BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Sam Castine is at Camp Wabanaski in the Maine woods during the worst drought in recorded history when a fast-moving wildfire forces an emergency evacuation. Sam slips away from the buses to grab his phone, and when a wall of fire cuts him off from the camp, he has no choice but to run in the opposite direction. Alone in the burning forest with no phone, no food, and no map, Sam has to use everything he knows, which turns out to be a lot, thanks to an outdoorsy dad who raised him on camping trips and useful sayings before dying overseas. The fire is still out there, the smoke is already in his lungs, and there is no rescue team on its way.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Wildfire
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 Wildfire. 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 soot-covered girl with clean circles around her eyes look like a reverse raccoon?
✓ Answer
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
Sam hears a screech and finds a tall girl limping out of the woods, her face black with soot except around her eyes. He thinks she looks like a reverse raccoon, and she becomes his partner for the rest of the journey.
- First half
In what book do two riders on dirt bikes whoop and circle a house just before it bursts into flame?
✓ Answer
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
From across the pond, Sam and Delphy watch two dirt-bike riders racing around a summer house and shouting. Then the house erupts in flame, and the kids realize the riders deliberately set the fire and have spotted them.
- First half
In what book do two kids get thrown into soft ferns when their vehicle flips against a tree?
✓ Answer
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
After swerving for the moose, the Jeep tips on its side against a tree while Sam and Delphy are flung clear into a thick patch of ferns. They realize the tree blocked the vehicle from landing on top of them.
- Second half
In what book do two kids notice gray ash drifting from the sky like warm snowflakes?
✓ Answer
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
As they search for a lever near the trail, Delphy notices what looks like gray snowflakes in the air. Sam catches some and finds it is warm ash blowing ahead of the blaze, a sign it is getting closer.
- Second half
In what book does a boy admit his father had to rescue him from a tree with a rickety ladder?
✓ Answer
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
Sam remembers once climbing nearly to the top of a tree outside his house and being too scared to come down. His dad rescued him with an extension ladder and joked he was worse than a cat, secretly terrified the boy might fall.
- Near the end
In what book does a girl confess her greatest fear is that she'll never stop growing taller?
✓ Answer
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
When they trade their deepest fears, Delphy admits she dreads never stopping growing. She describes a nightmare where she was eight feet tall, head bumping the ceiling, with everyone staring and whispering behind her back.
