BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Simon O'Keeffe has a carefully constructed story about why his family moved to Grin And Bear It, Nebraska: they were driven out of Omaha by alpacas at a church animal blessing. The real reason is something Simon never says out loud. His mom, an undertaker, bought the local funeral home; his dad, a Catholic deacon with a gift for what he calls "a little holy chaos," took a job at the town's oversized church; and Simon just wants to blend in somewhere with no internet. Grin And Bear It qualifies, because it sits inside a National Quiet Zone protecting a cluster of radio telescopes that scan the sky for alien signals, which means no Wi-Fi, no cell phones, and no one googling his name. When a sharp, science-obsessed girl named Agate approaches him at lunch with a wild proposal to fake a message from space aliens, Simon doesn't say yes and doesn't say no, which turns out to be how most things in his life have been going.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Simon Sort of Says
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 Simon Sort of Says. 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 announce she is autistic and separates her food into cupcake liners?
✓ Answer
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
Agate is openly autistic and sorts her foods into tiny cupcake papers so the textures don't mix. She tells the narrator about it casually, which helps him feel a little safer about his own brain stuff.
- First half
In what book does a squirrel chew its way into a church tabernacle and eat the consecrated Host?
✓ Answer
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
A squirrel nests behind the altar of St. Barbara's, chews into the tabernacle, and eats the Host before springing out and biting the deacon's hand. The deacon's wife dubs it the Jesus Squirrel since the Host is supposed to be the body of Christ.
- First half
In what book do twenty emus get loose on a farm and refuse to be caught?
✓ Answer
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
Todd the golden retriever opens the gate between his farm and the neighbor's emu pasture, letting about twenty enormous birds loose. The volunteer fire department, the sheriff's deputies, and the narrator's mom all have to help round them up.
- Second half
In what book does a body roll out of a funeral van and end up at an Iowa truck stop?
✓ Answer
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
Mom's assistant Curtis does not latch the back door of the van, and Frank Semple's gurney rolls out somewhere on Highway 385. It becomes entangled with a tractor trailer and is dragged all the way to the world's largest truck stop in Walcott, Iowa.
- Second half
In what book does a cookie tower called a kransekake get served at a small town store?
✓ Answer
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
Doc Matapang serves the Norwegian almond-ring cookie tower at the Hello Hello while the kids collect extension cords for their secret project. He plucks off the top ring and snaps its sticky bottom away for Agate because the caramel glue would bother her texture sensitivity.
- Near the end
In what book does a kid tell his puppy, "I think we're going to space jail"?
✓ Answer
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
After scrolling through the SETI subreddit and all-caps replies about a possible alien signal, the narrator slams the laptop shut. He whispers the warning to his puppy and keeps breathing fast.
