BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn the spring of 1879, eleven-year-old Lettie Grier leaves Natchez, Mississippi with her parents Thomas and Sylvia and her younger brothers Elijah and Silas, joining a company of Black families heading west to Nebraska on the promise of free land under the Homestead Act. Thomas is determined to own land for the first time, to be free from sharecropping on a white man's property, and he packs the family wagon with five months of supplies for the long overland journey. But Sylvia carries a secret, the company faces steamships that refuse to stop for Black passengers, and Lettie watches her parents' quiet tensions play out against a backdrop of unfamiliar territory, new trail companions, and the uncertain road ahead.
Free Battle of the Books questions for One Big Open Sky
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 One Big Open Sky. 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 Black families wait on a Mississippi riverfront while steamships refuse to stop for them?
✓ Answer
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
When the Grier family reaches the Natchez dock, they see the steamships pass with white passengers on deck and refuse to pick up the colored travelers. Some families have been waiting days for a ship that will take them.
- First half
In what book does a husband finally dance with his wife around a campfire while a fiddle plays?
✓ Answer
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Mr. Baker plays his fiddle for the wagon company at night. After Lettie and her brothers urge him on, Thomas finally stands up and dances with Sylvia, who laughs big like she hasn't in a long time.
- First half
In what book does a girl admire bolts of purple and yellow fabric in a Missouri general store?
✓ Answer
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
While Thomas eyes shiny new boots at the general store, Lettie sees bolts of cloth in the same colors as the wildflowers along the trail. She wishes her mother could make something pretty from them but knows they have no money.
- Second half
In what book does a girl wonder whether her dead father is not in the stars but in her dog?
✓ Answer
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Lying with Sutter under her blanket, Lettie wonders if her daddy is right alongside her, keeping her safe through the dog. The thought comforts her after weeks of grief.
- Second half
In what book do three sisters cry together outside a wagon when their mother dies on the trail?
✓ Answer
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Mrs. Boston, who had been ill for some time, dies and her daughters Arlene, Ellen, and Heloise weep together. Sylvia comes back and tells the family it was peaceful with no pain.
- Near the end
In what book does a tall white school director refuse to shake a young Black teacher's offered hand?
✓ Answer
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Mr. Carroll meets Philomena at her new schoolhouse, stares at her hard, and ignores her outstretched hand. He explains that Nebraska has integrated classrooms out of necessity.
