battle of the books

Katie is an avid reader. I've never had to make her read anything. Usually I have to make her put the book down because she's supposed to be doing something else.

She was selected along with some classmates to participate in a quiz show type competition based on a specific list of books. Half of the questions were based on story comprehension - either a direct quote or a description of something within the story was read and the correct title had to be guessed. The other half were based on ability to match the author with the book - either a direct quote or a description of something within the story was read and the correct author had to be guessed. Tricky! Different point values were given for each type of questions, and points were taken away for answering correctly.

She and her team had about a week to prepare. They narrowed down the list of 20 books first by figuring out who had read what book, then dividing the remaining books needed to be read. The librarian also had study questions for them to practice with. I think Katie actually enjoyed the cramming. She knocked out several chapter books in a matter of days. I made author/title flash cards for her team. She didn't go anywhere without a book or handful of study questions.

I missed the first half, but from what I heard, they blew their competition away, particularly on the author section. Katie's class won the school meet and went on to represent the school at the district level. She was a bundle of nerves. The team who won the semi-final level all but swept it because they were fast on the draw - they had their hands on the buzzer and would hit it even if they didn't know the answer immediately. It was an exciting night. Even though it was disappointing not to advance to the finals, it was a thrill to have gone as far as they did!












A big thank you to Miss Becky for coming to cheer her on! Your passion for books is a great example to her!

Here is the list of books from this year's competition:
A Bear Named Trouble by Marion Dane Bauer
Attack of the Mutant Underwear by Tom Birdseye
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
Close Encounters of a Third World Kind by Jennifer Stewart
Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret
Gabriel’s Horses by Alison Hart
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor
In The Middle of Somewhere by J.B. Cheaney
Just Grace by Cherise Mericle Harper
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
One-Handed Catch by Mary Jane Auch
Say What? by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Tall Tales by Karen Day
The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman
The President’s Daughter by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley
The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff
The Winner’s Walk by Nancy Ruth Patterson
The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin
Way Down Deep by Ruth White
Whittington by Alan Armstrong

Katie's goal for the summer is to read all the Bluebonnet books. Anna is joining her on her quest, as she can read about half of them based on her reading level. I'm sure Bethany will benefit from them as well!