How did you do?
1. So they said
A. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,”
Little Women, Louisa M Alcott
B. “Tom!”
No answer.
“Tom!”
No answer.
Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
C. “Where’s Papa going with that axe?”
Charlotte’s Web, E B White
2. Name?
A. Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter Rabbit.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
B. Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, C S Lewis
C. My name’s Elizabeth but no-one’s ever called me that.
How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff
3. Starting out from home
A. In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.
The Hobbit, J R R Tolkien
B The mole had been working very hard all morning, spring cleaning his little home.
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
B. The Moomin family had been living for some weeks in the valley where they had found their house after the dreadful flood (which is another story).
Comet in Moominland, Tove Jansson
C. Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J K Rowling
4. Cut to the action
A. Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.
Northern Lights, Philip Pullman
B. Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head.
Winnie the Pooh, A A Milne
C. There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
5 Only at night
A. Rain fell that night, a fine whispering rain.
Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
B. The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another.
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
C. It was 7 minutes after midnight.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
6 Boredom: the desire for desires
A. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
B. There once was a boy named Milo who didn’t always know what to do with himself – not just sometimes, but always.
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
C. I found him in the garage on a Sunday afternoon.
Skellig, David Almond
7 Things can only get better
A. If, standing alone on the back doorstep, Tom allowed himself to weep tears, they were tears of anger.
Tom’s Midnight Garden, Philippa Pearce
B. When Mary Lennox was sent to Misslethwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
C. I’d never given much thought to how I would die.
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
Labels: classics, first lines, quiz