BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSJackson Jones is the most popular kid at Nathan Hale Elementary in Arlington, Virginia, until a visit to the orthodontist changes everything. He leaves with sixty-four teeth, a head full of metal braces, a magnetic halo called headgear, and a social life in ruins. Shunned by his former friends and kicked off the football team, Jackson starts spying on classmates out of boredom and soon notices that five oddball kids, the school's nerd herd, are vanishing from class through a secret set of lockers. His nosiness drops him, literally, into the Playground, a massive high-tech spy headquarters hidden beneath the school, where he discovers that these social misfits are actually the National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society, NERDS, a covert team of fifth-grade secret agents whose quirks have been turned into superpowers by tiny nanocomputers.
Free Battle of the Books questions for NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society
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 NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society. 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 five oddball fifth graders sneeze at the same time and then disappear into hallway lockers?
✓ Answer
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
Jackson notices the misfit group's synchronized sneeze is actually a pager alert. After Heathcliff hypnotizes the teacher for a hall pass, the kids climb into empty lockers that drop them through a chute into the secret headquarters beneath the school.
- First half
In what book do hypnotized kindergartners attack a new recruit with rocks, jacks, and a NASCAR lunch box?
✓ Answer
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
On the kindergartener playground, Heathcliff flashes his teeth at the tots and orders them to attack. Jackson grows four tentacle legs and tries to escape as a human spider, but he trips into the monkey bars and the little kids beat him with finger paints and jump ropes.
- First half
In what book is the orbital rocket that fires up through a school's gymnasium roof called the School Bus?
✓ Answer
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
Agent Brand pulls the gym rope to reveal the bright orange TA-48 Orbital Jet. A fake tornado warning sends students into the basement while the roof slides open. The rocket lets the team reach anywhere on Earth in thirty minutes.
- Second half
In what book does a team of girl spies sell Girl Scout cookies to distract armed guards?
✓ Answer
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
At Dr. Badawi's lab in Cairo, Ruby and Matilda put on Girl Scout uniforms and pull out boxes of cookies to lure the guards. Ruby insists no one can resist Girl Scout cookies.
- Second half
In what book does a boy watch hidden surveillance footage of himself bullying classmates with KICK ME signs and wedgies?
✓ Answer
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
Duncan uses a hologram to show Jackson old footage from the school hallway. Jackson sees himself shoving books, dumping soda, and tormenting the teammates he is now supposed to work with.
- Near the end
In what book does a girl use her hideous donkey-like laugh to incapacitate enemies who don't have earplugs?
✓ Answer
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley
The Hyena hands Jackson earplugs and then unleashes her embarrassing laugh on the room. Everyone collapses in hysterical giggles, including the doomsday villain and the brainwashed spy team.
