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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSet in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the early 1930s, To Kill a Mockingbird follows Scout Finch, a sharp and curious young girl who grows up alongside her brother Jem and their father Atticus, a quietly principled lawyer. The children spend their summers captivated by the mystery of their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley, swapping dares and spinning stories about the man none of them has ever seen. But life in Maycomb grows more serious when Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of a crime by a white family, pulling Scout and Jem into the middle of a community that does not always live up to the values it claims to hold.
Free Battle of the Books questions for To Kill a Mockingbird
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 To Kill a Mockingbird. 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 girl find two pieces of chewing gum tucked inside a tree's knot-hole?
✓ Answer
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Scout finds Wrigley's Double-Mint in tinfoil inside a knot-hole of an oak at the Radley lot. This is the first of many small gifts left there for the children, though they do not yet realize who is leaving them.
- First half
In what book is a girl shaken awake at one in the morning to find a neighbor's house on fire?
✓ Answer
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Atticus wakes Scout in the middle of a winter night. The Maycomb fire truck, killed by the cold, has to be pushed from town, and Miss Maudie's house collapses into a black hole in her yard.
- First half
In what book does a girl realize her cook speaks one way at home and another at church?
✓ Answer
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Calpurnia explains to Scout that she switches speech around her neighbors because folks do not like having someone around who knows more than they do. It is Scout's first sense that Calpurnia leads a modest double life.
- Second half
In what book does a father sit outside a jail with a long extension cord and a bare light bulb?
✓ Answer
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Atticus rigs up a reading light at the Maycomb jail so he can guard Tom Robinson the night before the trial. His children sneak out and watch from the shadows as a mob of farmers arrives in dusty cars.
- Second half
In what book does a man sip Coca-Cola from a paper sack to make a town think he is drunk?
✓ Answer
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Mr. Dolphus Raymond pretends to be a drunk because it gives the town a reason it can accept for him living with a Black woman and their mixed children. He confides this secret to Scout and Dill under a tree.
- Near the end
In what book does a girl fall asleep inside her costume and miss her pageant cue?
✓ Answer
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Scout dozes off inside her hot ham costume during Mrs. Merriweather's long pageant. She makes her entrance just as the state flag is raised for the grand finale, ruining the ending.
