Battles at the Ames Public Library: Book warriors, gear up!
Over the years, you may have noticed a yearly program at our library called the Battle of the Books. This is one of my absolute favorite programs! In short, fifth- and sixth-graders compete in trivia battles about books they have read. However, there is a lot more to these book battles than just reading.
Each year, library youth staff decide which books to feature in the coming battles. These are fun meetings with lots of discussions. Through the year, we all keep track of books we think would be great for battle. If someone suggests a book, at least one other staff member reads it before it is added to our list. We also pull from a big list of books used in previous battles. We look for well-written books with a variety of writing styles and genres that feature diverse protagonists. We also try to look for books that are just plain fun!
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After long conversations, we are finally ready for kids to read! We always hope to get our lists out early in the summer so competitors and book warriors can start reading. When school starts, kids start to form teams of up to four, either sponsored by teachers or parents, and they start practicing!
When springtime comes again, we are ready for Battle! This year’s fifth grade battle is March 30 and sixth grade battle is April 6. Kids from all over Story County journey to our library to compete and fulfill their quest. Teams have two qualifying rounds with 10 questions per round, and then we have our final battle — with 10 of our hardest questions per team! All the kids work hard and amaze us every single year.
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As you can see, Battle is fun for us here at the library, and for the kids. But we don’t do it solely for fun; although, that is definitely one of our goals. It’s great for kids to compete in avenues other than sports and feel comradery with their team! We also hope to introduce kids to new books with different genres, diverse characters and introductions to new experiences. Kids in Iowa can live many lives through reading.
Battle of the Books is a fun and competitive experience that opens up new worlds of reading for those kids who participate!
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: It's time for Battle of the Books at the Ames Public Library
