New Thing: Battle of the Books

This year, we had a student transfer in midway through the year and ask if our school did Battle of the Books.

What's that, I asked?

Turns out, Battle of the Books is a trivia competition held in schools all over the nation. She had competed in prior years and was interested in doing it this year, if we offered it. After talking to my language arts teacher and visiting with my son's librarian who runs one at their school, we decided to try it out.

In January, I did a mock competition using popular YAL books, and then I explained the competition and invited students to participate. I ended up with four teams of 4-5 kids per team, plus a teacher team made up of colleagues and the school librarian. We used the William Allen White Award list, which I gave the kids, and they ran with it, dividing up books and getting started. Teams met every few weeks to report on progress, swap books, quiz each other, and encourage each other. On the last Monday of school, we dueled.

We held the contest on the last Monday of school during my class. Two teams were eliminated in Round 1, one in Round 2, and Round 3 was a face-off between the winning student team, and the teacher team you see above. We brought the whole team in for this (I gave my camera to a kid sitting on the first row…there are 100 kids behind her), and set up in the library during EO. Although I'm sorry to report that we lost, I am thrilled to report that the winning team was EVEN SHORT A PLAYER (she puked three times the night before) and they still beat us. It was a great game and a great experience! I plan to repeat it next year!

Book: The Family Romanov

The Family Romanov
by Candace Fleming

Length: 304 pages

Format: Hardback
Price: Free - checked out from the public library

How I heard about it: it's a William Allen White Award book (I'm taking a break from my list and reading some of the William Allen White Award nominees for Battle of the Books at school)

Basic Premise: Nicholas II of Russia didn't know it when he was inaugurated in 1894 as supreme Emperor of Russia, but he was the last Emperor Russia would see, bringing an end to the Romanov dynasty after 300 years. 

My Take: 10 out of 10 (scale here)
I COULDN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I started on a Friday afternoon and finished Saturday morning. It was incredible. When I was in middle school, a traveling exhibit called "The Treasures of the Czars"came to our town. My father applied and was selected to be a docent at the exhibit. I remember hearing him talk about his experiences, and then when my class took a field trip to see the exhibit, he took the day off from school (he NEVER took the day off from school) and accompanied us to the exhibit. I remember seeing a pink stone, and the woman said the stone was worth enough money for me and a friend to go to the movies every day for the rest of our lives! WHAAAAAAAT?

The story alternated between the story of the Romanovs, in their wealth and glory, and the peasant class in Russia - the "serfs" - who were little more than slaves of wealthy land owners. It was a brilliant stroke by Fleming to tell both stories simultaneously, because the meeting of the two - the oppressors and the oppressed - is where the crisis began. It was well-written and so interesting. I loved it!

Book: Courage for Beginners

Courage for Beginners
by Karen Harrington

Length: 320 pages

Format: Paperback
Price: Free - checked out from the school library

How I heard about it: it's a William Allen White Award book (I'm taking a break from my list and reading some of the William Allen White Award nominees for Battle of the Books at school)

Basic Premise: Mysti Murphy's best friend invites her to be part of a "social experiment," in which he tries to be "cool" by ignoring her. Ever the optimist, Mysti thinks it might be fun. But when the school year begins, the experiment begins to feel less and less like an experiment, leaving Mysti feeling hurt and rejected by the only person who ever accepted her. 

My Take: 6 out of 10 (scale here)
This book was fine. I took it after one of my girls finished, and when she handed it to me, she said, "I have a love/hate relationship with this book." I think that's an accurate portrayal. There are deep, poignant moments to the story, such as Mysti's mother's agorophobia and the effects it has on the family - particularly when her father suffers a roofing accident and is hospital bound - but then there are issues that seem to need resolving and are left up in the air. I did like that the ending revolved around Mysti embracing her "weirdness" and the weirdness of her family and understanding that they were who they were and nothing anyone said or did mattered. Overall it's a good book for my shelf.