BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSMango and Brash are two alligator secret agents who work for a spy group called S.U.I.T. Their newest case sends them undercover as bakers at Batter Down, the bakery owned by famous mustached chef Gustavo Mustachio, who has vanished without a trace. While Mango and Brash try to keep their alligator disguises from falling apart, a strange customer in a yellow raincoat orders an enormous ten foot birthday cake and tells them to make it snappy. The order seems harmless enough until that same cake turns up at the Science Factory just before a massive explosion rocks the building. Now the two InvestiGators have to figure out what happened to Gustavo, who is behind the blast, and how a giant cake fits into it all, all while dodging jalapeño cupcakes, toilet-powered sewer travel, and their own terrible puns.
Free Battle of the Books questions for InvestiGators
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 InvestiGators. 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 baker hug an impostor chef and notice that his tail is new?
✓ Answer
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
Junior Assistant Baker Marie is so glad to see the famous mustache that she believes Mango is Chef Gustavo, even though he is a big green reptile. Her cheerful cluelessness keeps the undercover act alive far longer than it should last.
- First half
In what book are two filthy agents run through a scrubbing machine like a car wash?
✓ Answer
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
Because the pair travel by sewer, headquarters sends them through decontamination with sponges, pink shampoo, spinning brushes and a jingle. Brash insists the whole thing is in no way embarrassing.
- First half
In what book is the stolen invention a laser that turns real cash into digital money?
✓ Answer
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
The assistant scientist finally admits what the breakthrough does, which is erase physical money and drop its value into any bank account. It even works through walls, which explains why a thief would blow up a building to get it.
- Second half
In what book does a doctor strain and pop a videotape out of himself?
✓ Answer
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
Brash wishes out loud that he had the footage from the news helicopter, and Dr. Hardbones strains until the tape pops out of him, then hands it over. It is a sly clue that the doctor and that helicopter are the same person.
- Second half
In what book does a crocodile fall into a vat of radioactive cracker dough?
✓ Answer
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
This is Crackerdile's origin story, told to the kidnapped chef down in the sewer. He was rolled flat, baked into saltines, boxed up, and then grew back together into one giant cracker villain.
- Near the end
In what book does a chef say his best recipes are kept inside his head?
✓ Answer
InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
Gustavo taps his skull to explain why his top recipes are not written down anywhere, and Mango deadpans a question about his hat. It also explains why the thieves had to reverse engineer his baked goods with science.
