BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSPercy Jackson is a twelve-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia who has been kicked out of every school he has ever attended, and he has no idea why monsters seem to follow him around. When a field trip to a museum ends with his math teacher attacking him and then vanishing like she was never there, Percy starts to suspect that something very strange is going on. That summer he learns the truth: he is the son of a Greek god, and the ancient myths are real. Sent to Camp Half-Blood to train with other kids like him, Percy is soon swept up in a dangerous quest to find a stolen weapon before a war breaks out among the gods, traveling from New York to the Underworld and back with two loyal friends at his side.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Lightning Thief
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 Lightning Thief. 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 mother teach her son to jump sideways to dodge a charging monster?
✓ Answer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Sally Jackson gives Percy bullfighting advice as they flee up Half-Blood Hill. She tells him to wait until the last second and jump directly sideways, because the creature can only charge forward. She clearly knew much more about the mythological world than she ever let on.
- First half
In what book does a glowing green trident appear above a boy's head while all the campers kneel?
✓ Answer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
After the capture-the-flag game, a hologram of a green three-tipped trident spins above Percy's head while he stands in the creek. Every camper kneels, even the Ares cabin, as Chiron announces that Percy is the son of the Sea God.
- First half
In what book does a veiled woman serve free cheeseburgers to three hungry kids at a garden statue shop?
✓ Answer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
After the bus explosion, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover stumble into a roadside garden gnome shop where a veiled woman feeds them burgers, shakes, and fries. The food puts Percy into a sleepy trance. "Aunty Em" turns out to be Medusa.
- Second half
In what book does a boy jump from a national monument into a river with his clothes on fire?
✓ Answer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
After the Chimera attacks Percy at the top of the Gateway Arch, blasting a hole in the side, Percy leaps into the Mississippi River hundreds of feet below. His clothes are on fire and he has deadly venom in his veins, but the water saves him.
- Second half
In what book does a hotel lobby have a waterslide wrapped around a forty-story glass elevator?
✓ Answer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Lotus Casino lobby is an enormous game room with a waterslide wrapped around a glass elevator, a climbing wall, bungee jumping, virtual reality laser tag, and every video game imaginable. It's designed to be so fun that guests never want to leave, and that's exactly the trap.
- Near the end
In what book do cursed flying shoes drag their wearer toward a bottomless pit?
✓ Answer
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The flying shoes that were originally meant for Percy were actually cursed. In the Underworld, they activate on their own and drag Grover at full speed toward the entrance to Tartarus. Only because his hooves are the wrong shape do the shoes slip off before he goes over the edge.
