BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSWhen a toddler wanders out of his house on the night his family is murdered, he stumbles into an old graveyard on a hill and is taken in by the kindly ghost couple Mr. and Mrs. Owens. The graveyard's residents grant him the Freedom of the Graveyard, giving him abilities like Fading from sight and moving among the dead, and a mysterious man named Silas, who is neither living nor dead, becomes his guardian, supplying food and teaching him about the world. The boy is named Nobody Owens, Bod for short, and grows up among the tombstones, learning from his ghostly neighbors while the man who killed his family, known only as Jack, continues to search for him out in the living world.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Graveyard Book
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 Graveyard Book. 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 toddler climb over the railing of his crib by stepping on a golden teddy bear?
✓ Answer
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The baby uses his teddy bear as a step to escape his crib, which is exactly why the killer finds the crib empty. This small act of wandering saves his life.
- First half
In what book do small leathery creatures promise a boy endless friends and the best food if he joins them?
✓ Answer
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The ghouls tempt the unhappy Bod with promises of appreciation, adventure, and fine dining. He agrees to go before realizing they eat carrion and want to make him one of their kind.
- First half
In what book does a dead witch chant "Be hole, be dust, be dream, be wind"?
✓ Answer
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Liza casts a spell so Bod can finally Fade and hide from the men who trapped him. Her magic lets the greedy pair search the room and walk right past him.
- Second half
In what book do two bullies force smaller kids to shoplift and then hand over their pocket money every week?
✓ Answer
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nick Farthing and Mo Quilling run a small extortion racket at school, until Bod quietly teaches a victim how to fight back.
- Second half
In what book does a guardian deliberately step in front of a police car so the boy inside can escape?
✓ Answer
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Silas lets the car knock him down and plays dead as Bod's father, then carries the boy home once the officers are distracted.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy slip a girl through locked iron gates like smoke?
✓ Answer
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Bod uses his Freedom of the burial ground to pull Scarlett through the padlocked gates, hoping his power can cover another person just this once.
