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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSThirteen-year-old Toby Wilson is having a rough summer in the small Texas Panhandle town of Antler. His mother has left for Nashville to chase a singing dream, his crush on the beautiful Scarlett Stalling is going nowhere, and his best friend Cal's brother Wayne is stationed in Vietnam. Then a trailer decorated with Christmas lights pulls into the Dairy Maid parking lot, and the whole town turns out to see the fattest boy in the world, Zachary Beaver, who weighs 643 pounds and sits behind a Plexiglas wall charging two dollars a look. When Zachary's traveling companion disappears and leaves him stranded in Antler, Toby and Cal find themselves drawn into the boy's life, gradually peeling back the mystery of who Zachary really is and what he wants most.
Free Battle of the Books questions for When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
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 When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. 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 Scarlett ask the narrator to take her bratty sister into a sideshow?
✓ Answer
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Scarlett Stalling, the girl Toby has a hopeless crush on, hands him Tara's sticky hand and two dollars so she can rush home and get ready for Juan.
- First half
In what book does a boy pocket a friend's letter from a Vietnam soldier and fail to give it back?
✓ Answer
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
After Cal drops the letter from Wayne, Toby tucks it in his pocket. He tells himself he will give it back later, but in the meantime the letter is his.
- First half
In what book does a sheriff's eye twitch as he questions a sideshow boy about a missing guardian?
✓ Answer
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Sheriff Levi Fetterman has a chronic eye twitch that worsens when he is uncomfortable. He drags Toby and Cal along to question the trailer's occupant about Paulie Rankin's whereabouts.
- Second half
In what book does a boy wrap his mother's pearls in Christmas paper as a gift for his crush?
✓ Answer
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Toby raids his mother's jewelry box hoping to win Scarlett away from Juan. He leaves the gift between the screen and front doors and immediately panics with guilt.
- Second half
In what book does a redheaded best friend throw forty-six dollars in coins and bills at the narrator's feet?
✓ Answer
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Cal storms into the trailer after the funeral and pays back the money Toby loaned him. He calls both boys big fat liars, then yanks back a curtain to reveal travel books stacked between Zachary's toilet and shower.
- Near the end
In what book does a father release a four-pound bass, telling his annoyed son he is returning a favor?
✓ Answer
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Otto frees a beautiful bass and explains catch-and-release to a confused, annoyed Toby. On the same trip to Lake Kiezer, he admits he failed the bar exam twice and tells Toby that Cal needs him.
