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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSAlec Spencer is a sixth grader with one serious problem: he cannot stop reading. He has been sent to the principal's office more times than he can count, all for sneaking books during class, and on the very first day of sixth grade he lands in the hot seat again. Mrs. Vance gives him an ultimatum: shape up or spend his summer in study skills classes. To make matters more complicated, his parents have both started new jobs, which means Alec and his little brother now have to stay for three hours of after-school Extended Day Program in the gym. When a rules-obsessed program director tells Alec he has to join a club or do homework, Alec comes up with an idea: start a club with a name so off-putting that nobody will want to join, giving him a quiet corner to read in peace. He calls it the Losers Club, and things do not go at all according to plan.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Losers Club
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 Losers Club. 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 need just one signature to start his own after-school group?
✓ Answer
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements
Mr. Willner explains that any new after-school group only needs two founding members on the application. Alec has until six o'clock the next day to find a partner, which kicks off the whole plot.
- First half
In what book does a fourth grader haul a heavy backpack to the gym and announce, "I brought books!"?
✓ Answer
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements
Lily shows up dragging a bag so heavy it looks like it weighs as much as she does. She unpacks titles like Shiloh, Tuck Everlasting, Bud Not Buddy, and her own copy of the talking-spider book.
- First half
In what book does a sixth grader make a papier-mache pirate mask with an eye patch?
✓ Answer
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements
In Ms. Boden's art class, Alec sketches a craggy pirate based on an illustration from Treasure Island. While he dips newspaper strips into wallpaper paste, he half-wishes he could put it on and challenge Kent to a sword fight.
- Second half
In what book does a girl phone a bookworm and accuse him of being mean to a fourth grader?
✓ Answer
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements
Nina calls Alec at home after the new boy Jason showed up at their reading table. She tears into Alec for making the younger kid feel rotten just because he was having a bad day. It's their first big argument.
- Second half
In what book does a bookworm bet a bully he can score one run during indoor kickball?
✓ Answer
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements
Alec challenges Kent to a wager. If Alec scores one run, Kent has to sit at the reading table for a week. If not, Alec must let Kent beat him at kickball every day for a week. Alec wins.
- Near the end
In what book do two former enemies push a heavy folding cafeteria table down a hallway?
✓ Answer
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements
After the group has outgrown its space, Alec asks Kent to help wheel a third lunch table across the school. They stop to rest in the hallway, and during that pause Kent quietly shares that his parents got divorced.
