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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Joe Stoshack is a struggling Little League player in Louisville, Kentucky who has always felt a mysterious tingling whenever he touches certain old baseball cards. When his mom gets him a job cleaning out the attic of their elderly neighbor, Miss Young, Joe stumbles across a piece of cardboard that stops him cold: a mint-condition 1909 Honus Wagner T-206, the rarest and most valuable baseball card in the world, worth nearly half a million dollars. With his family tight on money and his confidence at rock bottom, Joe has to decide what to do with a find that could change everything, and whether keeping it is actually the right thing to do.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Honus & Me
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 Honus & Me. 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 boy get hired to clean out a very old neighbor's attic for five dollars?
✓ Answer
Honus & Me by Dan Gutman
Joe's mom arranges for him to clean out Miss Young's attic. Miss Young is over one hundred years old and lives in a run-down house next door. What seems like a boring chore turns into the most important moment of Joe's life when he discovers something incredible hidden among the junk.
- First half
In what book does a boy quiz a time-traveling stranger using a baseball encyclopedia to test his identity?
✓ Answer
Honus & Me by Dan Gutman
Joe isn't convinced that the man in his room is who he says he is. He pulls out his copy of The Baseball Encyclopedia and starts quizzing him on batting averages, birthdays, and error totals. The stranger answers them all correctly, but Joe keeps pushing for proof.
- First half
In what book does a visiting ballplayer tell a boy, "You're overstriding. That's why you got under the ball"?
✓ Answer
Honus & Me by Dan Gutman
After Joe's game, the famous ballplayer is sitting on the steps in street clothes with a dog on each side. He watched the game and immediately diagnoses Joe's hitting problem. This is the beginning of the ballplayer coaching Joe and helping him believe in himself.
- Second half
In what book do fans bring pots and pans to a ballpark and bang on them with spoons?
✓ Answer
Honus & Me by Dan Gutman
At the 1909 World Series, the crowd at Bennett Park waves pennants, toots horns, and rings bells. Some fans even bring pots and pans from home and bang on them with big spoons. Others sit on rickety bleachers on rooftops across the street.
- Second half
In what book does a shortstop slap-tag a sliding baserunner in the face, leaving him with a bloody mouth?
✓ Answer
Honus & Me by Dan Gutman
When Ty Cobb tries to steal second base with spikes high, Honus Wagner catches the throw and tags Cobb right in the face. Cobb gets up with blood all over his mouth and chin, but instead of fighting, he gives Honus a look of respect.
- Near the end
In what book does a ballplayer plan to donate his World Series winnings to a home for boys?
✓ Answer
Honus & Me by Dan Gutman
Joe is shocked when Honus says he is giving his winner's share to a boys' home in Pittsburgh. Honus explains that the boys need it more than he does, and that doing nice things for others feels so good it ought to be against the law.
