فصل سی و نهم

chapter-39

Sierra turned to her teammates. “Who should play for us?” “Either you or Miguel,” said Kyle.

“Definitely,” agreed Akimi.

“I vote for Sierra,” said Miguel. “You’ve read more books than the rest of us combined.” “Are you guys sure? Because I didn’t do so well in that Battle of the Books game.” “And I did terribly in the poolside puzzle fiasco,” said Kyle. “Remember?” Sierra smiled. “I may never forget it.” “Yeah. Me neither. Come on. You’ll be great. I don’t know anything about band books. Did John Philip Sousa write one?” “Banned books,” said Sierra.

“See? You’re doing better than me already.” “Teams?” said Dr. Zinchenko. “Please send your designated player to the circle of desks closest to mine.” Sierra looked at her teammates one last time. They were all smiling and nodding. She started walking to the inner ring of reading desks.

“Go, Sierra!”

That was her dad. Cheering for her.

“Good luck, honey!”

Her mom, too.

Each of the six remaining teams was assigned its own desk. Sierra sat down at hers. Marjory Muldauer was at the desk to her right. Elliott Schilpp, the nice guy from Maryland who really liked pizza, was on her left.

Each desk had its own built-in touch-screen computer.

“This contest will include an immediate elimination factor,” announced Dr. Zinchenko from her swivel stool behind the central librarian’s desk. “If you answer a question incorrectly, you will be asked to leave your desk. Quietly. As those of you playing for the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Mountain, and the Pacific teams undoubtedly recall, you only have one medal each. If you are eliminated from this game, it will be mathematically impossible for your team to go on and win the duodecimalthon. Therefore, if you lose, your team loses its chance at being crowned champions.” The four players nodded. They all understood the very high stakes of this eleventh game.

“However,” said Dr. Zinchenko, “should you win this game as well as our twelfth game, we will have a three-way tie for first place and enter into a sudden-death overtime situation. That thirteenth game, if necessary, will take place tomorrow.” “Don’t worry,” sneered Marjory. “We won’t be playing any games tomorrow.” “Let us begin,” said Dr. Zinchenko, completely ignoring Marjory Muldauer. “I will read a multiple-choice question. Use the touch-screen computers in your reading desks to select your answer.” Sierra took in a deep breath.

“Question number one: In 1985, Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic was banned from a school in Wisconsin because: a)the attic was cluttered and dangerous.

b)the children in the book were filthy and never combed their hair.

c)the book encouraged children to break dishes so they wouldn’t have to dry them.

d)the book used foul language.

Please enter your answer now.”

Sierra had read about this book-banning incident. She tapped “C.” Her computer screen glowed green. She was correct.

The Northeast and Mountain teams, however, chose the wrong answer. The screens on their computers turned bright red.

“Thank you for playing,” said Dr. Zinchenko. “Kindly rejoin your teammates. And thank you for participating in the first-ever Library Olympiad. You and your teammates will receive lovely parting gifts.” “Whoop-de-doo,” said Marjory. “Next question, please.” “Of course. Question number two: Why was Dr. Seuss’s book The Lorax banned?

a)There is no such creature as a Lorax.

b)The drawings were too frightening for young readers.

c)The rhymes and silly names were too weird.

d)It offended forestry workers.

Choose your answer now. You have thirty seconds.” Sierra wasn’t certain about this one. The first three answers could be reasons to ban any Dr. Seuss book. But The Lorax was all about “Truffula” trees and saving the environment. Forestry workers might not like that.

She went with “D.”

Her touch screen glowed green.

So did Marjory Muldauer’s.

The Pacific team answered incorrectly.

“Sorry,” Sierra said to Pranav Pillai as he left his table.

“Thanks. Good luck!”

“Three players remain,” said Dr. Zinchenko. “Here is your third question: Why was Junie B. Jones, a series of children’s books by Barbara Park, banned from libraries? Was it because: a)Junie B. Jones is a mouthy brat?

b)characters use words such as ‘stupid’ and ‘dumb’?

c)the author takes liberties with traditional spelling?

d)the main character makes bad choices?

e)all of the above?”

Since Sierra had loved the Junie B. books when she was younger, she knew the correct answer was “E) all of the above.” So did Marjory Muldauer.

Elliott Schilpp, however, did not. His red screen meant the Mid-Atlantic team was out of the competition.

It also meant the whole Library Olympics came down to the Hometown Heroes versus the Midwest.

Sierra Russell versus Marjory Muldauer.