BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSRowan is a small, timid boy in the village of Rin whose only job is caring for the bukshah, a herd of large, gentle creatures that the whole village depends on for milk, wool, and labor. When the mountain stream that feeds the bukshah's drinking pool stops flowing, the village faces disaster. A party of the strongest adults sets out to climb the forbidden Mountain and find whatever is blocking the water, but there is a catch: a bewitched map given by the Wise Woman Sheba will only reveal itself in Rowan's hands, and so the boy everyone thinks of as a scared weakling must join the quest, whether he wants to or not.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Rowan of Rin
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 Rowan of Rin. 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 an old woman stroke round yellow cheeses in her lap as though they were cats?
✓ Answer
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
After Sheba accepts the cheeses Rowan brought, she lays back in her chair and pets them lovingly while mumbling. It is a creepy image right before she delivers her prophecy about the Mountain.
- First half
In what book does a boy swing sickeningly into open air each time he slips during a cliff climb?
✓ Answer
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Rowan slips over and over on the cliff, and each time the rope catches him, his light body swings out into space. The sky and ground spin before he slams back against the rocks with a bruising thud.
- First half
In what book does a burning handkerchief melt a hole in a web that the spiders immediately repair?
✓ Answer
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Allun lights Marlie's handkerchief with his tinderbox and throws it at the web. The silk sizzles and a hole opens, but the flame dies quickly and the spiders rush back to spin it closed within seconds.
- Second half
In what book does a woman say, "Half of me is missing"?
✓ Answer
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Val tells the others she cannot continue the quest because she feels incomplete without her twin brother Ellis. She has tried to carry on, but they have never been apart this long in their lives.
- Second half
In what book do rainbow-colored spears of stone hang from the roof of an enormous underground chamber?
✓ Answer
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
When the travelers enter the deep caverns inside the Mountain, Rowan is amazed by countless glistening stalactites hanging from the soaring ceiling. Strange squat shapes rise from the floor, and the cave seems to go on forever.
- Near the end
In what book does a woman slip on sand and send a torch tumbling over an underground cliff?
✓ Answer
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Marlie impatiently pushes ahead into the left-hand tunnel, takes two steps, and slips on the shifting sand. The torch bounces away and falls over a hidden drop. They hear it crack at the bottom and realize the tunnel was a deadly snare.
