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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSeventeen-year-old Esteban de Sandoval, a cartographer from Spain, sits in a Mexican prison in 1541, awaiting trial before the Royal Audiencia on charges of defrauding the King of his royal fifth of a great treasure. As he waits, he writes down everything he remembers, beginning with the day Captain Mendoza recruited him off a Spanish galleon and led him, a small band of soldiers, and a quick-witted Indian girl named Zia into the unmapped wilderness of Cibola in search of the legendary Seven Golden Cities. What follows is a story of ambition, gold, and a young mapmaker who discovers, too late, what gold does to the people who want it.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The King's Fifth
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 King's Fifth. 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 an Indian girl carry a desert rat in her pocket and call it Montezuma?
✓ Answer
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
Zia keeps a kangaroo-rat-like aguatil in her skirt pocket and shows it off proudly. The little creature never needs to drink, getting all its water from the seeds it eats.
- First half
In what book do Indians draw a line of sacred cornmeal to dare a Spanish army to cross?
✓ Answer
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
Before the battle at Háwikuh, four warriors stride out and mark a line on the earth with cornmeal. Their comrades wave shields and clubs, daring the Spaniards to step over.
- First half
In what book does a chief say his city is the sky, the clouds, the bastions, and the grazing animals?
✓ Answer
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
When Mendoza asks Chief Quantah where his city is, Quantah sweeps a hand at the meadow, the cliffs, and the animals. His people live among the cottonwoods because the sun shines always.
- Second half
In what book do soldiers anchor wool fleece in a stream to catch flakes of gold?
✓ Answer
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
At Nexpan, Mendoza's men anchor sheep fleece in the stream so that gold flakes settle into the wool. The fleece grow heavy with gold, which becomes the conducta's first real treasure.
- Second half
In what book is the bottom of a lake found to be paved solid with gold?
✓ Answer
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
Standing beside the cliff lake of Tawhi, Estéban and Mendoza realize the unusual yellow glow under the water comes from solid gold dust covering the lake bed. The discovery sets off Mendoza's reckless plan to break the dam and seize the treasure.
- Near the end
In what book does a girl lay juniper boughs at the four directions around a slain deer?
✓ Answer
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
Whenever a deer is killed, Zia performs a quiet ritual, straightening the body and placing juniper boughs to the north, south, east, and west. It is her apology to the animal in the name of the law that says all life is kin.
