BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSJulia Marks is small for her age and knows it. She doesn't say the word "short" out loud, not since she overheard her parents talking about her size like it was a problem. When her mom signs her up to audition for a summer production of The Wizard of Oz at the local university, Julia is dragged along, convinced she doesn't belong. But after one afternoon in a dark theater with a demanding director named Shawn Barr, three real-life little people playing professional Munchkins, and a neighbor down the street who turns out to be the most surprising person Julia has ever met, she finds herself not just in the play but at the center of a summer that will change the way she sees herself.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Short
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 Short. 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 boy jump off a garage to prove he can fly and break his ankle?
✓ Answer
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Randy gets a ladder, climbs onto the roof, and flings himself off in front of Marla Weiss to prove he wasn't lying. Even with tears spilling out he insists, see, I told you I could fly. Julia later gets blamed for not stopping him.
- First half
In what book does a girl in a harness shout, "I'm a flying monkey!" from up in the air?
✓ Answer
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Suspended on a wire for the first time, Julia can't help yelling out what she is. Shawn Barr calls back that the monkeys don't speak, and she fires back that this one does. It's the first time she's seen the world from above, with everyone looking up.
- First half
In what book does a girl talk her orthodontist out of putting on braces by explaining she's in a play?
✓ Answer
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Julia asks Dr. Brinkman to delay the braces until after the summer production, telling her she is playing a Munchkin in a play at the university theater. The orthodontist agrees and pushes her next appointment to after Labor Day.
- Second half
In what book does a tiny actress argue against heightism in a motel room?
✓ Answer
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Olive uses the word heightism when she defends Mrs. Chang's right to audition. She tells the director that people see her size before they see a woman or a person of color, and Julia realizes she has been doing exactly that herself.
- Second half
In what book does a woman keep three white ducks with bright pumpkin orange feet?
✓ Answer
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Mrs. Chang's backyard has a little pond, a wooden duck house, and three demanding white ducks. Later we learn they really belonged to her daughter, which makes them even more precious to her.
- Near the end
In what book does a furious girl push her heavy pink bike into a blackberry thicket?
✓ Answer
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
After her younger brother shrugs off the bad review, Julia pedals away out of breath and furious. At the bottom of the hill she shoves her too-big bike into the brambles until only a slice of pink fender shows, then walks the steep road home alone.
