BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSAlice lives in a house by the sea with her grandfather. He carves figureheads and wooden store decorations in his shop, and he paints pictures of ships and faraway places. Sometimes Alice helps him paint the sky. Every evening he tells her stories, and Alice decides that when she grows up she will travel to faraway places too, and when she grows old she will live beside the sea just like him. Her grandfather tells her there is a third thing she must do besides those two. She must do something to make the world more beautiful. Alice agrees, though she has no idea yet what that could be. She grows up, becomes a librarian, and eventually sets off to see the world she has always dreamed about, but what she finally does to keep her promise to her grandfather is still ahead of her.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Miss Rumphius
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 Miss Rumphius. 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 grandfather tell a girl, "You must do something to make the world more beautiful"?
✓ Answer
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
This is the third task the grandfather gives little Alice, and it turns out to be the hardest of the three. She says all right even though she has no idea what it could be, and the rest of the story is her figuring it out.
- First half
In what book does a woman visit a glass conservatory standing in the middle of a snowy park?
✓ Answer
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The young librarian escapes winter by stepping into the warm greenhouse in the park. It is as close to the tropics as she can get while she is still living inland.
- First half
In what book is a bird of paradise painted on a mother-of-pearl shell?
✓ Answer
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Bapa Raja paints the shell himself and hands it to Alice before she leaves the island. It is exactly the kind of keepsake that fills her rooms once she settles down by the sea.
- Second half
In what book does a woman see her flowers blooming through her bedroom window in spite of the stony ground?
✓ Answer
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Alice planted those seeds the summer before and did not expect much from such rocky soil. Seeing blue, purple, and rose blossoms come up anyway is the first hint of the idea that will change her whole village.
- Second half
In what book does a woman order five bushels of flower seed from the very best seed house?
✓ Answer
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Alice hurries home from the hill, digs out her seed catalogues, and orders an enormous amount of lupine seed. Five bushels is far more than any garden needs, which tells you exactly how big her plan is.
- Near the end
In what book do children crowd outside a gate to see the old lady who planted the flowers?
✓ Answer
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The great-niece who narrates the story brings her friends to her aunt's picket gate, and they peer in at the yard full of blossoms. When she invites them inside, they come slowly because they are a little in awe of her.
