BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSRose Howard is almost twelve and in fifth grade in Hatford, New York, where she lives with her father on Hud Road. She writes that her "official diagnosis is high-functioning autism," and she loves words, rules, and numbers, in that order. She keeps a handwritten list of homonyms with strict rules about which words count, and she points out drivers who break traffic rules. Her soft-voiced Uncle Weldon drives her to school, and her father, a mechanic, goes to a bar called The Luck of the Irish after work. Rose's dog, Rain, is a mostly yellow stray her father brought home one rainy night, and Rose named her Rain because the word has two homonyms, reign and rein. Then Hurricane Susan, a superstorm, hits Hatford. The next morning, Rose learns that her father let Rain outside and never let her back in, and Rain's collar is still hanging on the doorknob. Rose makes a careful plan, with circles on a map, a phone book, and a list of animal shelters, to find her dog. But her search will lead her to a very hard choice.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Rain Reign
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 Rain Reign. 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 girl stare into two classmates' eyes and ask which direction their houses face?
✓ Answer
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Rose tries one of her conversation starters on her Lunchroom Buddies, Flo and Anders. Anders answers that he doesn't know which direction anything faces.
- First half
In what book does a hatbox of a mother's things hold a silver bird's-nest necklace with pearl eggs?
✓ Answer
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
About three times a year Rose takes her mother's things out of the hatbox one by one, always starting with this necklace. The three fake pearls in the nest are supposed to be bird's eggs.
- First half
In what book does hearing about links on a TV weather show give a girl the homonym lynx?
✓ Answer
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Rex Caprisi of the Weather Channel tells viewers to check out the links at the bottom of the screen, and Rose jumps off her bed with a new pair. But the L section of her list has no space left, so she has to rewrite it.
- Second half
In what book does a robot-sounding recording say shelter animals are staying at a Holiday Inn?
✓ Answer
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
The first shelter on Rose's list, Creatures of Comfort, answers with a recording saying its services are suspended due to flooding and its animals are being housed at the Holiday Inn in Bellville. Rose hasn't actually spoken to anyone, so she marks it CB, for Call Back.
- Second half
In what book does a girl ask "Is that like lying" about a secret ice cream stop?
✓ Answer
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
After ten shelters and no sign of Rain, Uncle Weldon offers ice cream even though Rose's father said no treats. He says keeping it secret is maybe a little like lying, but sometimes it's all right to reverse our decisions.
- Near the end
In what book does a sleepless girl count backward by threes from 495, stumbling in the 350s?
✓ Answer
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
On nights when Rose can't sleep, she picks a number, a higher one the more awake she is, and silently counts backward by three. On this warm night she starts at 495 and drifts to sleep once she feels floaty.
