Racine's 2018 Battle Of The Books Kicks Off

RACINE, WI -- A few Racine Unified School District school classrooms were greeted by Scrubby, S.C. Johnson’s mascot, on Tuesday morning as the company kicked off the 2018 Battle of the Books.

S.C. Johnson donated more than 8,000 books to fourth and fifth grade classrooms in the Racine area. For nearly a decade, the company has sponsored the Racine Public Library’s program, Battle of the Books.

This year, SC Johnson and the library are working together to achieve a record-high of 150 teams participating. Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program and trivia competition designed to help youth reach their fullest potential through the love of reading.

“Research shows that children who aren’t reading proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school," Kelly M. Semrau, Senior Vice President – Global Corporate Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability said in a statement to Patch. “The Racine Public Library’s Battle of the Books program builds excitement about reading for young students, helping to improve literacy and setting a foundation for future success.”

Teams comprised of two to four students are asked to read and become knowledgeable about the content from the year’s reading list.

Meets are held in a public forum where teams are asked trivia questions about the books they read. Points are accumulated based on the number of correct answers and the team with the highest score wins. This year’s meet will take place in early March. Interested students can register for this year’s program through their schools or online through the Racine Public Library.

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