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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSophie Hatter is the eldest of three sisters living in the magical kingdom of Ingary, where being the eldest means you are the one most likely to fail. Working in her family's hat shop, Sophie resigns herself to a dull life until the powerful and feared Witch of the Waste storms in and casts a spell that transforms Sophie into a ninety-year-old woman. Unable to tell anyone what happened to her, Sophie sets off across the hills and forces her way into the moving castle that belongs to the wicked Wizard Howl, the handsome and vain sorcerer rumored to devour the hearts of young women. Inside the castle she strikes a secret bargain with Calcifer, a fire demon bound to the hearth, who promises to break her spell if she can figure out how to break his contract with Howl, though neither of them can explain exactly what that contract involves.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Howl's Moving Castle
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 Howl's Moving Castle. 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 girl talk to hats while she trims them with ribbons and silk flowers?
✓ Answer
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Stuck in her alcove in the shop, Sophie chats to each hat as she finishes it, telling them things like they have mysterious allure or a heart of gold. Her chatter accidentally enchants the hats and helps the shop boom.
- First half
In what book does a wizard's tantrum fill his home with thick green slime that nearly drowns a fire demon?
✓ Answer
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Furious about his pink hair, the wizard sits frozen on his stool while oodles of vile green slime ooze out of him. Sophie has to shovel ashes onto the slime pools and shower him in the bathroom.
- First half
In what book does a fire demon race a structure across the moors to flee a stick figure?
✓ Answer
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Terrified by the scarecrow at the door, Sophie tells Calcifer to go twice as fast and circle the hills twice. The strain leaves Calcifer asleep and barely smoking, which alarms the wizard when he returns.
- Second half
In what book does a teacher read a John Donne poem that turns out to be a curse?
✓ Answer
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Miss Angorian reads the second verse beginning with strange sights and ten thousand days, and Howl realizes the Witch's curse is catching up with him.
- Second half
In what book does an enlargement spell turn a blue-and-silver outfit into a mile of trailing fabric?
✓ Answer
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Michael's enlargement spell works too well on the blue-and-silver suit, leaving Howl trailing nearly a mile of fabric down the stairs the next morning.
- Near the end
In what book does a flower bud open into a pink shape that looks like a squashed baby?
✓ Answer
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Sophie grows a strange pink flower from a root she planted, and the wizard identifies it as mandrake root, fulfilling another part of the curse.
