BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Sharkita Lloyd has been taking care of her younger siblings, Lilli and Lamar, for most of her life because her mother, Brittany, keeps disappearing on them. Sharkita has a fear of sharks tied to her own nickname, self-consciousness about her crowded teeth, and a strange crushing sensation that seizes her body in the night. When seventh grade begins and her mother seems to finally be turning things around, Sharkita gets the chance to try out for the school's majorette squad and start feeling like a regular kid for once, but she knows from experience that the floor can drop out from under her family at any moment.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Shark Teeth
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 Shark Teeth. 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 mother retell the story of driving a tractor as a little girl?
✓ Answer
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
Mama brings Kita, Lamar, and Lilli back to Bruckner Orange Groves where her own father worked as a manager. She loves to retell how he let her drive a tractor when she was little, even though the location of the story keeps moving.
- First half
In what book does a coach text a girl, "welcome you to our baton twirler squad"?
✓ Answer
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
Out on the rooftop late at night, Kita opens the long-awaited text from Dr. Sapperstein. The official welcome lifts a hundred-pound weight off her shoulders. Niecy and Chasity have made the team too, and Kita finally lets herself feel happy.
- First half
In what book does a five-year-old slap a bully in the face with a metal shovel?
✓ Answer
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
When two older boys harass Lamar at the neighborhood park, Lilli marches right up to the taller one with a metal shovel she stashed in the wagon. The boy ends up with a nosebleed. Kita silently approves, but knows getting Lamar home after that will be a disaster.
- Second half
In what book does a girl find her little brother shaking alone outside their burning town house?
✓ Answer
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
Walking home from the Spoon with Quintin, Niecy, and Trent, Kita spots Lamar swaying alone in the dark with tear streaks and smoke in his hair. Mama left the kids alone and the stove was turned on, setting the house on fire.
- Second half
In what book does a doctor read a yes-or-no checklist of chest pains, racing heartbeat, and fear of dying?
✓ Answer
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
Dr. Bigelow walks Kita through a checklist of symptoms after her collapse at the social services building. When she answers yes to all of them, he tells her those are classic panic attack symptoms, possibly a panic disorder.
- Near the end
In what book does an assistant principal invite the dance team to hand out Halloween candy at her house?
✓ Answer
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
Miss Kadejah hosts her majorette and dance team girls on Halloween, decking out her Wickersham Road house with fake gravestones and a flying baby ghost. It's where Kita first sees the beautiful pool that will later become important to her.
