Librarian has students hit the books for competitive edge
May 5—Reading. It is one of the foundational principles to learning and living. Ann Nelson, librarian at the Newton High School, has a love of reading and is sharing that with her students to push them to new heights.
Nelson leads the Battle of the Books teams for NHS, a competition for schools throughout Iowa to put their love of reading to the test. Through several rounds of tests, the teams work to compete in the Grand Battle and be named state champion.
"The idea is to get kids reading," Nelson said. "It is a fun competition to ignite that love of reading. Or for kids that really love to read it is a way to compete against others. It is something they love it to."
Kids read 28 books selected by the competition in teams of up to six people. Then in March they each take an online multiple choice test to qualify for state competition. The top 16 scores move on to Marshalltown where four groups of four compete against each other in a buzzer-style round of open-ended questions, with the top team moving on to the Grand Battle. There, the top four teams compete in the same format until a champion is named.
"There were 43 teams in the state this year for qualifying," Nelson said. "We qualified all three teams, which was very exciting. And that speaks to their work ethic. It is hard work and they really ... believed in themselves, they believed in their team and they really put the work in. And it showed. That was really gratifying."
With three teams competing, Newton had a good chance to come back with some hardware. What happened next was more than Nelson could hope for.
"All four of my teams were placed in different centers and all three teams won their centers. We went crazy, that was amazing," Nelson said. "(At) the final round — same format as the preliminary — Newton ended up placing first, second and third. It was a dream."
On top of that, the winning team had quite the road to the competition. They had to compete in a tie-breaker just to make it to state.
"They were the last team in and won it all. That is a Cinderella story," Nelson said. "But it goes to show, if you want something bad enough and work hard enough, sometimes it works out.
"Another cool thing about the winning team: two of the girls have been in it for four years. They made it to state their first years as freshmen but didn't make it to the final battle. But they stuck with it and that was really nice to see."
Nelson started competing in Battle of the Books a little more than 10 years ago when a group of senior girls were interested in the team. For a few of the following years the school did not have many students show a lot of interest. But in 2016 it really took off again.
"I had a group that didn't make it. They missed it by one question but they stuck with it and kept the same group. And the next year they went and won. The year after that they won and the year after that they got second. That is amazing," Nelson said.
In 2020, there was no in-person state competition but the Newton team did produce the highest score for the online testing. The success has been wonderful for Nelson but more than that she loves seeing kids passionate about reading.
"Books are my love, this is my wheelhouse. To me, there is nothing better than to get a book in the hand of kids and then to talk about it. That is the most fun thing, most gratifying thing I do is talk to kids after they have read a book. Every person that reads a book has a different experience because they make their own personal connection," Nelson said. "It is so great to listen to.
"In the groups there are three different kids that have read the same book. Then, to talk to those three about the particular book, they all three have different experiences, took something different away from it, love pieces, don't like some. Some people didn't like the book, others loved the book. It is so great because they are making that personal connection. It is so wonderful to see kids understand how much a book can mean to them because it can provide entertainment, escapism, knowledge, all of those things, just depending on where you are in that moment. It is so dynamic."
The kids appreciate the work Nelson puts in with the group, too. Before their state competition this year, they each gave her thank you cards with meaningful messages about their time together.
"They all gave me cards, which was so touching, so kind. Many of them said thank you for rekindling or re-sparking my love for reading," Nelson said. "In high school you get so busy. You have all of these classes and you might be working or in other activities. And books might kind of be put to the back burner sometimes. Moving forward they have that love for reading and if you love to read you are better off having that."
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com
