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Battle of the Books

Battle of the Books is a reading challenge for grades 4 through 8 featuring Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award nominated books.

How to Participate

Follow the steps below to participate:

  1. Choose either the elementary school (grades 4 and 5) or middle school (grades 6 through 8) challenge.

  2. Earn points by reading titles from our book lists, taking our online practice quizzes and attending our virtual events. There are two ways to log the points you've earned:

    1. Beanstack's Interactive Gameboard—Register with Beanstack to track your activity online or through the app on your phone. 
    2. Complete a Paper Game Board—Download and print your own (PDF) or pick up a copy at any branch.

  3. Visit the branch during the week of Monday, June 14 through Friday, June 18, to pick up your completion prize.

Book Lists

Elementary School Challenge

View these titles in the catalog.

Middle School Challenge

View these titles in the catalog.

Prepare for the Battle of the Books

To help prepare for the virtual trivia competitions in June, select your challenge below to take an online practice quiz or see if you can work your way through all the sample questions!

Practice Quizzes and Sample Questions

Select a book title below to take a quiz, or view these sample questions (PDF).

  1. "Best Friends" by Shannon Hale and Leuyen Pham
  2. "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransom
  3. "Guest: A Changeling Tale" by Mary Downing Hahn
  4. "Operation Frog Effect" by Sarah Scheerger
  5. "Song for a Whale" by Lynne Kelly
  6. "Stargazing" by Jen Wang
  7. "This Was Our Pact" by Ryan Andrews
  8. "The Trail" by Meika Hashimoto
  9. "The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA" by Brenda Woods
  10. "Words on Fire" by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Select a book title below to take a quiz, or view these sample questions (PDF).

  1. "Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation" by Stuart Gibbs
  2. "Grimoire Noir" by Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch
  3. "It Wasn't Me" by Dana Alison Levy
  4. "Journey of the Pale Bear" by Susan Fletcher
  5. "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
  6. "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee
  7. "The Missing Piece of Charlie O' Reilly" by Rebecca K. S. Ansari
  8. "The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise" by Dan Gemeinhart
  9. "White Bird" by R. J. Palacio
  10. "Witch Hat Atelier Volume 1" by Kamome Shirahama

Event Schedule

View the virtual event schedule below. Attendees must register for the following events using a valid email address, which will be used to send the Zoom participation link prior to the program.

DateAge GroupDescription

Thursday, January 14
7 p.m.

All

Information Session—Learn how to participate in Battle of the Books. All teachers, students and parents are welcome. 

Tuesday, February 2
7 p.m.

Middle

Live Author Q&A—Meet Stuart Gibbs, author of "Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation."

Tuesday, April 6
7 p.m.

Elementary

Book Discussion—Discuss any of the 10 Battle of the Books elementary school titles you’ve read so far, interact with other readers and let us know which was your favorite.

Friday, April 23
7 p.m.

Elementary

Live Author Q&A—Meet Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of "Finding Langston."

Tuesday, April 27
7 p.m.

Middle

Book Discussion—Discuss any of the 10 Battle of the Books middle school titles you’ve read so far, interact with other readers and let us know which was your favorite.

Tuesday, June 8
7 p.m.

Elementary

Elementary School Battle of the Books 2021—Compete with other kids to answer questions on all 10 elementary school titles using Kahoot! Participation instructions will be sent to registered participants prior to the program.

Thursday, June 10
7 p.m.

Middle

Middle School Battle of the Books 2021—Compete with other kids to answer questions on all 10 middle school titles using Kahoot! Participation instructions will be sent to registered participants prior to the program.

Thank You to Our Sponsor

Thank you to our sponsor, Sylvan Learning.

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