BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSBell is an eleven-year-old boy who has spent his entire life in a small underground settlement on Mars, built inside a giant lava tube. He lives with five other kids and a handful of grown-up crew members who make up his whole world, including Phinneus the farmer, Meems the doctor, and Sai the strict commander who keeps everyone safe with a long list of rules. Bell has never seen Earth, never met anyone from outside the American settlement, and is told that the other countries nearby are dangerous and off-limits. When a mysterious object crashes on the Martian surface near a foreign settlement, and Bell's best friend Trey starts pulling away from him, Bell begins to wonder whether everything he has been taught about the world beyond his home is actually true.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Lion of Mars
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 Lion of Mars. 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 glowing round object hurtle across the sky and crash far away, shaking an entire room?
✓ Answer
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
Bell is watching the sunrise from the communications room when a bright, round object with a white-hot tail streaks across the sky and crashes in the distance. The impact shakes the room violently, and Leo darts under the couch. Bell is convinced it was an alien ship, though the grown-ups think it was a meteorite.
- First half
In what book does an entire settlement have to stop their chores to harvest algae for making toilet paper?
✓ Answer
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
A few times a year, everyone has to drop what they're doing to help process a big batch of algae into toilet paper. With eleven people using it daily, they go through a lot. The work involves straining water from the algae, spreading the paste to dry, and cutting it into squares. Nobody enjoys it.
- First half
In what book do long cream-colored drapes hide a bare wall instead of a window?
✓ Answer
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
Meems hung curtains in the recreation room and told the children not to touch them because there was a fragile window behind them. Of course, Vera pulled the curtains open and found nothing but a blank wall. Meems had hung them to make the underground room feel more like Earth. The adults sometimes struggled with living without real windows.
- Second half
In what book does a character cry at breakfast and say they are almost out of pain medicine?
✓ Answer
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
Albie, who has been cooking and nursing the sick adults for weeks, breaks down sobbing at the breakfast table. In The Lion of Mars, his tears shock the other kids because Albie is usually the calm, steady one. The dwindling pain medicine means the adults could suffer even more.
- Second half
In what book does a cat lead a lost child through an underground tunnel to a foreign settlement?
✓ Answer
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
After Bell discovers the glowing eyes belong to his cat Leo, the cat takes off down the tunnel. Bell follows Leo all the way to the French settlement. In The Lion of Mars, it turns out Leo has been sneaking through a hole in an air duct to get food from the French for months.
- Near the end
In what book does Earth order a settlement to stop all contact and deny a kitten request?
✓ Answer
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
After the kids finally connect with the other settlements, Earth Command sends a harsh message forbidding all contact with other nations. To make matters worse, they also deny Sai's request for a kitten. In The Lion of Mars, this double blow devastates the entire settlement.
