BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSThis picture book is told by a soldier who died in a big war long ago, the War to End All Wars. He calls himself an Unknown, one of many soldiers whose names no one knows. In 1921 he is brought home to Washington, and later he is laid to rest at Arlington in a white marble tomb on a hill. Some visitors soon forget what the place means, and at dusk he lies there all alone. Then, late one night, he hears the "sharp click of heels." The book is about the guards who march back and forth in front of his resting place, the careful ways they get ready, from shiny shoes to white gloves, and how they keep watch in every kind of weather.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
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 Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 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 team of horses carry the storyteller to Arlington?
✓ Answer
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
The book says "a team of horses bore me to Arlington," which means the horses carried him there. The painting shows dark horses pulling a wagon with his flag-covered casket down a wet, shining street.
- First half
In what book do volunteers put a stop to picnics on a monument?
✓ Answer
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
Some visitors brought picnics to the storyteller's resting place, and the book says volunteers "put a stop to" it. After that, as the plaza emptied at dusk, he "lay alone."
- First half
In what book does a half moon hang over a guard's shiny black shoes?
✓ Answer
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
The book says, "Late one half-moon night," the storyteller heard someone marching. The painting is a giant close-up of a guard's gleaming black shoes at night, with a half moon in the sky.
- Second half
In what book do sailors in white stand beside two flag-covered caskets?
✓ Answer
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
On the page where more soldiers come home from World War II and Korea, the picture shows sailors in white, soldiers in tan, and Marines in dark blue beside two flag-covered caskets.
- Second half
In what book do the guards' hat brims show respect?
✓ Answer
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
The guards "Set their hat brims two fingers above their eyes." Later the book says there is "Respect in their hat brims."
- Near the end
In what book does sleet blow past a guard in a furry cap?
✓ Answer
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
The picture on the stormy night page shows a guard with a steady face in a dark furry winter cap, with sleet blowing past and snow on the shoulders of the dark coat.
