by Rebekah Cartwright, photography by Kelly Heck
Reading Robot Book Battler from Charles Carroll Elementary School.
A group of students from Elmer Wolfe Elementary School take their seats and size up their opponents.
Their weapons? Their minds.
Their motivation? A trophy and, of course, bragging rights. This isn’t any ordinary battle; this is the Battle of the Books, and they have been preparing for this moment for months.
This year, more than 1,400 students from elementary and middle schools across the county are fighting it out in the Battle of the Books, a program started by Carroll County Public Libraries where students’ memories and knowledge about books are put to the test.
Divided into teams of about 10, elementary school students prepare for battle by reading 10 books, while middle school students read 20 books. The books are chosen from the Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award nominees.
The warriors begin reading and strategizing for the battles, which take place in April and May, at the beginning of the school year.
Parents, teachers, school administrators and community members step into the role of coaches and, hopefully, lead these students to victory. From organizing mock battles to creating online practice quizzes, coaches provide the young competitors with plenty of opportunities to prepare for their battles.
At the battles, the students go head to head against teams from other schools, answering trivia questions about these books. The questions delve into the nitty gritty details of the book, asking about anything from themes to setting to small plot details. The questions are not easy, and the students must pay close attention to details.
Michelle Scott, a coach for a fourth grade team from Elmer Wolfe, as well as a parent of two Battle of the Books competitors, believes it is the attention to detail that will help students in the long run.
“When you have multiple books to read and take notes on, that takes some internal motivation and you need to set some time aside to do it,” she said. “In life, details can really pull someone into a nice piece of artwork, or a change of a few words in a paragraph can completely change the whole meaning of that paragraph. Lawyers are sticklers for that. Paying attention to details is a good skill to have.”
To reign victorious, the students must not only learn how to pay attention to details, but they also must learn how to work together as a team.
For Lisa Picker, the Communications Manager of Carroll County Public Libraries, that’s the best part of the Battle of the Books.
“Through this format, we are engaging students who may have been reluctant or hesitant readers, and they are now reading as a social function. They’re doing it together, they’re learning together and they’re learning how to work as a team,” Picker said.
Beth Scott, a fifth grade competitor from Elmer Wolfe Elementary School, feels the same way about Battle of the Books and believes it has taught her a lot about cooperating with others. She thinks this will help her in the long run.
Comic Critics from Taneytown Elementary School
“[The Battle of the Books] teaches you about teamwork and working toward a goal,” Scott said. “It teaches you that everyone has an opinion, but in the end you have to back it up with proof and an explanation. It teaches you a lot about working in life after school. You might not be with people that you have always worked well with, but you have to make it work.”
To help the teams bond, the students play games together and choose team names. They work together to help each other learn about the books and participate in team bonding activities.
And, of course, there are the costumes. Ranging from face paint to dressing up like characters from their favorite books, the students get to show their creative sides at the competition.
The battles aren’t all fun and games, though, and the competition is fierce. At stake is a trophy that the winning team gets to display at their school, while the second and third place teams win medals.
The spirit of the competition is what sets the Battle of the Books apart from other extracurricular activities, according to Lynn Wheeler, the director of Carroll County Public Libraries.
“In my many years in libraries, it is one of the most exciting things that I have ever seen for generating interest and excitement in reading,” Wheeler said. “It takes the idea of competition and involves that in the activity of reading.”
In the end, the competition comes down to who knows these books the best, from cover to cover. The competitors take their seats before the battle begins and size up the competition. This isn’t any ordinary battle; this is the Battle of the Books, and they have been preparing for this moment for months.
