The Battle of the Books

The Battle of the Books is over, and here are our winners:


Emmanuel Christian Elementary School triumphed in the 4-5 grade age group...


...and Southwood Middle School won the 6-8 grade competition! Congratulations to both teams! Both will receive a pizza party, an engraved trophy, and, of course, bragging rights.

We spent Monday and Wednesday at Heartland Career Center with the forth and fifth graders and Tuesday here at the library while the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders competed.

In case you're unfamiliar with the Battle of the Books, I'll fill you in with a few facts about the competition. The tournament is held in a round-robin format. Each student reads a number of classic and award winning books provided to them by the library in preparation for the contest, guided by their team's sponsor, or coach.



A representative from the library reads the questions and acts as a judge, determining whether a response can be counted as accurate (or not). The team members can confer with each other as they arrive at an answer, then their spokesperson announces his or her team's response.


Emmanuel Christian Elementary students triumphed in a close match-up with their fellow teams. Southwood, LaFontaine, W.C. Mills, Metro North, St. Bernard, and Sharp Creek Elementary gave fierce competition. Students in the forth and fifth grade group read eight books provided to them by the library: Who Was Abraham Lincoln by Janet Pascal, The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer, The Sign of the Beaver by George Speare, How to Save Your Tail by Mary Elizabeth Hanson, The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine by Diane Stanley, Rules by Cynthia Lord, Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker, and Runt by Marion Dane Bauer.

Southwood reigned supreme in the middle school contest. Students from Northfield, St. Bernard, and Wabash Middle School also gave stellar performances. The 6-8 grade students read seven books: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson, Lincoln, A Photobiography by Russell Freedman, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, The Wave by Todd Strasser, The Trap by John Smelcer, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, and Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher.

Each team member received a certificate, medal, and a candy bar celebrating their participation. They were also provided with an ice cream treat from Homer and Rita Miller.