Battle of the Books
Elementary Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading competition designed for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students for USD 259. Students are encouraged to read books from a specified list of 64 books selected by Library Media & Textbook Services. Each school will determine their team of four in December and participate in the district competition in January. Students need to be familiar with the events, characters, settings, and authors of the books and will also present a book talk. Leaders from Library Media and Media Production Services produce the live competition, and area celebrities serve as hosts. The district competition will be televised on Cox Cable Channel 20 and WPS-TV. Later, the competitions will be archived on the district website.
Middle School Battle of the Books competition for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders is held in April. The middle school book list consists of 24 books. Students will be asked questions about events, characters, settings, and authors of the books but will not be asked to do a book talk.
Click here to watch competitions from past years on the WPS-TV website.
Elementary BOTB List
|
Title |
Author's First Name |
Author's Last Name |
Call Number |
Number of Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alamo All-Stars: A Texas Tale (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, Vol. 6) |
Nathan |
Hale |
741.5 HAL or 976.4 HAL |
122 |
|
Anybody Here Seen Frenchie? |
Leslie |
Connor |
F CON |
322 |
|
At the Bottom of the World (Jack and the Geniuses, Vol. 1) |
Bill |
Nye |
F NYE |
247 |
|
Bad Kitty Joins the Team |
Nick |
Bruel |
F BRU |
143 |
|
Bedhead Ted |
Scott |
SanGiacomo |
741.5 SAN |
207 |
|
Bei Bei Goes Home: A Panda Story |
Cheryl |
Bardoe |
599.78 BAR |
43 |
|
Beloved Dearly, The |
Doug |
Cooney |
F COO |
183 |
|
Berlioz the Bear |
Jan |
Brett |
E BRE |
32 |
|
Big Foot and Little Foot |
Ellen |
Potter |
F POT |
136 |
|
Buster |
Caleb |
Huett |
F HUE |
302 |
|
Capture the Flag |
Kate |
Messner |
F MES |
231 |
|
Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 (C.F. Payne, illustrator) |
Ernest L. |
Thayer |
811 THA |
40 |
|
Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella |
Robert D. |
San Souci |
398.2 SAN |
40 |
|
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
Roald |
Dahl |
F DAH |
155 |
|
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement |
Angela |
Joy |
921 TIL |
64 |
|
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody |
Patrick |
Ness |
F NES |
199 |
|
Daring Women of D-Day: Bold Spies of World War II |
Jen |
Breach |
940 BRE |
32 |
|
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, Vol. 1) |
Mary Pope |
Osborne |
F OSB |
68 |
|
Doldrums, The |
Nicholas |
Gannon |
F GAN |
340 |
|
Doll People, The |
Ann Martin & |
Laura Godwin |
F MAR |
256 |
|
Emily's Fortune |
Phyllis Reynolds |
Naylor |
F NAY |
147 |
|
Fabulous Fannie Farmer, The: Kitchen Scientist and America's Cook |
Emma Bland |
Smith |
921 FAR or 641.5 SMI |
40 |
|
Falcon's Feathers, The (A to Z Mysteries, Vol. 6) |
Ron |
Roy |
F ROY |
86 |
|
Falling Short |
Ernesto |
Cisneros |
F CIS |
292 |
|
Far from Home (Zita the Spacegirl, Vol. 1) |
Ben |
Hatke |
741.5 HAT |
182 |
|
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures |
Kate |
DiCamillo |
F DIC |
231 |
|
Gravity Tree, The: The True Story of a Tree That Inspired the World |
Anna Crowley |
Redding |
634 CRO |
40 |
|
Homework Machine, The |
Dan |
Gutman |
F GUT |
146 |
|
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera |
Candace |
Fleming |
595.79 FLE |
40 |
|
Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball |
John |
Coy |
796.323 COY |
32 |
|
House of Robots |
James Patterson & |
Chris Grabenstein |
F PAT |
316 |
|
Hurricane Watch |
Melissa |
Stewart |
551.55 STE |
37 |
|
I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018 (I Survived Series, Vol. 20) |
Lauren |
Tarshis |
F TAR |
115 |
|
Ivy + Bean Take the Case |
