BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSNot a Monster follows a rare little axolotl from the very start of its life, when it is an egg in a murky canal. Some call it a water monster, but the book says it is not a monster at all. It grows eyes, a tail, and red gills, then hatches and swims as a tadpole under the white moon. Spanish words, many of them colors, are mixed into the English story.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Not a Monster
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 Not a Monster. 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 newly hatched axolotl swim under a white moon?
✓ Answer
Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez
When the axolotl first hatches, it is a tadpole that swims under la luna blanca, the white moon. In the picture, it curls through a band of white moonlight on the water.
- First half
In what book does a hungry carp eat "everything in sight"?
✓ Answer
Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez
The yellow carp is so hungry that it "eats everything in sight." The young axolotl escapes it, and the book tells us, "It is safe."
- First half
In what book does a grown-up salamander rest under a floating garden?
✓ Answer
Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez
Resting under la chinampa verde, the green floating garden, the axolotl has finished growing. The book says, "It is now full grown."
- Second half
In what book do two friends row a purple canoe?
✓ Answer
Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez
On the page where the amigos first appear, "A couple of amigos row their chalupa morada along the water." Amigos means friends, and morada means purple.
- Second half
In what book do grandparents say an Aztec god became an axolotl?
✓ Answer
Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez
On the page with the big blue lake, the abuelos say the Aztec god "jumped into the lake and became an axolotl." It is one of the stories the amigos have heard from their grandparents.
- Near the end
In what book do two friends clean a canal day after day?
✓ Answer
Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez
On the cleaning page, "The amigos return day after day to clean the water." Neighbors help too, and they fish out plastic bags and bottles.
