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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSMr and Mrs Twit are two of the nastiest, ugliest people you could ever meet, and they enjoy playing horrible tricks on each other just as much as they enjoy playing them on anyone else. Mr Twit never washes his bristly, hairy face, so old bits of food are stuck in it if you look closely enough, and Mrs Twit carries a walking stick and a glass eye and uses both to make trouble. In their garden they keep a family of monkeys, led by a clever monkey named Muggle-Wump, and force them to practice for Mr Twit's dream of running the world's first upside down monkey circus. Every Wednesday the Twits also eat Bird Pie, caught using sticky glue smeared on the branches of a dead tree in their yard. When a sharp-eyed bird from Africa called the Roly-Poly Bird flies in for a visit and sees how badly the Twits treat their monkeys and the local birds, he starts looking for a way to help them fight back.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Twits
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 Twits. 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 woman serve worms for lunch and call them "Squiggly Spaghetti"?
✓ Answer
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Mrs Twit mixes the worms into her husband's plate only, hides them under tomato sauce and cheese, and invents a brand new kind of pasta to explain the wriggling. She eats a clean plateful herself while she watches him.
- First half
In what book does a woman decide her walking-stick must have suddenly grown longer by itself?
✓ Answer
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Mr Twit has secretly added a tiny bit of wood to the bottom every night, so the stick is halfway up to her shoulder before he points it out. Her husband is delighted, because her confusion is exactly what he needs for the next stage of the trick.
- First half
In what book does a woman's petticoat billow out like a parachute as she floats down?
✓ Answer
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Because there is no wind at all, Mrs Twit comes down along exactly the same line she went up, with her long knickers on display the whole way. The narrator calls it a grand sight on a glorious day.
- Second half
In what book do four boys run home with their bare bottoms winking at the sun?
✓ Answer
The Twits by Roald Dahl
The boys wriggle out of their trousers and tumble down just as Mr Twit reaches the top of the ladder for the nearest one. They sprint away half dressed, leaving their pants stuck in the branches.
- Second half
In what book do two small monkeys faint from so much blood going to their heads?
✓ Answer
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Muggle-Wump's two little ones sometimes pass out during the endless upside down drills. Mr Twit does not care one bit, which is exactly why the monkey family hates him enough to plot revenge.
- Near the end
In what book do escaped monkeys rush back into their cage and stand upside down?
✓ Answer
The Twits by Roald Dahl
The Roly-Poly Bird spots the couple coming up the road and screams a warning. The monkeys race back and stack themselves exactly as they were left, so nothing looks suspicious.
