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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSMary Lambert is a deaf eleven-year-old girl living in 1805 Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, where being deaf is so common that nearly everyone in town signs fluently. She and her father are deaf; her mother and her older brother George were hearing. But George died in an accident eight months ago, and Mary carries a secret guilt about his death that she has hidden from her grieving parents. When a young scientist named Andrew Noble sails to the island claiming he wants to discover the cause of the island's widespread deafness, Mary grows suspicious of his intentions and starts watching him closely, setting off a chain of events that will take her far from everything she knows.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Show Me a Sign
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 Show Me a Sign. 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 do two girls wrap themselves in stolen bedsheets and haunt the woods near an old marsh?
✓ Answer
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
Nancy convinces Mary they should dress as ghosts to commune with George's spirit. Mary hopes to apologize to her brother. The plan goes terribly wrong when Reverend Lee spots them and Mr. Skiffe blames a Wampanoag woman for the missing sheets.
- First half
In what book does an old seaman declare, "Pride cometh before a fall," to a haughty young scientist?
✓ Answer
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
Ezra Brewer warns Andrew Noble after telling him the Widow Merrill ghost story. Andrew dismisses the islanders as superstitious, but Ezra Brewer is hinting that other researchers have tried and failed to crack the mystery of the island's deafness.
- First half
In what book do girls climb an apple tree to spy and find a Wampanoag girl already hiding there?
✓ Answer
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
Mary and Nancy climb a leafless apple tree while trailing Andrew Noble and discover Sally Richards perched above them. Sally explains she needs a private place sometimes, and the three girls share an unexpected moment of camaraderie.
- Second half
In what book does a girl stutter, "It was just a stupid game," while confessing her brother's death?
✓ Answer
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
After overhearing her parents fight, Mary stutters her long-hidden confession that George died because she lured him into the road. Her words come out in broken phrases ending in tearful apologies.
- Second half
In what book does a cruel scientist kick a deaf girl's backside as she stoops to gather his fallen papers?
✓ Answer
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
At the High Tide Inn parlor, Mary brings Andrew Noble warm rum and stoops to pick up papers he has dropped. He kicks her sharply, and she notices bruises already blooming on her arms and ribs from his constant pinches and jabs.
- Near the end
In what book is the heroine gifted a necklace of white wampum beads and green serpentine?
✓ Answer
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
Before Helen and Sally leave with Thomas, Helen places a beaded necklace in Mary's hand. The white whelk-shell wampum and green serpentine are both used in gift exchange, and Mama later says the stone brings out Mary's eyes.
