BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn ancient Rome, seven schoolboys pool their savings to buy a slave named Udo as a birthday gift for their grumpy math teacher, Xantippus, only to find that Callon the slave dealer has fled and a menacing one-eyed ex-gladiator is hunting Udo down. When Udo finally reveals that he can speak Latin perfectly and was sent from Germania carrying a secret letter, the boys realize they may have stumbled into a dangerous murder plot that threatens one of their own fathers.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Mystery of the Roman Ransom
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 Mystery of the Roman Ransom. 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 save his friends by dumping a pail of honey over an attacker's head?
✓ Answer
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld
When the ex-gladiator Gorgon attacks them in a busy plaza, Caius grabs a vendor's bronze jug full of honey and pours it over him. Shocked, Gorgon drops the rope around Udo's neck, letting the boys escape.
- First half
In what book is a secret letter sewn into the collar of a cloak and written on linen?
✓ Answer
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld
Udo explains he hid the letter so cleverly because losing it would mean his own death. Writing on linen kept the document from being felt through the cloak's lining during his long journey from the Rhine to the Tiber.
- First half
In what book is a list of names like Viminal, Niobe, and Cicero actually a hidden assassination code?
✓ Answer
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld
The slowest pupil suddenly cracks the code while his teacher and friends are baffled. He realizes that pairing the first two letters of the first four names spells out his own father's name, the senator marked for murder.
- Second half
In what book does an owl flap away over a boy hiding on a fresh grave?
✓ Answer
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld
Flavius lies behind a tombstone on a freshly filled mound that smells sour. A muffled screaming startles him, and he jumps up to see an owl flapping away into the night sky.
- Second half
In what book does a robber drop his club and crawl on all fours to escape?
✓ Answer
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld
Crossing the Forum with Rameses trailing behind him, Antonius is ambushed by a robber. He raises his sword, but the robber drops his weapon and scrambles to hide under the speakers' platform, terrified of the unseen lion.
- Near the end
In what book is a girl told to cut her hair and dress as a boy to escape?
✓ Answer
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld
Antonius proposes the disguise as part of the escape plan for Claudia, who faces hard labor at the marble quarries with her father and brother. Antonius even insists they bring scissors in case hers are dull.
