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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSOn September 22, 1776, a great fire is burning through Manhattan, New York, and Captain Nathan Hale, an American soldier caught spying on the British, stands on the gallows waiting to be hanged. With him are a cranky British officer who has misplaced the hanging orders and a masked Hangman who loves sandwiches, hates books, and can't stop asking questions. Then an eagle swoops in, and a giant book called "The Big Huge Book of American History" swallows Hale whole. When it lets him go, Hale says he has seen hundreds of years into the future. When the Hangman begs to hear how he got here, Hale tells his story, and it appears in pictures floating beside the gallows. It begins with his unlucky days at Yale College and moves through the fights over tea and taxes, the long, hungry siege of Boston, and Henry Knox, a cheerful former bookseller who sets out to haul sixty cannons through ice and snow. The officer keeps arguing for the British side, and the Hangman keeps cracking jokes and even dozes off when Hale talks about taxes, so this true history of the American Revolution moves along fast and funny, with Hale's own spy mission still to come.
Free Battle of the Books questions for One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales)
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 Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales). 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 man who hates books get chased and bonked by a flying book?
✓ Answer
One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) by Nathan Hale
When the giant history book rises into the air, the Hangman runs down the hill, but the book flies after him and bonks him on the head. He begs it not to eat him, shouting that he hates books.
- First half
In what book do two leaders planning to capture a fort argue over whose idea it was?
✓ Answer
One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) by Nathan Hale
Ethan Allen announces that capturing Fort Ticonderoga is his brilliant plan, but Benedict Arnold says it was his idea. When Allen looms over him, Arnold suggests they share the command.
- First half
In what book does a grumbling man's spit inspire a plan to make river ice thicker?
✓ Answer
One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) by Nathan Hale
Knox's oxen and sleds can't cross the Hudson because the ice is too thin. When a stubbly man grumbles that it's "Cold enough to freeze my spit but not the river," Knox gets the idea to pour river water on top of the ice so it freezes thicker.
- Second half
In what book does a sergeant insist on polishing his captain's silver buckles "pretty for the General"?
✓ Answer
One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) by Nathan Hale
Before General Washington reads the Declaration of Independence aloud to the army, Sarge wants Hale to look good standing in front of the company. He even offers to keep polishing Hale's silver shoe buckles while they march.
- Second half
In what book does a general say he's sending a captain right through the enemy's back door?
✓ Answer
One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) by Nathan Hale
Over a quick supper, General Washington tells Hale they are sending him right through the enemy's back door. He also hands Hale the British camp locations he suspects and a letter that gets him passage on any American ship.
- Near the end
In what book does a farmer warn a traveler, "Ain't no schools round here, though"?
✓ Answer
One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) by Nathan Hale
Posing as a teacher looking for work, Hale asks a bearded farmer if he can sleep in his barn. The farmer says sure, but points out that there are no schools around there.
