Elementary Battle of the Books

1. Elementary Battle of the Books 2011-2012 School Year

2. What is Battle of the Books? • The purpose of Battle of the Books is to encourage reading and expose students to quality literature. • There are 18 books in the competition that have to be read by the competitors. • There will be a county wide competition on March 29, 2012, at St. James United Methodist Church. • The format of the competition is quiz bowl style question and answer.

3. Battle of the Books Rules • Teams will consist of a maximum of 12 members, no minimum number. • Only grades 4 and 5 can compete. • Six students will compete per round, 12 questions per round. • Each competitor will be asked a question related to a specific book and will need to respond with the correct title and author. • 20 seconds will be allowed to start the answer. • The person answering may get help from the other team members.

4. With her brilliantly hued flower-print dresses, her maracas and tambor, and the migrating beauty mark over her lipsticked mouth, Tia Lola stands out in Vermont like a tropical bird in a snowstorm. Her nephew, 10-year-old Miguel, just wants to fit in to his new home. He and his mother and sister have just moved here from New York following his parents' divorce. With his black hair and brown skin, it's hard enough already without the flamboyant antics of his friendly, nutty aunt, visiting from the Dominican Republic. But even while she is dancing her merengues in front of his new friends and painting the white farmhouse purple, Tia Lola is also weaving a magical spell of love and support that Miguel and his wounded family sorely need. Miguel's growing appreciation for his crazy aunt's ways, and the entire town's admiration and respect for an outsider who, without even speaking the same language, wins the hearts of all, is a funny, uplifting story. R.L. 4.8 Pts. 4

5. Meet the Penderwicks, four different sisters with one special bond. There’s responsible, practical Rosalind; stubborn, feisty Skye; dreamy, artistic Jane; and shy little sister Batty, who won't go anywhere without her butterfly wings.When the girls and their doting father head off for their summer holiday, they're in for a surprise.  Instead of the tumbledown cottage they expected, they find themselves on a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon the girls are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel's sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the most wonderful discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel's owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures. The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will—won’t they? R.L. 4.7 Pts. 8

6. You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That's what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy is it true! There are always adventures in the classroom and each weekend he gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up Sayeh. Humphrey learns to read, write, shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course), and much more. With a lock-that-doesn't-lock and an adventurous spirit, Humphrey’s life would be perfect if only the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, wasn’t out to get him? R.L. 4.2 Pts. 4

7. Sara’s fourteenth summer was turning out to be the most confusing time of her life. Up until then things had flowed smoothly, like the gliding swans on the lake. Now she wanted to fly away from everything- her beautiful older sister, her bossy Aunt Willie, her remote father, and, most of all, from herself. And then there was her younger brother, Charlie. Sara loved him in a way she didn’t understand until the night he disappeared when she began to realize what it means to care more about someone else than you could care about yourself. R.L. 4.9 Pts. 4

8. Dear Mr. Henshaw, I wish somebody would stop stealing the good stuff out of my lunchbag. I guess I wish a lot of other things, too. I wish someday Dad and Bandit would pull up in front in the rig ... Dad would yell out of the cab, "Come on, Leigh. Hop in and I'll give you a lift to school.“ Leigh Botts has been author Boyd Henshaw's number one fan ever since he was in second grade. Now in sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is the new kid at school. He's lonely, troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious thief steals from his lunchbag. Then Leigh's teacher assigns a letter-writing project. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh's life. R.L. 4.9 Pts. 3.0

9. It isn’t that Abby Carson can’t do her schoolwork. She just doesn’t like doing it. And in February a warning letter arrives at her home. Abby will have to repeat sixth grade-unless she meets some specific conditions, including taking on an extra credit project: find a pen pal in a distant country. Seems simple enough. R.L. 5.3 Pts. 5.0

