BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Sarah Beth Willis is babysitting her six-year-old sister Robin one summer afternoon in Tucker, North Carolina, when she gets lost in a library book and stops paying attention. Robin runs into the street and is hit by a car, leaving her with a broken leg, a collapsed lung, and a serious head injury. While Robin fights for her life in the hospital, Sarah is sent to stay with her grandparents on their farm. There she bakes biscuits with Granny, visits Robin in the hospital, and tries to figure out how to live with the guilt she can't bring herself to speak out loud. Her closest friend is Ruby Lee, a Black girl who lives nearby, but their friendship is about to be tested by the same forces reshaping their whole town as the 1969 school year approaches and integration comes to Shady Creek.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Ruby Lee and Me
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 Lee and Me. 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 spot a small red tennis shoe abandoned in the street after an accident?
✓ Answer
Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock
A black car hits Robin in the street, and the lone red shoe is the first thing Sarah sees of her sister. The accident sets the whole plot in motion and leaves Sarah carrying a heavy secret.
- First half
In what book does a girl say goodbye to a purple bedroom full of beloved novels before moving away?
✓ Answer
Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock
Packing up her lavender library, Sarah runs her fingers over the spines and counts characters like Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy among her best friends. It is a tender, sad goodbye to the life she is leaving behind.
- First half
In what book is a girl mocked as "more like a chicken than a Freedom Rider"?
✓ Answer
Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock
During their big fight, the older girl jeers that Sarah talks big but never stands up for what is right. She even flaps her arms and clucks, which pushes Sarah over the edge into saying something unforgivable.
- Second half
In what book does a man bid at an auction to rescue a whipped, starved pony?
✓ Answer
Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock
At the Tucker stockyard, Sarah hears that a man whipped his pony in the parking lot, so she begs Dad to save him. Dad wins the bidding at fifty-five dollars and brings the skinny chestnut pony home.
- Second half
In what book does a boy say his personal best at skipping rocks is ten skips?
✓ Answer
Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock
Drucker bounces a rock off the pond six times before it sinks, then says his best is ten. He stands behind Sarah and guides her arm so she can learn the trick on his grandpa's land.
- Near the end
In what book does a doctor call a girl "ingenious" for stopping bleeding with a kitchen ingredient?
✓ Answer
Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock
Dr. Wood is amazed that Sarah packed her grandmother's wound with flour. She explains she figured blood was like buttermilk, so enough flour would form a stiff dough and soak it up.
