BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Iris Bailey is Deaf, lives in Houston, and spends most of her time repairing antique radios in her bedroom, since communicating with her hearing classmates is exhausting and her teacher treats her like a problem to be managed. When her science class watches a documentary about Blue 55, a whale that sings at 55 hertz instead of the 35 hertz of other whales, Iris is stunned: this whale has been calling out his whole life and no other creature can understand him. She also knows what it feels like to be surrounded by people who cannot really hear you. What starts as an email to a marine biologist named Andi at a sanctuary in Alaska quietly becomes something much bigger, and Iris begins to wonder whether one Deaf girl in Texas can actually reach a whale in the middle of the ocean.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Song for a Whale
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 Song for a Whale. 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 shove a classmate who keeps signing made-up words in her face at lunch?
✓ Answer
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Nina insists on signing to Iris, but nothing she says makes sense. When Nina gets dangerously close to Iris's face and won't stop, Iris pushes her away harder than she means to, sending Nina crashing into the next table and onto the floor.
- First half
In what book does a girl read about a prisoner who built a radio with a razor blade?
✓ Answer
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
While researching emergency radio communication for a school paper, Iris reads about a soldier in a prisoner-of-war camp who made a radio from scraps of wood, a razor blade, a pencil, a safety pin, and fence wire. The story inspires her belief that desperate people always find a way to communicate.
- First half
In what book does a grandmother suddenly say "Let's go" after hearing about a sanctuary in Alaska?
✓ Answer
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
After Iris pours out her whale story, Grandma surprises her by asking what part of Alaska. She remembers the area from an anniversary cruise she and Grandpa had been planning. Then she signs 'Let's go,' and she means it right now, not someday.
- Second half
In what book does a girl panic because a restaurant menu has no prices listed?
✓ Answer
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
At dinner on the cruise ship, Iris opens the menu and gets worried because there are no prices. Her grandmother reminds her that all meals in the dining room are included in the cruise fare, and Iris is embarrassed she forgot they were on a ship.
- Second half
In what book does a girl accidentally sign "bathroom" when she means "Tuesday"?
✓ Answer
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Bennie is picking up sign language to communicate with Iris and accidentally signs "bathroom" instead of "Tuesday" because the signs are similar. Unlike Nina at Iris's school, Bennie laughs at her own mistakes and doesn't pretend to know more than she does.
- Near the end
In what book does a girl open a compass necklace to navigate toward a red-roofed lighthouse?
✓ Answer
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
After missing the shuttle and getting lost running through a strange town, Iris realizes the navigation tool she needs is hanging around her neck. She opens the old compass, points north at her back, and runs south toward the Lighthouse Bay sanctuary.
