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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Nate Twitchell lives in Freedom, New Hampshire, where his family keeps chickens, a goat, and a small-town newspaper. One June morning he discovers that one of their hens has laid an extraordinary egg, big as a muskmelon and leathery-shelled, unlike any egg he has ever seen. Curious and stubborn, Nate decides to hatch it out, spending the whole summer turning the enormous egg by hand several times a day while the family waits to see what creature could possibly be inside.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Enormous Egg
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 Enormous Egg. 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 hen lay something so big she can hardly waddle for a whole week beforehand?
✓ Answer
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
For about a week the queer-looking hen swells out, gets lopsided, and her feathers stick out all over. Pop thinks she is just broody, but Nate suspects something more is going on.
- First half
In what book does a paleontologist arrive in a red bathrobe and pajamas after an early morning phone call?
✓ Answer
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Dr. Ziemer races over from the MacPhersons' so fast he forgets to change. He kneels by the nest and whispers, "That's it. By George, that's just what it is."
- First half
In what book does a hatchling escape his pen and eat a yellow gladiola in a neighbor's flower bed?
✓ Answer
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Uncle Beazley squeezes through a gap in the wire fence and ends up among Mrs. Parsons's gladioli. He happily chews a yellow stalk while she shouts "Take it away!"
- Second half
In what book does a luggage company offer to turn a boy's pet into suitcases made of rare hide?
✓ Answer
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
The McDermis Luggage Company sends a letter mentioning their specialty leathers like buffalo calf, baby whale, and iguana. Nate shudders at the thought of turning Uncle Beazley into a suitcase.
- Second half
In what book does a boy learn his prehistoric pet cannot survive a New Hampshire winter because reptiles are cold-blooded?
✓ Answer
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Dr. Ziemer gently breaks the news that turtles bury themselves in mud and even a hardy horned dinosaur could not survive freezing temperatures. The first frost comes by mid-September, leaving little time.
- Near the end
In what book is a boy's favorite Washington spot a round white marble building beside the Tidal Basin?
✓ Answer
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Nate likes the Jefferson Memorial best of all the sights in Washington. A statue stands inside and one of Thomas Jefferson's sayings is carved around the inside of the dome.
