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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSCole Matthews is a fifteen-year-old from Minneapolis with a long history of violence and a chip on his shoulder the size of Alaska. After he beats a classmate, Peter Driscal, so savagely that the boy suffers permanent brain damage, Cole faces serious jail time. Instead, his parole officer Garvey persuades the court to try Circle Justice, a native Tlingit healing process, which results in Cole being banished for a year to a remote island off the coast of Southeast Alaska. Cole arrives with no intention of honoring the agreement; he burns his shelter, tries to swim away, and then picks a fight with a massive white Spirit Bear he encounters on the shore. The bear nearly kills him, and Cole spends several days lying broken and mauled on the beach, facing death, alone, with nothing left to hide behind.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Touching Spirit Bear
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 Touching Spirit Bear. 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 slam another boy's head against the sidewalk for ratting him out about a break-in?
✓ Answer
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Cole brutally beats Peter Driscal in the school parking lot after Peter tells police about Cole's break-in at a hardware store. The attack puts Peter in the hospital and lands Cole in detention.
- First half
In what book do four lifeless baby sparrows lie scattered in the grass after a storm topples their tree?
✓ Answer
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Two of the dead babies have their beaks still open as if reaching for food. Two face their fallen nest, having strained toward home in their final moments. The image moves Cole to choose life.
- First half
In what book does a parole officer claim to have spent five long years in prison as a teenager?
✓ Answer
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Garvey reveals this to Cole at the nurse's house after the mauling. He explains that nobody offered him Circle Justice when he was young, and that helping Cole is partly how he helps himself.
- Second half
In what book is a boy handed a stick with one end meaning happiness and the other meaning anger?
✓ Answer
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Edwin uses the stick in the freezing pond to show that no matter how many times you snap off the anger end, a new left end always exists. The point is that anger never disappears, so you must choose to focus on the other end instead.
- Second half
In what book do three people dance around a fire imitating a whale after watching humpbacks breach in the bay?
✓ Answer
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Edwin introduces the idea that every animal has a lesson to teach. After watching humpbacks chase herring on their migration from Hawaii, Cole, Edwin, and Garvey dance the whale dance and share what each learned from it.
- Near the end
In what book does a man warn the offender that hurting his son again will mean rotting in jail?
✓ Answer
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Mr. Driscal pulls Cole aside in the trees before leaving the island. He pokes a stiff finger at Cole's chest, making clear the family has not forgotten what happened on that Minneapolis sidewalk.
