his life.
- First half
In what book does a Canadian regiment train on the Salisbury Plain where it rains and rains and rains?
✓ Answer
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
After crossing the Atlantic, the regiment trains on the soggy Salisbury Plain in England. The endless rain doesn't seem to bother their bear mascot at all.
- First half
In what book does a soldier explain he must care for the horses at the front in France?
✓ Answer
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
Harry tells his bear that his regiment is shipping out to France. His job as an animal doctor is needed at the front, but he knows she cannot safely come along.
- Second half
In what book does a child protest, "But I don't want it to be over"?
✓ Answer
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
Cole does not want the bedtime story to end. His mother tells him a story has to end so the next one can begin.
- Second half
In what book does a boy ask his mother how you can tell when a story will end?
✓ Answer
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
Cole wants to understand how endings work in a story. His mother says you don't know, which is why you should always carry on.
- Near the end
In what book does a soldier return home after the war to his old life as an animal doctor?
✓ Answer
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
After the war ends, Harry goes back to Winnipeg and continues being a veterinarian. He has given his bear a loving home at the zoo.
