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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSThomas is eleven years old and enslaved on a Virginia farm with his five year old sister, Birdie, when the two of them slip into the woods one night and run. Danger follows almost immediately, first from men they fear are slave catchers, then from real soldiers fighting a war Thomas barely understands. When Thomas throws a skunk to stop a Confederate soldier from killing a wounded Union corporal, the corporal, Henry, takes Thomas and Birdie in, and soon the whole regiment is marching them toward a small Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg, where one of the biggest battles of the Civil War is about to begin.
Free Battle of the Books questions for I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863
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 I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863. 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 do panicked horses break free and bolt when the air fills with a rotten smell?
✓ Answer
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
The skunk lands right in front of one of the horses, and the animals rear up and tear off into the woods. The two rebels forget their prisoner entirely and go chasing after them, shouting at each other to just leave him.
- First half
In what book does a corporal tell a boy, "You save a man's life, you're stuck with him forever"?
✓ Answer
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
Henry says it to explain why he has barely let Thomas out of his sight since the day in the woods. He reminds Thomas of Clem, especially when he talks about the children he teaches back home in Vermont.
- First half
In what book is the dirt floor of a shack covered with words scratched by candlelight?
✓ Answer
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
Clem stayed up late burning a candle so he could practice his letters in the dirt, and some mornings Thomas woke to a whole floor of words. Thomas says it looked as though Clem had spelled out all of his dreams.
- Second half
In what book does a boy mistake his kidnapped sister for a sack of flour on a saddle?
✓ Answer
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
Thomas creeps over a rise and sees at least ten rebels standing around while their horses drink from a stream. What looks like a bundle of supplies lifts its head, and it is Birdie with a rope tied around her neck.
- Second half
In what book does a girl point at Black supply drivers and cry, "They look like us!"?
✓ Answer
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
The men are teamsters, free Black civilians paid by the Union army to haul supplies between camps. Thomas feels a jolt of excitement at seeing free men who look like him, and Birdie waves madly and sings out hello.
- Near the end
In what book does a cannonball destroy an ammunition wagon seconds after a runaway boy sprints away?
✓ Answer
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
Thomas sprints away seconds before the cannonball lands, and the wagon erupts into a fireball behind him with flames chasing after him. This is the disaster the very first pages of the story had been pointing toward.
