BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSeventh grader Joseph Friedman says he has ADD, worries about almost everything, and calls himself the slowest kid in his grade. Most days he is busy hiding from Charlie Kastner, a football-playing bully. Then his Resource Room teacher, Mrs. T, talks him into joining Lakeview's brand-new cross country team. Soon Joseph is facing goose poop on the track, a painful stitch in his side, a steep hill called White Oak Lane, and a starting gun so loud it makes him freeze. One of his new teammates is Heather, a tall, fast new girl from Cherryfield, Maine, who knocked Charlie off his feet in a PE soccer game and wants to throw the discus like an Olympic champion. At home, his feisty grandfather moves in with the family after walking off on his own during a senior trip to Atlantic City and ending up in police custody. Joseph is not out to beat everyone else. He is chasing a personal record, a chance to do better than he did the last time.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Sidetracked
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 Sidetracked. 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 girl doodle her French teacher as a frog with muscly legs and high heels?
✓ Answer
Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher
Joseph sees Heather's drawing when her notepad slides off her lap into the aisle during French. It shows Madame Labelle, who wears green high heels, as a frog with long muscly legs and high heels.
- First half
In what book does a woman with a wheel-less walker chase a grandfather into the men's room?
✓ Answer
Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher
Mrs. Fligle is still angry that Grandpa kept her group waiting two hours in Atlantic City. Grandpa and Joseph duck into the men's room to escape her, but she follows them right in.
- First half
In what book do a team's new XC sweatshirts all turn out to be size XL?
✓ Answer
Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher
The coach explains that XC stands for cross country, with the X for "cross." Then she checks the labels and finds every sweatshirt is XL, and Mark says he thought she said XC.
- Second half
In what book does a boy from another school warn, "Get ready for the pity cheer"?
✓ Answer
Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher
Near the end of the muddy JFK race, Heber from Fox Ridge tells Joseph the watching grown-ups are about to feel sorry for them. He even predicts that somebody will call out "Lookin' good!" and a stranger does, right on cue.
- Second half
In what book does a little boy hide in the bathroom from a snack called ants on a log?
✓ Answer
Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher
Joseph remembers a play date at Jayden Probst's house where the babysitter served ants on a log without telling him the ants weren't real. He hid in the bathroom until she promised they were gone.
- Near the end
In what book does a queasy teammate admit he ate a frosted cherry Pop-Tart and dill pickle chips?
✓ Answer
Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher
Before the league meet, Wes says he feels sick, and his teammates ask what he had for lunch. When he names a frosted cherry Pop-Tart and some dill pickle chips from his locker, Sammy says, "I think we have a winner."