10. Felix knows his dad was a famous baseball player in Cuba—and that his father risked everything to send Felix to America. But his mom won’t reveal anything else. When a team with Cuban players comes into town, Felix wonders if they knew his dad, and sneaks into their locker room to ask. That’s when the players mistake him for their new batboy. To uncover his father’s story, Felix runs away from home to become the team’s batboy. His bittersweet adventure glows with the friendship of a miraculous dog, the warmth of a mother’s love, and the magic of baseball. R.L. 4.3 Pts. 5.0

11. Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules — from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public" — in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal? R.L. 3.9 Pts. 4.0

12. When the simple folks in the sleepy little village of Roundbrook catch wind that there's a dragon running loose in the countryside, they get the wrong idea and the stage is set for a fight to the death. So it's up to Kenny to give his neighbors front-row seats to one of the best-known battles in history — the legendary showdown between St. George and the dragon — without losing a friend in the fray. R.L. 5.4 Pts. 3.0

13. Motivated by her love for the game and inspired by the legendary Jackie Robinson, Mamie Johnson is determined to be a professional baseball pitcher. But in a sport that's dominated by white men, there is no place for a black woman. Mamie doesn't give up, from the time she insists on trying out for the all-male, all-white Police Athletic League team until she realizes her dream and becomes one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues. Mamie Johnson's life shows that with courage and perseverance one can overcome even the greatest challenges. R.L. 5.1 Pts. 3.0

14. Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates. R.L. 6.0 Pts. 10

15. Life isn't like the movies, and 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. But when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle is forced to head off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met. Florida is like nothing Turtle has ever seen: hot, strange, and full of wild, ragtag boy cousins...and even secret treasure. Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she has spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways R.L. 3.7 Pts. 4.0

16. When teenager Ann Fay takes over as "man of the house" for her absent soldier father, she struggles to keep the family and herself together in the face of personal tragedy and the 1940s polio epidemic in North Carolina. R.L. 4.9 Pts. 7.0

17. Young Minli lives with her parents in a very poor Chinese village in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain. They work hard and never get ahead, but Minli's father, an expert storyteller, tells her tales of Never-Ending Mountain and the Old Man on the Moon who has the answers to all life's questions. Minli, determined to help her family, sets out alone on a quest to seek advice from the Old Man on the Moon. On her journey, she meets a friendly dragon, a talking goldfish, a fierce green tiger and other mythical creatures, which add to the fantasy and folklore already present in the story. Much like Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz," Minli finds out that all she seeks she already has at home. R. L. 5.5 Pts. 7.0

18. Tucker is a streetwise city mouse. He thought he’d seen it all. But he’s never met a cricket before, which really isn’t surprising, because, along with his friend Harry Cat, Tucker lives in the very heart of New York City—the Times Square subway station. Chester Cricket never intended to leave his Connecticut meadow. He’d be there still if he hadn’t followed the entrancing aroma of liverwurst right into someone’s picnic basket. Now, like any tourist in the city, he wants to look around. And he could not have found two better guides—and friends—than Tucker and Harry. The trio have many adventures—from taking in the sights and sounds of Broadway to escaping a smoky fire. R. L. 4.9 Pts. 4.0

19. After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce. R. L. 5.7 Pts. 7.0

20. Excited to board the Titanic with his aunt and little sister, 10-year-old George begins to explore the ill-fated ship's first-class storage cabin when the ship is rocked by a collision with an iceberg and begins to sink. R. L. 3.9 Pts. 1.0

21. A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her mentally handicapped sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago. R. L. 5.8 Pts.

22. In Order to Participate You Must: • Be in the 4th or 5th grade • Read books and prepare for competition • Practice teamwork and good sportsmanship • Attend practice sessions • We will be having a Literary Lunch Bunch Book Club that will meet in the library to eat and work on books.

23. Only 12 students can be on the team so we may have to cut some students throughout the year. A few things we will look at when determining who we cut: • Reading books in a timely manner • Doing well on the AR tests • Attitude • Sportsmanship • Attendance at practice sessions

24. LET’S WIN THE BATTLE OF THE BOOKS COMPETITION IN PITT COUNTY! GOOD LUCK AND LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!!!