Battle of the Books test literary knowledge

"In which book does a character enjoy taking orders?"

This is the type of question you would be asked to answer if you were competing in the Battle of the Books tournament. The answer is "The Van Gogh CafŽ" by Cynthia Rylant.

Battle of the Books is a competitive team event. The team members from each school who make it to the district competition have worked very hard reading all of the books selected for this year's list. They have reread the books enough to be very familiar with even the minute details of the books. Of the many students who read the books and try out for the battle, only four kids from each school get the opportunity to compete at the district level.

Each year, different books are chosen by a group of judges for next year's battle list. These books are selected for their content, writing style and variety. They try to expose the readers to many different styles and types of writing and some well-known authors.

The books range from fiction -- both realistic and fantasy -- to nonfiction stories, biographies and autobiographies, from stories that are sad to hysterically funny, with settings from long ago to the future, including space life. The number of books varies from year to year but there are usually somewhere around 12-15 books selected for each grade level.

Battle of the Books started with a lady named Joanne Kelly, who advertised it over a radio station in the 1940s in urban Illinois. Then in the 1980s, 40 years later, a retired librarian from Chicago moved to Kodiak and brought Battle of the Books with her. The first year, the battle competitions were by audio conference. The next year, Linda Barrett came up with the idea of having all the schools come together and have a real competition, and that is how it all started. The number of students and schools involved has grown each year.

Once the schools have chosen their team or teams (middle and high schools are allowed up to three teams at district), a date is set for the district competition.

The Mat-Su district competition had 18 teams for the third- and fourth-grade battles, 21 teams for the fifth- and sixth-grade battles, 10 teams for seventh- and eighth-grade battles and six teams for the high school battles.

The competition starts with each team competing against one or two others in three separate rounds of 10 questions, in which each question is worth eight points. All teams are asked the same questions.

The six highest-scoring teams then move to the semifinals, and then the top three go to the finals. The final teams have one last battle for the championship to determine who represents our district at the state competition.

Larson Elementary hosted this year's Battle of the Books.

I talked to competing teams and here are some of the comments I received; "My child has become a better reader in some ways and has learned to participate in events. She also learned how to have good sportsmanship, win or lose."

A young competitor in the third- and fourth-grade battle said, "I like to do the Battle of the Books because you get to read lots of books and make friends at the practices."

The consensus from most competitors, teacher and parents is that the Battle of the Books is fun and educational. Isn't that what we all want? Congratulations to all those who participated and to those who won first place and will represent our district in the state competition at the end of the month. If you would like to participate for the upcoming school year, you can pick up a list of the books to read at your local library.

Mariah Taylor is a local high school student.

Mat-Su Borough School District District Winners

Third-/fourth-grade teams

1. Midnight Sun Family Learning Center -- Sara Cannon, Robyn Hall, Amy Orth and Jacob Weinstein, coach Jeanne Troshynski; 2. Goose Bay Elementary -- Nathan Schneider, Briggham Perez, Jessica Croom and Matthew Kinley, coach Abby Kellner Rode; 3. Pioneer Peak Elementary -- Valencia McPhail, Kasie Baker, Gabrielle Menard and Paul Bierman, coaches Carrie Enloe and Wendy Stout.

Fifth-/sixth-grade teams

1. Midnight Sun Family Learning Center -- Rohn Buser, Kevin Kramer, Halvor Norris and Ashlee McDougall, coach Jeanne Troshynski; 2. Wasilla Middle School -- Kaitlin Johnson, John Mathot, Zach Swasey and Caitlin Conklin, coach Bonnie Cavanaugh; 3. Pioneer Peak Elementary -- Jenna Wright, Ayslan Havemeister, Jaci Colette, Rachel Kenley, coaches Carrie Enloe and Wendy Stout.

Seventh-/eighth-grade teams

1. Wasilla Middle School -- Jana Lincoln, Tara Fischer, Sara Rosevar, coach Bonnie Cavanaugh; 2. Wasilla Middle School -- Erin Skvorc, Levi McCracken, Joe Wilcox, Jae Lynch, coach Bonnie Cavanaugh; 3. (tie) Wasilla Middle -- Donald Salmon, Chris Harris, Kyle Blake, James Woodin, coach Bonnie Cavanaugh; and Su Valley -- Rabecca Arnold, Hannah Hamler, Megan Ostermick, Colin Olner, coach Gayne Turner.

High school teams

1. Palmer High -- Monica Symonds, Jonathon Baldwin, coach Paula Marsh; 2. Su Valley -- Jed Ellis, Heather Horton, Hadassah Nelso, coach Gayne Turner; 3. Su Valley -- Deseree Besgrove, B.J. Wheeler, Tyler Miller, Heidi Hartley, coach Gayne Turner.