District 68 Crowns Willow Creek, Sipley Battle of the Books Champions

It was a literary throwdown of epic proportions as teams of students from each of the  grade schools gathered for the third annual Battle of the Books at the Park District . When the dust settled, walked away with the fourth- through sixth-grade title while  brought home the third-grade title.

Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program designed for students in the third through twelfth grades. The students read books and then come together in a "battle" to test their knowledge on what they read.

The Woodridge Public Education Foundation provided the initial grant that helped get the Battle of the Books off the ground three years ago. The grant was used to buy the books, provide food and transportation for the students and cover administrative costs. Since then, the school district has helped fund the program.

The program starts at the individual school level. According to Christine Woynerowski,  Willow Creek's literacy enrichment specialist and the "host" of the battle, students form their own teams, decide who will read each book and then spend time sharing the books with each other.

The books are chosen at, above and below grade levels so that the children are able to read books at their own level and be active participants on their team. Qualifying battles are held at each school, with the winning team moving on to the District Battle.

"Participating in the battle promotes reading, teamwork and working towards a common goal," Woynerowski said.

"Anything that gets kids reading and talking about books is great, in my mind. The thing I like about this battle is that the books that are chosen are quality pieces of literature that span a wide range of reading abilities, so the competition isn’t just for 'high readers,' it’s for everyone."

The third-grade book list featured 12 selections, including James and the Giant Peach, Charlotte's Web and Little House in the Big Woods. The fourth through sixth grade titles included Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Velveteen Rabbit; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Westing Game.

The District Battles included 10 rounds of questions. Each team was asked a question and had 20 seconds to provide the title of the book and the author. If they named the correct title, they received five points. Naming the correct author added another two points.

While both battles proved to be extremely competitive and close, Willow Creek won the fourth through sixth grade battle and Sipley won the third grade battle. Each team will be recognized with a plaque to hang at school.