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Battle of the Books

Who will win the title of "best reader"?
Reading List (PDF)Register

Get ready, get set, read!

 

It's battle time! Battle of the Books is an annual literature contest in which fourth- and fifth-grade students from Racine Unified School District and private Racine County schools form teams to compete over their reading skills. To get started, teams of four to six students receive a list of books the Racine Public Library curates. Teams must then read the books in the list closely to familiarize themselves with the content.

 

After reading the list, the Battle of the Books meets begin. Meets take place at public locations, where teammates answer random questions about the content of the books they read. Teams score points for answering correctly, and the team with the highest score out of all participating teams becomes the champion.

 

The 2023-24 season of Battle of the Books is our 19th year, and counting.

 

Who can be on a team?

 

A team is made of four to six fourth- or fifth-grade students from Racine County schools. However, teammates do not need to come from the same school or grade.

 

What are Battle of the Books meets like?

 

Participants should arrive 15 minutes before their meet starts to check in and receive their table assignment.

 

Each meet is made up of three rounds. During the first two rounds, each team will answer five questions, winning five points for each correct answer. For the third round, each team answers three questions, winning 10 points for each correct answer.

 

Racine Public Library staff members act as the officials of the meets.

 

When and where do meets take place?

 

Each team participates in one hour-long battle, or "meet." These battles usually occur Monday through Friday, late February through early April.

 

Meets take place in public locations such as schools. Meets may also take place virtually.

 

Coordinators will send teams the date, time and location of their meets early in the year.

 

How to Prepare for the Questions

 

For each question, the team will hear the question once, then they may request a repeat of the question. After this, the team has 20 seconds to answer. The correct answer will always be the title of a book. Teams can also receive a bonus point in the first two rounds for including the author's last name. For example:

 

Question: In which book does a spider save a pig?

Answer: Charlotte's Web

Author: White

 

Each title has about 15-20 questions, which our librarians write in advance. With 40 titles on the reading list, that means meet questions come from a pool of about 700 questions. Once battle officials use all the questions, they re-use the questions.

 

Mock Battles

 

Attention, Battle Coaches! If you would like to hold a practice battle, please contact Ali Michalek at [email protected] or (262) 636-9248 to schedule a time. She can answer any questions battlers have at this practice meet.

 

Winning Battle of the Books

 

The final Winners' Circle includes the five top-scoring Battle of the Books teams. The Racine Public Library may host a party to recognize the participants, families and coaches of the Winners' Circle teams.

The logo for Battle of the Books, which depicts two stick figures holding books and touching hands as the sigil on a coat of arms.

Battle of the Books 2023-24 List

Register for Battle of the Books

Registration is required to participate. For more information about registering or anything else related to Battle of the Books, contact Ali Michalek using the buttons below.

Battle of the Books is sponsored by SC Johnson.

The logo for SC Johnson, which includes the tagline "A family company at work for a better world."
The logo for Battle of the Books, which depicts two stick figures holding books and touching hands as the sigil on a coat of arms.

Battle of the Books 2023-24 List

Register for Battle of the Books

Registration is required to participate. For more information about registering or anything else related to Battle of the Books, contact Ali Michalek using the buttons below.

Get ready, get set, read!

 

It's battle time! Battle of the Books is an annual literature contest in which fourth- and fifth-grade students from Racine Unified School District and private Racine County schools form teams to compete over their reading skills. To get started, teams of four to six students receive a list of books the Racine Public Library curates. Teams must then read the books in the list closely to familiarize themselves with the content.

 

After reading the list, the Battle of the Books meets begin. Meets take place at public locations, where teammates answer random questions about the content of the books they read. Teams score points for answering correctly, and the team with the highest score out of all participating teams becomes the champion.

 

The 2023-24 season of Battle of the Books is our 19th year, and counting.

 

Who can be on a team?

 

A team is made of four to six fourth- or fifth-grade students from Racine County schools. However, teammates do not need to come from the same school or grade.

 

What are Battle of the Books meets like?

 

Participants should arrive 15 minutes before their meet starts to check in and receive their table assignment.

 

Each meet is made up of three rounds. During the first two rounds, each team will answer five questions, winning five points for each correct answer. For the third round, each team answers three questions, winning 10 points for each correct answer.

 

Racine Public Library staff members act as the officials of the meets.

 

When and where do meets take place?

 

Each team participates in one hour-long battle, or "meet." These battles usually occur Monday through Friday, late February through early April.

 

Meets take place in public locations such as schools. Meets may also take place virtually.

 

Coordinators will send teams the date, time and location of their meets early in the year.

 

How to Prepare for the Questions

 

For each question, the team will hear the question once, then they may request a repeat of the question. After this, the team has 20 seconds to answer. The correct answer will always be the title of a book. Teams can also receive a bonus point in the first two rounds for including the author's last name. For example:

 

Question: In which book does a spider save a pig?

Answer: Charlotte's Web

Author: White

 

Each title has about 15-20 questions, which our librarians write in advance. With 40 titles on the reading list, that means meet questions come from a pool of about 700 questions. Once battle officials use all the questions, they re-use the questions.

 

Mock Battles

 

Attention, Battle Coaches! If you would like to hold a practice battle, please contact Ali Michalek at [email protected] or (262) 636-9248 to schedule a time. She can answer any questions battlers have at this practice meet.

 

Winning Battle of the Books

 

The final Winners' Circle includes the five top-scoring Battle of the Books teams. The Racine Public Library may host a party to recognize the participants, families and coaches of the Winners' Circle teams.

Battle of the Books is sponsored by SC Johnson.

The logo for SC Johnson, which includes the tagline "A family company at work for a better world."

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