Over 220 fifth grade students from around the Orion area participated in this year’s annual Battle of the Books on Saturday, March 10.
Participants were required to read 19 books, and the titles ranged from fiction to folktales, myths, nonfiction and poetry.
‘By choosing such diverse titles we hope to appeal to a wide range of readers and to expose readers to a type of story they might not have found on their own,? Orion Township Public Library children’s librarian Linda Pannuto said.
At the competition, which was held in the Community Education Resource Center (CERC) gym, participants were quizzed on 50 questions. Each question answered correctly could earn a total of two points, one for the correct title and one for the correct author. Questions range from a quote about the story, a statement about an event in the book or a fact about the book.
For the first time, a tie occurred for first place, with two teams ending with 94 points (out of a possible 100). Team ABLA and Really Extraordinary Amazing Dudes (READ), both from Paint Creek Elementary, had to compete in a five question tie-breaker round. Team ABLA (Amazing Book Loving Americans) ended up taking first, Really Extraordinary Amazing Dudes took second and Mean Green Reading Machines, also from Paint Creek, took third.
All of the participants will be honored in an award ceremony that will be held on Thursday, March 27. The event will be held at the Lake Orion High School Performing Arts Center and will feature a visit from author Kevin Kammeraad. His book, The Tomato Collection, was one of the books on the battle’s book list. Awards will be also be given for best costume, best team name, most spirit and others.