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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSet in medieval France in 1242, this novel follows three children who keep crossing paths despite coming from completely different worlds: Jeanne, a peasant girl whose epileptic seizures bring her prophetic visions; William, a half-African, half-French oblate monk with superhuman strength; and Jacob, a Jewish boy fleeing after his village is burned. They travel together through a kingdom where miracles are real and danger is constant, accompanied by Gwenforte, a white greyhound that Jeanne believes is a saint. The story is told through a frame narrative in which a narrator at an inn collects accounts from witnesses, each taking a turn to tell part of what they saw, before the narrator himself is revealed to be an Inquisitor sent to investigate the children.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog
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 Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. 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 boy rip the leg off a donkey and use it to club bandits?
✓ Answer
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
After being told he may only fight with flesh and bone, William tears a leg off his donkey and uses it as a giant club to smash the Foul Fiends. Miraculously, the donkey feels no pain and hobbles off on three legs to crop the ferns at the edge of the road. Afterward, William simply presses the leg back on and it reattaches instantly.
- First half
In what book is a beast cured of its deadly farts by vomiting up a pile of cheese?
✓ Answer
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
Jacob realizes the dragon's flatulence began after it raided a famous Burgundy inn. The smell is digested Epoisses, so he stuffs a slaughtered sheep with foxglove buds. The dragon eats it, vomits a long viscous yellow trail of cheese, and is cured. Cheese makes bile in some people, Jacob explains, including his own mother.
- First half
In what book does a tiny lady leap onto her chair with a knife in each hand?
✓ Answer
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
Lady Galbert-Bertulf, the tiny vole-like wife of Lord Bertulf, is described as kind until you threaten her money. During William's surprise rescue at the feast, she grabs a knife in each hand, springs up on her chair, and lets out a high savage battle cry while her husband cowers on the floor.
- Second half
In what book does a boy spot a mezuzah on a doorframe in a Christian town?
✓ Answer
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
Jacob spots the prayer scroll on the doorframe when Michelangelo leads them to Rabbi Yehuda's house in Saint-Denis. It is the first sign that the scary red monk is taking them somewhere safe.
- Second half
In what book does a king lift a peasant girl over his head and dance around a stone room?
✓ Answer
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
After the lost relic is found exactly where Jeanne's vision pointed, King Louis hoists her into the air and parades her through the refectory chanting that he found it. Jeanne mostly tries not to throw up on his head.
- Near the end
In what book are twenty-four cartloads of books stacked on a bridge to be set on fire?
✓ Answer
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
The royal procession brings twenty-four litters of Jewish books, one after another, to dump on the pyre in the middle of Paris. Aron later figures out that adds up to about twenty thousand volumes.
