BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSDallas and Florida are thirteen-year-old twins who have spent most of their lives at the Boxton Creek Home, a rundown orphanage managed by the cold and rule-obsessed Mr. and Mrs. Trepid. After years of failed foster placements with families who sent them back as too loud, too messy, or too troublesome, the twins have built a wall of distrust around themselves and a plan to eventually hop a night freight train and escape for good. Then the Trepids arrange a new placement: an elderly couple named Tiller and Sairy Morey want Dallas and Florida to join them on separate summer adventures, Dallas on a trip to the island of Kangadoon and Florida on a canoe journey to the Rutabago River. The Moreys live in a lush, hidden valley called Ruby Holler, and from the moment the twins arrive, nothing is quite what they expected.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Ruby Holler
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 Ruby Holler. 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 compare a kind couple's feast to the trap in Hansel and Gretel?
✓ Answer
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
When Florida and Dallas arrive at Tiller and Sairy's cabin and find soft beds and a delicious spread of ham, applesauce, corn bread, and green beans, Florida warns Dallas not to eat too much. She compares them to Hansel and Gretel, suspicious that the kindness is a trap.
- First half
In what book does a couple keep their savings buried in metal boxes under stones in the ground?
✓ Answer
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Tiller and Sairy each have a hidden "understone fund" out in the holler. Their savings are stored in metal boxes buried under large stones. On their sixtieth birthdays, they exchanged maps to each other's secret fund as a gift, so each one could pay for the other's trip.
- First half
In what book does a foster family insist that children must always sleep on their stomachs?
✓ Answer
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
The Burgertons have a strange rule that sleeping on your back is unhealthy. Mrs. Burgerton comes into the twins' room at night to flip them back onto their stomachs whenever their bodies roll over naturally. Despite this oddness, the Burgertons are actually nicer than most of the families the twins have been sent to.
- Second half
In what book does a couple share a perfect piece of wood that neither one can bring themselves to carve?
✓ Answer
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Sairy tells Dallas a story about how she and Tiller found a perfect piece of wood on a path. She saw a bird inside it and he saw a boat, but neither could make the first cut. They set it on their dresser, where it has stayed for years with who-knows-what still inside.
- Second half
In what book does a woman buy a pale blue silk dress with tiny pink flowers on layaway?
✓ Answer
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Mrs. Trepid finds a dress she loves at a department store and puts it on layaway. She imagines wearing it on an island. Her excitement fades a little when she overhears the salesgirl telling another customer the exact same compliment.
- Near the end
In what book does a rescued man say, "My heart's feeling soggy"?
✓ Answer
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
After Florida drags Tiller out of the river and pushes water out of his lungs, he opens his eyes and pats his chest. He tells Florida his heart feels soggy and asks her to get help. It turns out he is having a mild heart attack.
