Battle of the Books

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer 

Storm Runners by Roland Smith 

Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez & Gabriela Epstein 

War Stories by Gordon Korman

Each team may have 3-6 students and may be comprised of any middle grade 6th-8th student. Teams can have a mix of students from either Oakview, Scripps, or Waldon. 

If you would like to compete but do not have a team, please contact your Media Specialist and they will do their best to help you find a team. 

All teams must have an Adult Sponsor to help organize meetings, etc. 

Meetings to keep teams up to date will occur monthly in the Media Center. 

The Battle will be held at Scripps Middle School this year on Friday, February 9th. It is a free excused fieldtrip for all team members with lunch provided. A bus will transport Oakview and Waldon students to and from Scripps. 

Prizes will be awarded for teams placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Teams are encouraged to dress in costume and to create an interesting book related team name. Prizes will be awarded to those winning teams as well. 

Welcome to our Battle of the Books! 

2023-2024

in collaboration with the Orion Township Public Library 

DATE: Friday, February 9, 9 a.m.-12 p.m

LOCATION: Scripps Middle School 

The 4 titles included in this year's Battle include a variety of genres and reading levels appropriate for middle level. Purchasing the books is optional. 

Books can be purchased in a package for $20 (this includes all 4 books). 

To purchase a book set please send cash or check (made out to LOCS) for $20. Books sets are sold on a first come, first served basis and payment is needed to reserve a set. There is no guaranteed availability as book sets may sell out. Payment should be delivered to your student’s media specialist. 

Books may also be checked out from the Orion Township Public Library, Lake Orion Community Schools middle school libraries (holds can be placed), ELA classrooms, or can be purchased independently. 

Your Media Specialists are excited that you are interested in competing in the Middle School Battle of the Books! The information below will help you navigate the process to form a team and begin your study of the four great books we have selected this year.

• Stay positive and remember that this is a friendly competition. 
• Meet regularly with your team, at least once a week. 
• Increase meeting frequency as the Battle approaches. 
• Create questions for each book for practicing with your team. 
• The more questions you create and practice, the better prepared your team will be. 

Cover significant events (e.g., “In The Giver, what was the first memory given to Jonah?”) 

Cover character development (e.g., “In The Giver, why did Jonah not want to take ‘the pill’?”) 

Cover unique settings in time or place (e.g., “In The Giver, where did Jonah first learn that his world was not as perfect as he thought?”) 

Ask questions from the preface, epilogue, or biographical information in the book—questions may be asked from the WHOLE book, not just the story itself. 

Ask questions about details that you normally would never need to know—like the character’s address, or the name of the neighbor’s pet fish, etc.—these are the types of questions that will differentiate the winning team from the others. 

The answers will NOT all be the title and the author like in the 5th grade Battle. 

Each team member is responsible for reading all 4 books. 

The Battle will consist of approximately 70 questions or 100 minutes of play whichever comes first. This does not include breaks or lunch. 

Nearpod is the program used for questions. 

Each question will be worth one point and questions will come from all four books. 

The questions will be in a variety of formats that may include multiple choice, short answer, and true/false. 

Books and notes may NOT be used during the Battle. 

In the case of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker section to determine the winner. The questions may be more difficult/involved and may require several answers. 

Each team is required to have an adult sponsor. Please let your Media Specialist know who has agreed to be the adult sponsor. 

Parents are invited to attend the Battle on February 9, but there is no requirement to do so. 

Adult sponsors are asked to help organize the team members. This might mean helping to set up communication between families and organize meetings. 

Adult sponsors can checkin-in with their team to see how team members reading is coming along. Also, sponsors can help create student questions and help the team practice. 

Thank you in advance for helping our students have a successful Battle experience and share their enthusiasm for reading. We appreciate your support of the library program and look forward to cheering on our Battle teams with you in February.