2. What is Battle of the Books?
The purpose of Battle of the Books is to encourage reading and expose students to quality literature.
There are 10 books in the competition that have to be read by the competitors.
There will be a district wide competition second semester.
The format of the competition is quiz bowl style question and answer.

3. Battle of the Books Rules
Teams will consist of 6 members. There may also be one alternate.
Only grades 4 and 5 can compete.
Up to 6 students per team will compete per round, 20 questions per round.
Each competitor will be asked a question related to a specific book and will need to respond with the correct title.
20 seconds will be allowed to start the answer.
The person answering may get help from the other team members.

4. In Order to Participate You Must:
Be in the 4th or 5th grade
Read books and prepare for competition.
Read at least 5 books by December 15th.
Continue reading the other 5 books.
Practice teamwork and good sportsmanship.
Receive no discipline referrals.
Attend practice sessions.
BOB Team Practice Sessions begin in December.

5. Only 6 (plus 1 alt.) students can be on the team so we may have to cut some students throughout the year. A few things we will look at when determining who we cut:
Reading books in a timely manner
Attitude
Sportsmanship
Attendance at practice sessions

6. Titles All the Answers by Kate Messner
Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan

7. Battle of the Books
Book Summaries

8. All the Answers by Kate Messner
Twelve-year-old Ava finds an old pencil in her family's junk drawer and discovers, during a math test, that it will answer factual questions, so she and her best friend Sophie have a great time--and Ava grows in self-confidence--until the pencil reveals a truth about her family that Ava would rather not know.

9. Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes
It's ten-year-old Maddy's turn to have a bayou summer in Louisina with her grandmother. At first she misses life back home in the city, but soon she grows to love everything about her new surroundings -- the glimmering fireflies, the glorious landscape, and something else, deep within the water, that only Maddy sees. Could it be a mermaid? As her grandmother shares wisdom about sayings and signs, Maddy realizes she may be only the sibling to carry on her family's magical legacy. And when a disastrous oil leak threatens the bayou, she knows she may also be the only one who can help. Does she have what it takes to be a hero?

10. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
It's 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him: 1. He has his own suitcase full of special things. 2. He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. 3. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers advertising Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! Bud's got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road to find this mystery man, nothing can stop him--not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself.

11. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
An unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience.
Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.
Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

12. A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
When her blind dog slips his collar, twelve-year old Lily meets Salma Santiago, a young Hispanic girl whose migrant family are in Maine for the blueberry-picking season, and, based partly on their mutual love of dogs, the two forge a friendship while painting bee boxes for Lily's grandfather--but as the Blueberry Queen pageant approaches Lily and Selma are confronted with some of the hard truths of prejudice and migrant life.

13. The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
Tired of the rules that have bound them ever since "the bad thing happened," twelve-year-old Diana ignores her brother's warnings and befriends the daughter of the new caretaker, setting in motion events that lead to the release of the spirit of an evil, crazy woman who once ruled the old Willis place.

14. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Hollis Woods is the place where a baby was abandoned is the baby's name is an artist is now a twelve-year-old girl who's been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they'll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won't let anyone separate them. She's escaped the system before; this time, she's taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she'll never forget.

15. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate. But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore's corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore's owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's true identity before all of the children vanish one by one. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

16. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

17. Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan
Shortly after William and Elinor’s father walks out on the family, their mother takes them to an animal shelter, where they adopt four dogs and a cat. Early on, four-year-old Elinor can understand what the animals are saying, and after a while, Max (a fifth-grader) can, too. When their father hears that a baby is on the way, he rejoins the family and begins to heal emotionally. Suddenly, the magic of understanding animal speech extends to him and, in the end, to his wife.