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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSaint Louis Armstrong Beach is an eleven-year-old boy living in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans in the summer of 2005. He plays clarinet on the streets of the French Quarter to earn money for a professional instrument, hangs out with his neighborhood dog Shadow, and navigates a complicated friendship with his next-door neighbor MonaLisa Lafayette, who has been ignoring him since a falling-out eight months earlier. Life is mostly good until news breaks that a tropical storm named Katrina is gaining strength in the Gulf, and Saint's ordinary summer week begins to close in on something much bigger than he expected.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Saint Louis Armstrong Beach
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 Saint Louis Armstrong Beach. 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 read a boy's palm and tell him he has a very short life line?
✓ Answer
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
Jupi reads Saint's palm and tells him he probably won't live much longer. The prediction terrifies Saint and sets off a worried search for answers.
- First half
In what book is a college professor nicknamed Squirrel for shelling peanuts faster than anyone?
✓ Answer
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
Perry Tiberon's son, a college professor with a Ph.D., is called Squirrel for his peanut-eating speed. He helps Pops board up houses before the storm.
- First half
In what book does a boy name his new clarinet after the old man who gave it to him?
✓ Answer
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
Saint names his new Leblanc clarinet Smokey in honor of the friend who bought it for him. The name comes to him at dusk in his room, right after he plays Gershwin's "Summertime" on it.
- Second half
In what book does a boy escape from his uncle's car at a gas station and sprint home through trees?
✓ Answer
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
When Uncle Hugo stops at a gas station so the cousins can use the restroom, Saint grabs his duffel bag, sneaks behind the station, and runs through the trees to make his way back to the city to find his lost dog.
- Second half
In what book does a boy lure his missing dog by leaving a plate of food scraps on a porch?
✓ Answer
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
Miz Moran suggests that leftover food might lure the lost dog back, so Saint sets a plate on the porch. When he checks later, the plate is licked clean, giving him hope that his dog is still nearby.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy push a flooded refrigerator onto its back so the door opens upward?
✓ Answer
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods
Saint cannot pull open the flooded refrigerator because the water is holding it shut. After thinking it through, he tips it over so the door faces up. With the door above the water, it opens easily and he finds the two insulin bottles Miz Moran needs.
