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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Nestor Lopez has moved six times following his Army-sergeant father from base to base, and he has the countdown marks in his sketchbook to prove it. When his dad deploys to Afghanistan, Nestor and his mom move to New Haven, Texas, to live with his Cuban grandmother, Abuela. On his first walk to school through the woods, Nestor does what he always does: talks to the animals. He has been able to hear them speak since he was four years old, a secret he has kept from everyone. But New Haven has bigger problems than an obnoxious raven named Cuervito: pets and farm animals are vanishing all over town, a shape-shifting creature is lurking in the woods, and people are starting to blame Abuela for the disappearances.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez
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 Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez. 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 hold the record for fastest room packing and unpacking in the entire universe?
✓ Answer
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
Nestor brags about his packing speed because his Army family has moved so many times. He even times himself with a stopwatch and clocks five minutes and thirty-four seconds packing his sketchbooks, pencils, and Pokémon cards.
- First half
In what book does a boy hide a wounded coyote under his bed in his grandmother's house?
✓ Answer
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
Nestor sneaks the injured coyote home and lets him sleep under his bed while his leg heals. Talib jokes that if Abuela finds out, the family will be eating coyote stew for dinner.
- First half
In what book does a school's trivia team beat its rivals with the final answer being wolverine?
✓ Answer
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
The trivia team wins their first competition when the final bonus question asks for an animal whose name means glutton. The protagonist stammers wolverine, and the team beats Burleson Middle School.
- Second half
In what book does a boy secretly interrogate a chinchilla named Milla while his friends search a teacher's desk?
✓ Answer
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
While his friends rifle through drawers, the protagonist quietly talks to the class pet chinchilla. He learns the snake the teacher argues with is dangerous and not just a regular snake.
- Second half
In what book does a witch gain animal powers only by biting creatures during a rare celestial event?
✓ Answer
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
Abuela explains that the witch can transform into any animal she bites while the moon covers the sun. So far she can become a snake, a wolverine, and a spider from past darkenings.
- Near the end
In what book does a kid hide behind a hedge and watch a wild-haired woman transform into a giant snake?
✓ Answer
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
Sneaking through town at night, the kids witness the witch shapeshift after a tense argument with her daughter. She wraps her daughter in scales and then morphs into a fur-covered hunter.
