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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn 1957, fifteen-year-old Melba Pattillo is one of nine Black teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School after the Supreme Court rules that segregated schools are unconstitutional. Facing mobs, daily harassment, and physical attacks, Melba relies on her faith, her grandmother's fierce love, and her own stubborn courage to survive a school year that makes national headlines and changes American history.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Warriors Don't Cry
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 Warriors Don't Cry. 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 is a child born on Pearl Harbor Day with an injury from forceps?
✓ Answer
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
The author was born on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The doctor used forceps to deliver her, injuring her scalp and causing a near-fatal infection. Her grandmother saw the dramatic survival as a sign that God had a special task for her.
- First half
In what book does a teenager dictate her first newspaper article to a reporter over the phone?
✓ Answer
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
When a reporter called and asked her to write about her first morning, the narrator jotted notes and dictated the piece on the spot. It went out on the Associated Press wire, and the next day she saw her own words on the front page.
- First half
In what book do soldiers form a protective olive-drab square around teenage students approaching a school's front door?
✓ Answer
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
About twenty soldiers of the 101st marched out and formed a square with one open end. The nine walked through the open end and were enclosed in a moving cocoon of bayonets as they climbed the front steps to the school for the first time as students.
- Second half
In what book do hooligans hang and burn a straw figure in a vacant lot across from a school?
✓ Answer
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
Students walked out of class and gathered at Sixteenth and Park Streets to hang and burn an effigy of a Black person, an event the Gazette photographed. It set a hostile tone inside the school for the rest of that day.
- Second half
In what book does a girl say at a Thanksgiving press dinner, "This is an integrated turkey"?
✓ Answer
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
At Mrs. Bates's televised Thanksgiving dinner for the nine students, Melba blurts out the line about an integrated turkey. The remark dominates the press coverage, and she suffers extra harassment for it the next school day.
- Near the end
In what book are snowballs full of rocks thrown at students on Valentine's Day while National Guardsmen watch?
✓ Answer
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
On a snowy February 14, Melba and her friends wait for their ride and are pelted with snowballs hiding rocks. Mr. Eckford rushes from the car to help, and the federalized Guardsmen stand by with arms folded.