Annie |
Barrows |
F BAR |
132 |
|
Jessica Finch in Pig Trouble (Judy Moody and Friends, Vol. 1) |
Megan |
McDonald |
F MCD |
60 |
|
Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles |
Patricia |
Valdez |
921 PRO |
40 |
|
John Henry |
Julius |
Lester |
398.2 LES |
40 |
|
Johnny Kaw: A Tall Tale |
Devin |
Scillian |
E SCI |
32 |
|
Loser |
Jerry |
Spinelli |
F SPI |
218 |
|
Lost Library, The |
Rebecca Stead & |
Wendy Mass |
F STE |
215 |
|
Manatee Summer |
Evan |
Griffith |
F GRI |
271 |
|
Maya and the Robot |
Eve L. |
Ewing |
F EWE |
217 |
|
Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion : A True Story |
Dave |
Eggers |
979.6 EGG |
56 |
|
Nebula Secret, The (Explorer Academy, Vol. 1) |
Trudi |
Trueit |
F TRU |
215 |
|
New Kid, The (The Alien Next Door, Vol. 1) |
A.I. |
Newton |
F NEW |
95 |
|
Newcomer In Pocketville, A (Monti and Leo) |
Sylvie |
Kantorovitz |
741.5 KAN |
70 |
|
Penderwicks, The: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy |
Jeanne |
Birdsall |
F BIR |
262 |
|
Poppy |
Avi |
F AVI |
156 |
|
|
Safest Lie, The |
Angela |
Cerrito |
F CER |
180 |
|
Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero |
Patricia |
McCormick |
951.9 MCC |
40 |
|
Starring Steven Spielberg: The Making of a Young Filmmaker |
Gene |
Barretta |
921 SPI or 791.43 SPI |
40 |
|
Stella Diaz Has Something to Say |
Angela |
Dominguez |
F DOM |
202 |
|
Summer Reading is Killing Me! (The Time Warp Trio, No. 7) |
Jon |
Scieszka |
F SCI |
73 |
|
Thank You, Mr. Falker |
Patricia |
Polacco |
E POL |
40 |
|
Trombone Shorty |
Troy |
Andrews |
921 AND |
40 |
|
Trouble with Chickens, The: A J.J. Tully Mystery |
Doreen |
Cronin |
F CRO |
119 |
|
Urban Coyotes |
Mary Kay |
Carson |
599.77 CAR |
80 |
|
Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, The |
Karina Yan |
Glaser |
F GLA |
311 |
|
When Beavers Flew: An Incredible True Story of Rescue and Relocation |
Kristen |
Tracy |
599.37 TRA |
40 |
|
When I Was Young In the Mountains |
Cynthia |
Rylant |
E RYL |
24 |
|
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon |
Grace |
Lin |
F LIN |
278 |
|
Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination |
Carole Boston |
Weatherford |
921 SIM or 621.4 WEA |
32 |
|
Wildoak |
C.C. |
Harrington |
F HAR |
324 |
|
Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills |
Billy Mills & |
Donna Janell Bowman |
921 MIL |
48 |
Middle School BOTB List
|
Title |
Author's First Name |
Author's Last Name |
Call # |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon Adventure: How Tiny Fish Are Saving the World's Largest Rainforest |
Sy |
Montgomery |
577.09 MON |
|
Black Hole Chasers: The Amazing True Story of an Astronomical Breakthrough |
Anna Crowley |
Redding |
523.8 RED |
|
First State of Being, The |
Erin Entrada |
Kelly |
F KEL |
|
Fowl Twins, The (Vol. 1) |
Eoin |
Colfer |
F COL |
|
Freddie vs. the Family Curse |
Tracy |
Badua |
F BAD |
|
Freewater |
Amina |
Luqman-Dawson |
F LUQ |
|
Fuzzy |
Tom Angleberger & |
Paul Dellinger |
F ANG |
|
Gamerville |
Johnnie |
Christmas |
741.5 CHR |
|
Hummingbird |
Natialie |
Lloyd |
F LLO |
|
Impossible Creatures |
Katherine |
Rundell |
F RUN |
|
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse |
Joseph |
Marshall, III |
F MAR |
|
Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves |
L.M. |
Elliott |
F ELL |
|
Maizy Chen's Last Chance |
Lisa |
Yee |
F YEE |
|
Midnight Children, The |
Dan |
Gemeinhart |
F GEM |
|
Miss Quinces |
Kat |
Fajardo |
741.5 FAJ |
|
Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens |
Rebecca E.F. |
Barone |
551.21 BAR |
|
Mystery of Locked Rooms, The |
Lindsay |
Currie |
F CUR |
|
Puppet |
David |
Almond |
F ALM |
|
Schooled |
Gordon |
Korman |
F KOR |
|
Sherlock Society, The |
James |
Ponti |
F PON |
|
Soar |
Joan |
Bauer |
F BAU |
|
Thirst |
Varsha |
Bajaj |
F BAJ |
|
We Were the Fire: Birmingham 1963 |
Sheila P. |
Moses |
F MOS |
|
What's a Germ, Joseph Lister?: The Medical Mystery That Forever Changed the Way We Heal |
Lori |
Alexander |
921 LIS |