BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
Students from across the region competed in event at Skidmore College
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.>> Schools across Washington, Saratoga, Warren, Hamilton and Essex counties competed Monday at Skidmore College in the Battle of the Books. Since 2012, WSWHE BOCES region hosts a Battle of the Books, and this year marked the highest turnout with over 470 students on 61 teams in grades three through six. In September, BOCES provide a list of 10 books, five fiction and five nonfiction, for children to read.
“The Battle of the Books is an important event because it gets kids to read. The books are outside of the classroom curriculum, so it is voluntary on their part,” said School Library System Coordinator J’aime Pfeiffer. “These are kids who are enthusiastic about reading, and about learning!”
The event continues to grow each year.
“I think one of the reasons that it has expanded is the librarians and teachers who are the coaches are passionate about reading, and have continued to encourage students to be part of this event,” said Pfeiffer. “We had two districts this year who are new to BOTB, and several districts and buildings that have competed in the past that added new grade levels because of student interest.”
Moderators ask students questions about the books students read. Students have 20 seconds to provide the judges with the title and author of the book.
Pfeiffer explained how the BOCES figures out what books to choose.
“We have a committee made up of several of our coaches. We replace one book per grade level each year, alternating between fiction and nonfiction,” said Pfeiffer. “Each year after the annual Battle, we meet to decide which book they want to take out, based on a combination of student interest and the difficulty of the book at that grade level. We then put together a list of potential replacements which goes out to all of the coaches to vote on. Once a decision is made, we announce it before the end of the school year so everyone has the information before summer break.”
Pfeiffer said none of this would be possible without the dedication of the coaches.
“Most of the coaches are school librarians, and many of them are coaches for more than one grade level, some for all four,” said Pfeiffer. “We also very much appreciate the WSWHE BOCES staff who work a lot of hours behind the scenes to get everything organized for the day. And we thank Skidmore College which works closely with us to make this event successful.”
Pfeiffer looks forward to see the event continue to expand.
“It was very exciting to see the turnout for this year. We increased the number of students by about a third between last year and this year,” said Pfeiffer. “I’m not sure how to account for this amazing increase, but so much of it goes to the librarians and teachers who are dedicated to this program, and continue to make it grow.”