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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSEleven-year-old Hank Hooperman has been taking care of his three-year-old sister, Boo, for about a week, ever since their mom went out one day and didn't come home. He has been trying to potty train her, which is why she calls him Pooperman. When the apartment manager threatens eviction and the power goes out, Hank, who rates his mistakes on a scale of one to ten, has to decide what to do. Using his mom's bus pass and the emergency contact she wrote on his field trip form, he takes Boo on a long bus ride to the house of Lou Ann Adler, his late grandmother's old friend, who runs a toddler day care, has plenty of rules, and is not wild about teenagers. Next door lives Ray, a big, kind software engineer with a pug mix named CPU, who helps Hank search for his mom. At a new middle school Hank finds friends and a coach who sees his talent for basketball, while he tries to keep his family's secrets and keep his sister by his side.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
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 Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman. 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 is breakfast the last Popsicle plus seven saltines each, sprinkled with sugar?
✓ Answer
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
With their mom gone for a week and the food almost gone, Hank pries the last Popsicle off the freezer wall and splits the saltines evenly with Boo. Minutes later the apartment manager starts banging on the door.
- First half
In what book does a neighbor ask a three-year-old over the fence if she's twenty-two?
✓ Answer
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
Meeting Boo for the first time across the backyard fence, Ray guesses twenty-two, then twenty-three, until Boo shouts "Tree!" and holds up three fingers. Then he gets her shoveling sand to fill two dump trucks for him.
- First half
In what book does a mom's former agent email back mentioning a falling-out and residuals?
✓ Answer
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
At the Las Flores library, Hank emails Drew, the agent who used to get his mom work in commercials, introducing himself as Jett's son. Drew writes back that he stopped working with her six months ago, which helps Hank understand why there was no money for rent.
- Second half
In what book is a mom's hand used as a body double for Taylor Swift?
✓ Answer
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
For his turn at Two Truths and a Lie, Hank says his mom was a body double for Taylor Swift, and most of the room votes that it's the lie. It's true, though only his mom's hand holding a guitar was filmed for the video, and his actual lie is that he won the third-grade drawing contest.
- Second half
In what book does a boy watch a day-care owner's moods the way a weatherman watches the sky?
✓ Answer
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
As the days crawl by and Hank waits to hear whether Lou Ann will let him and Boo stay, he tries never to give her a reason to say no. He vacuums the living room every afternoon without being asked, empties the trash and the diaper pails even when they aren't full, and brings her a basin of hot water to soak her feet.
- Near the end
In what book does a tall teammate joke that a friend practices kissing on pillows and says they kiss back?
✓ Answer
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
Sitting with his friends at a McNulty basketball game, Hank gets asked whether he has kissed Ana Lopez yet, and Quincy brags that Hank needs his kissing lessons but doesn't have the cash. Legend fires back with the pillow story, and Quincy rolls his eyes and insists he never said it.
