The struggle was long and the task was arduous, but the rewards are so sweet for Lakeville Elementary’s The Book Busters – the winner of the second annual Oxford Public Library/Oxford Area Community Schools Battle of the Books.
Battle of the Books is a program for fourth graders coordinated by Oxford Public Library through the school district’s media specialists to encourage students to read.
This year’s competition began in December and had the students reading seven books: Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Sable, Climb or Die, Into the Dream, Bug Boy, Night of the Full Moon and Oh, The Places He Went. The kids had until April to read and discuss all of the books.
In the competition, the students formed their own teams with three to six members and a parent advisor. The parent advisor helped to direct the team’s reading and organized the discussion sessions.
‘We had a problem last year because so many teams finished and came to compete at the library that we had to have battle downs right at the library,? said library employee Judy Parker, who helped to run the event this year. ‘So this year when a school had more than two teams, they had their own battle downs.?
The final eight teams, two from each Oxford elementary school, competed on April 15 for the Battle of the Books title. Each team was given two questions per book and asked to write a short answer along with the author’s last name. The team with the most correct answers wins.
‘We had a nice stash of tie-breaker questions also,? said Parker.
And this year’s winning team is The Book Busters: Alex Budnik, William Garrett, Kevin Goehring, Kyle Goehring and Aaron Heskitt under the guidance of Toni Budnik.
‘It was cool to do because you could be with your friends and read books at the same time,? said Alex Budnik.
‘It was hard because we had to remember seven books for three months,? added teammate Kevin Goehring.
The boys never expected to win, in fact, they all agreed they weren’t necessarily trying to win – they were just doing their best and having a good time.
‘It was kind of long, but the books were good,? said Kyle Goehring.
‘Some of them were pretty thick, but they were good,? agreed Aaron Heskitt.
‘I just loved Climb or Die,? said William Garrett. ‘It felt like you were really there even if you were in your living room.?
The team received a trophy, which is on display in the Lakeville Elementary media center, and certificates from the Oxford Public Library.