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How do you encourage students to read? And once you get them reading, how do you get them to branch out? Capital High School seems to have an answer.

Battle of the Books is described as a voluntary team trivia game based on reading a set number of books. The purpose is to encourage students to read high quality books in preparation for competing against one another in a single bracket. The books are challenging and demand the readers to push themselves. At Capital, Battle of the Books is run by Mrs. Kristi Bonds, the CHS librarian.

Hometown logoBattle of the Books is held in many places around the country and is most popular in Alaska. The Alaska Association of School Librarians organizes a Battle of the Books and students in Alaska schools compete all the way up to the state level. They organize lists for elementary school, middle school and high school levels. Official questions are also crafted, based on the books, and are used for every battle state-wide.

Mrs. Bonds organizes and runs the Battle of the Books at CHS. She makes the effort to read every book that the students read for the battle.
Mrs. Bonds organizes and runs the Battle of the Books at CHS. She makes the effort to read every book that the students read for the battle.

This year’s selection of books for Thurston County is diverse and fun with a wide variety of genre represented. It contains realistic fiction young adult novels including If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Crossover by Kwame Alexander, and Peak by Roland Smith.  Other selections include the nonfiction book George Washington’s Six by Don Yaeger and Brian Kilmeade, the horror novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, the classic The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the fantasy novels Seraphina by Rachel Hartman and Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige and the dystopian novel Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson.

Mrs. Bonds chose these books carefully using some 2016 Alaska Battle of the Books titles and choosing some herself. Students work in teams to read and understand the books while balancing other school work. It’s a commitment, but the books are engaging and the competition is motivating.

Students hold up sheets of paper with the book titles on them to give their answers. If they are correct, they are awarded a point.
Students hold up sheets of paper with the book titles on them to give their answers. If they are correct, they are awarded a point.

During the trivia battles, Mrs. Bonds will read a question including anything, from a name, a year, a description, or an actual quote from the book. The teams have fifteen seconds to come up with the title of the book the question is from. They hold up a card with the title and, if correct, earn a point. Teams can challenge a question if they think their answer is also correct and an additional question will be asked at the end. It’s fast paced and forces teams to be quick on their feet.

Elementary and middle schools have also been engaged in the Battle of the Books for many years. Mr. Wolfe, the librarian at Griffin Middle School, has been hosting battles for nine years. The Griffin battles utilize titles from the Alaska Battle of the Books middle school list just as other Olympia School District middle schools do. Julie O’Hara, a parent and one of Mr. Wolfe’s volunteers for Griffin’s Battle of the Books, is an advocate for the program and says, “I love how it introduces a wide variety of books, and gets some kids who might be non-readers to start reading.”

Three students on a team are allowed to compete at a time. If there is more than three students on a team, the team must rotate who plays during the battles.
Three students on a team are allowed to compete at a time. If there is more than three students on a team, the team must rotate who plays during the battles.

The CHS Battle of the Books was started three years ago when a senior decided to initiate Battle of the Books for his culminating project. He and two other students chose the books, created questions, and helped run the battles. Last year, CHS hosted its second Battle of the Books and the program gained interest quickly. This year, Battle of the Books has spread to North Thurston High School and River Ridge High School. All three high schools compete against each other, helping create friendships and allowing students to meet and interact with people they wouldn’t normally see.

Mrs. Bonds loves that CHS’s Battle of the Books has grown into something bigger. She thinks it’s an exciting way to expose students to books from genres they wouldn’t typically read. High school students who participate tend to already love to read and through the battle, they push and challenge themselves to grow as readers.

Mrs. Bonds shares, “There are plenty of opportunities for kids to get involved in high school and this provides one for kids who like to read.” And just like other high school sports and activities, Battle of the Books provides an exciting environment for students from different schools to compete amongst each other for the glory of their school.

A CHS team won first place in the Thurston County-wide Battle of the Books on March 21. The winning team included (from left) Tommy Wigfield, Kallie Kidder, and Sydney Moffet.
A CHS team won first place in the Thurston County-wide Battle of the Books on March 21. The winning team included (from left) Tommy Wigfield, Kallie Kidder, and Sydney Moffet. Photo credit: Kristi Bonds

And, on March 21, glory was just what the CHS Battle of the Books team experienced when they won both first and second place in the Thurston County-wide Battle of the Books held at the North Thurston High School library.  Teams from CHS, North Thurston, and Timberline attended.  The winning team were CHS’s own Tommy Wigfield, Kallie Kidder, and Sydney Moffet with alternate member Ben Miller.  Second place was also capture by a Cougar team consisting of Tommy Ly, Brandon Lu and Loren Lyttle.

Congratulations to these dedicated readers who volunteered to take on this extra reading load and bring home the victory for CHS, living to battle (and read) another day.

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