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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Delsie McHill lives with her grandmother, Grammy, in a small Cape Cod neighborhood and spends her summers studying the weather, running barefoot on the beach, and looking forward to the arrival of her summer friend Brandy. But the summer everything changes starts with two unexpected questions: her friend Aimee asks what it is really like to be an orphan, and Delsie witnesses a mother seal returning to her pup on Seagull Beach. Together those moments crack open something Delsie has managed to keep closed, and she begins to feel the full weight of never having known her mother or her father, even as Brandy drifts away under the influence of a new, sharp-tongued friend named Tressa and a mysterious boy in black named Ronan Gale shows up at the beach and changes the shape of her summer.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Shouting at the Rain
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 Shouting at the Rain. 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 grandmother make a cross on the dashboard and pray for the car to start?
✓ Answer
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Grammy traces a cross on the dashboard every morning before starting the car, which she calls Darlin'. It's one of many small rituals that show how tight money is for Grammy and Delsie, but also how Grammy finds humor and warmth in everyday life on Cape Cod.
- First half
In what book does a neighbor explain that tea is nourishing because it brings people together to truly listen?
✓ Answer
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Esme explains the meaning of her mother's phrase "that nourishing tea." She says it isn't really about the tea itself but about the connection that happens when friends sit together, lean forward, and really listen. It's one of the book's most important lessons about friendship and belonging.
- First half
In what book does a girl discover her mother's collection of root beer bottle caps in a keepsake box?
✓ Answer
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
While gathering Papa's treasures, Delsie finds a box labeled My Mellie in Grammy's handwriting. Inside are her mother's keepsakes, including a whale ring, a stone necklace, a concert ticket, and root beer bottle caps. Delsie is touched to learn her mom liked root beer too, just like she and Grammy do.
- Second half
In what book does a cat with three white legs and one black one live on a fishing boat?
✓ Answer
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Captain Ahab is Henry's boat cat who loves the water. He has three white legs and one black one and lives on the Reel of Fortune. Henry figures the cat just loves the smell of striped bass and doesn't know he should be terrified of the ocean.
- Second half
In what book does a boy flip a crepe so hard it sticks to the ceiling?
✓ Answer
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Saucepan Lynn challenges Ronan to flip a crepe, claiming it reveals something about a person's character. After she demonstrates a perfect flip, Ronan grunts and launches his crepe straight into the ceiling. The fishermen roar with laughter, and someone has to fetch a broom.
- Near the end
In what book does a grumpy neighbor hand-stitch matching quilt dresses for a little girl and her doll?
✓ Answer
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Olive surprises everyone by giving Ruby two handmade dresses made from quilt squares in shades of purple. She stitched them entirely by hand after her sewing machine died, and she included fabrics with red wagons, fish, and lizards that represent things Ruby's family loves.
