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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSila Tekin is a twelve-year-old girl in Eugene, Oregon, whose world has quietly collapsed around her. Her mother, Oya, left for Turkey eight months ago to fix a visa problem that was supposed to take eight days. She hasn't come back. Sila stops spending time with friends, withdraws at school, and marks off each day on a calendar in her room. When her father drags her along on a weekend repair job at an old farmhouse outside of town, she meets Gio Gardino, a newly wealthy lottery winner who bought the property for its stone wall and rolling hills. Their accidental friendship takes an even stranger turn when, on his birthday, Gio buys an elephant named Veda from a traveling circus that has just shut down, and Sila realizes that this enormous, gentle animal might be exactly what she needs to get through the hardest year of her life.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Elephant in the Room
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 The Elephant in the Room. 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 discover the lottery winner's late wife had been her favorite second-grade teacher?
✓ Answer
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
When Gio mentions his wife Lillian taught second grade, Sila realizes she was Mrs. Gardino, her beloved teacher. The coincidence forms an instant bond between the lonely girl and the lonely old man.
- First half
In what book does an opera soprano on a radio finally chase a bear out of a wrecked kitchen?
✓ Answer
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Nothing Gio tries works until the bear's paw hits a radio playing classical music. A high note sends Mr. Pickles fleeing, and Gio jokes that the bear likes pickles but not sopranos.
- First half
In what book does a quiet boy defend a girl's sweater by explaining the cultural meaning of its pattern?
✓ Answer
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
When the Facilitator tells Sila to take off her overheating sweater, Mateo speaks up about its Turkish heritage. It is one of his first real moments of connection with her.
- Second half
In what book does a girl learn that her quiet new friend's mother works as a lawyer?
✓ Answer
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
When Sila asks Mrs. Lopez what she does, she answers that she is a lawyer. This small fact becomes hugely important later when Rosa offers to help Sila's mother.
- Second half
In what book does a girl draw a giant gray animal far too large beside a tiny pond?
✓ Answer
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Sila draws Veda the way she sees her in her mind, enormous compared to Gio's pond, and writes a note asking her dad to let her work there. He tapes it to the refrigerator, a hopeful sign.
- Near the end
In what book do some pink birds fly off and one lands in a hotel swimming pool?
✓ Answer
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Three flamingos escape, with one delighting guests in a Courtyard Marriott pool and two comforting mourners at a cemetery. Gio leaves the graveyard birds because they bring people comfort.
