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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSEleven-year-old Rick Van Huler is already dealing with two big problems when the school year ends: his dad's truckload of TVs got hijacked, and then his dad walked out and didn't come back. But those troubles are nothing compared to what happens next. On the way home from school one afternoon, Rick and his seven-year-old brother Kenny watch their mother stop to talk to a man in a black car, and when they return from a quick errand she sent them on, she is simply gone. The police don't take the disappearance seriously, so Rick and Kenny end up staying with their elderly great-uncle Henry in his purple converted school bus at the run-down Wonderland RV Park, right next door to a shuttered amusement park. With no adults willing to act fast enough, Rick and two kids he meets at the park take it upon themselves to figure out what happened to their mother before it's too late.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Scared Stiff
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 Scared Stiff. 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 great-uncle live in a purple school bus with bright swirls and flowers?
✓ Answer
Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts
Uncle Henry's home is a converted school bus that looks wild on the outside but is wonderful inside, with a couch, a table, a tiny kitchen, a TV, and even a bathroom. He says the crazy paint job is actually an advantage because nobody would think anything worth stealing is inside.
- First half
In what book do two boys find an apartment ransacked with cushions thrown everywhere?
✓ Answer
Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts
When Rick and Connie return to the apartment to investigate Ma's disappearance, they find it has been torn apart. Papers are knocked off the desk, coats and boots are piled on the floor, and cushions are everywhere. Connie realizes whoever did it was searching for something hidden, not just stealing.
- First half
In what book does a seven-year-old tackle another boy for suggesting his father might be a thief?
✓ Answer
Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts
When Connie suggests that Pa might have taken a bribe to leave his truck unattended, Kenny launches himself off the driver's seat and attacks Connie. Rick has to pull Kenny off and calm him down. Kenny is fierce about defending Pa's honesty, even though he's only seven.
- Second half
In what book does a boy get stuck halfway through a roof because a splintered board gouges his hip?
✓ Answer
Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts
When Rick crashes through the shed roof, he gets trapped partway through. A jagged plank pokes into his hip so he can't pull himself up, and he's afraid to drop all the way in. He eventually falls through when the board under his elbow gives way.
- Second half
In what book does a girl refuse to crawl through a pipe, insisting it's a sewer?
✓ Answer
Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts
Julie puts her hands on her hips and flatly refuses to crawl through the drain pipe into the park. Connie scoops up some of the water and holds it under her nose to prove it's clean runoff, not sewage. She eventually gives in and follows the boys.
- Near the end
In what book do two boys use bumper cars as weapons to knock down a pursuing criminal?
✓ Answer
Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts
Connie finds the ride keys and turns on the bumper cars. He and Rick each jump in one and drive straight at Zimmer, knocking him off balance. They ram him again before he can get up, then abandon the cars and run.
