BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Lanesha was born with a caul, and she has the sight. She sees ghosts at school, on her street, and at home, where her mother's ghost sometimes lies on Mama Ya-Ya's bed upstairs. Her mother was only seventeen and died giving birth to her, and Lanesha's rich relatives in Uptown won't raise her, so she lives in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans with Mama Ya-Ya, the eighty-two-year-old midwife who delivered her and has loved her ever since. Lanesha loves math, words, her pocket dictionary, and bridges, and her math teacher tells her she could be an engineer. When she stops three bullies from beating up TaShon, a tiny, quiet boy from her street, she ends up keeping the stray pup he names Spot, because his mother won't let him keep it, even though the dog doesn't have a single spot. Then Mama Ya-Ya predicts a storm before there is anything about it on the news, and she has a dream that she can't understand. Soon the TV is warning about Hurricane Katrina and neighbors are packing their cars, but Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya can't drive, don't own a car, and have no money.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Ninth Ward
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 Ninth Ward. 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 jigsaw Eiffel Tower, glued and hung on a wall, look like a Christmas tree?
✓ Answer
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Lanesha likes figuring out where tiny pieces fit, and she glues her finished puzzles together and hangs them in her room. The Eiffel Tower, all lit up, took her months, but her favorite is a steamboat churning up the river.
- First half
In what book do dead nuns glide like they're on ice through a school that used to be a convent?
✓ Answer
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
With classes canceled because of the hurricane warning, the empty halls of Lanesha's school fill with ghosts, mostly Sisters of Charity from the old convent. One of them, Sister Margaret, waves at Lanesha, and she likes school too, especially English.
- First half
In what book does a closed corner store with empty shelves remind a girl of Alice in Wonderland?
✓ Answer
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Lanesha runs to Mr. Ng's store at night for more water and canned food, but finds a CLOSED sign and not a single can left on the shelves. She feels like a white cloud spinning on TV has turned her neighborhood upside down.
- Second half
In what book does total silence make a girl think of a VACUUM?
✓ Answer
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Lanesha wakes in Mama Ya-Ya's room to a silence so complete that she can't hear mice, bugs, or a single neighbor. She thinks of the word VACUUM and worries she will be sucked up too, right before the hurricane bursts in with a wild howl.
- Second half
In what book does a boy grab the last chicken wing and wink at the cook?
✓ Answer
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
When TaShon shows up, Mama Ya-Ya hugs him, tells him to eat, and says Lanesha's chicken is almost as good as her own. TaShon laughs at the idea of Lanesha cooking, grabs the last wing, and winks, and Lanesha winks back, thinking the future, TaShon, will be all right.
- Near the end
In what book do two kids use a tree trunk like a pool cue to knock a stuck rowboat free?
✓ Answer
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Lanesha's plan is to use a floating young tree trunk like a pool cue, hitting the back of the stuck rowboat so the front swings free and floats past them. It takes balance, teamwork, and more than one try before the boat finally comes loose.
