Battle of the Books Combines Fun with Reading

May 3rd, 2023

Students in costumes at the Battle of the Books. — *This photo, and all photos shown below, were taken by Howard County Library System Multimedia Producer Geoffrey Baker.*

On May 2 amid pouring rain and gusty winds, Merriweather Post Pavilion was packed with more than 1,500 Howard County 5th graders for the 2023 Battle of the Books. The 315 teams participating represented all elementary schools across the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) and included teams from private schools and home-schooled students within the county as well.

Battle of the Books, created through the partnership between Howard County Library System (HCLS) and HCPSS, is in its 16th year and has grown exponentially since its inception in 2008. This year’s event was the largest to date.

Tonya Aikens, President and CEO of Howard County Library System. — Tonya Aikens, President and CEO of Howard County Library System, welcoming students and families.

“Our partnership with the Library System is amazing! Battle of the Books can be life-changing, inspiring students to read and often to develop a life-long love of reading,” shared Mary Schiller, Manager HCPSS Community Partnerships.

“Battle of the Books is one of our favorite events of the year. We know how much it means to the entire community, and we deeply appreciate our partnership with HCPSS to organize this amazing celebration of books and reading. We plan to keep it as fun and engaging for years to come,” said Christie Lassen, Director of Communications and Partnerships for HCLS.

While the weather prevented students from using handheld devices intended for scoring, the event went on with teams being given 30 seconds to answer each question and when the answer was displayed on the screens on stage, boisterous cheers went up as teams confirmed their answers were correct.

The rain didn’t dampen the lively atmosphere in the Pavilion either. Teams danced in front of the stage during the DJ-led dance break and showed off their creative spirit through team costumes and posters. Awards were handed out for Best Team Costume, Name, Poster and Sportsmanship.

Jarrett from Waverly Elementary School, whose team was a Top Winner for Best Team Poster said, “My team and I were really happy that we won best poster because we worked hard on reading our books AND creating our costumes and poster. We had a lot of fun because we got to dance–the DJ was great–and the author of ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’ Jeff Kinney, surprised us and came. My one-word summary of the event: EXCITING!”

Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. — Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, made a surprise appearance at this year’s Battle of the Books event.

Each fall, HCPSS Elementary Library Media Specialists introduce the Battle of the Books to generate interest among students. Those who want to participate form teams of three to five students from their school. Each team also has a volunteer coach. Teams then set out to read and study the books to prepare for the event in April. Sponsorships make it possible for each team to receive a set of books so that all students have access to the chosen titles.

The books chosen each year differ and cover a variety of genres, levels and formats and offer representation among authors and characters. While teams need to read them all, each team member usually becomes the expert on a few books since questions asked about the books during the event can be detailed.

This year’s books were:

A Wish in the Dark, Christina Soontornvat
Finding Langston, Lesa Cline-Ransom
Fortunately, the Milk, Neil Gaiman
I Can Make This Promise, Christine Day
Indian Shoes, Cynthia Leitich Smith
Science Comics, Wild Weather: Storms, Meteorology, and Climate, M. K. Reed
Simon B. Rhymin’, Dwayne Reed
Stargazing, Jen Wang
Tea Dragon Society: Volume I, K. O’Neill
The Last Last-Day-Of-Summer, Lamar Giles
The Science of Breakable Things, Tae Keller
Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, Adrianna Cuevas

While Battle of the Books is designed as an opportunity for kids to read more and build reading fluency, just as important is working on teamwork, building friendships, being inclusive and having fun.

2023 Battle of the Books attendees. — More than 1,500 Howard County 5th graders participated in this year’s event.

“It was really fun to be with my friends. You would think it would be miserable because of the rain but it was actually really fun. It was a great experience, and I would recommend it to all rising 5th graders,” said Lucy from Fulton Elementary School.

Melissa Daggett, HCPSS coordinator of Library Media who helps to oversee Battle of the Books each year shared, “At the end of the day, we hope students who participate walk away with a memory that lasts a long time. They build new friendships, work together as a team, read books they might never have selected for themselves, and generally become a more confident reader and collaborator.”