Battle of the Books

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Battle of the Books
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Whats it all about?

• Its a reading program for students who love to
  read and discuss books.
• Teams read books from a pre-selected list of 20
  titles. Many of the books are William Allen White
  nominees.
• Teams meet often to practice, compare notes and
  master the details.
• Teams compete starting at the end of January.
  Questions will be given orally to teams in
  battle. The team who can answer the most
  questions correctly will be the champions.

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Who can participate?

• 4 th and 5th grade students
• Form teams of 4-6 students from the same grade
  level. (You can request team members or leave
  it to me to place you.)
• Everyone who wants to participate
  can do so.

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How do I sign up?

• Take home a registration packet and talk it over
  with your parents (permission required)
• Talk to your friends - round up a team
• Recruit an adult facilitator to help you stay
  organized.
• Turn in your team forms to Mrs. Fiedler by
  September 21st.

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• Students joining this program are required to
  read novels independently at home to help their
  team be successful for the battles in the spring.
  We are asking students that sign up to make a
  commitment to finish the entire program if the
  chose to join.

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What books are on the list?
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Hachiko Waitsby Leslea Newman

• Professor Ueno's loyal dog, Hachiko, waits for
  him at the train station every afternoon, and
  even after the professor has a fatal heart attack
  while at work, Hachiko faithfully continues to
  await his return until the day the dog dies.
  Based on a true story.

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Through My Eyesby Ruby Bridges

• Ruby Bridges recounts the story of her
  involvement, as a six-year-old, in the
  integration of her school in New Orleans in 1960.
  

9
Love That Dogby Sharon Creech

• A young student, who comes to love poetry through
  a personal understanding of what different famous
  poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing
  his own inspired poem.

10
The Secret Schoolby Avi

• In 1925, fourteen-year-old Ida Bidson secretly
  takes over as the teacher when the one-room
  schoolhouse in her remote Colorado area closes
  unexpectedly.

11
Frindleby Andrew Clements

• When he decides to turn his fifth-grade teacher's
  love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick
  Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of
  events that quickly moves beyond his control.

12
Loserby Jerry Spinelli

• Even though his classmates from first grade on
  have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel
  Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support
  of his loving family do not allow him to feel
  that way about himself.

13
Dovey Coeby Frances ORoark Dowell

• Accused of murder in her North Carolina mountain
  town in 1928, Dovey Coe, a stronged-willed
  twelve-year-old girl, comes to a new
  understanding of others, including her deaf
  brother, as she attempts to clear her name.

14
The Man Who Loved Clownsby June Rae Wood

• Thirteen-year-old Delrita, whose unhappy life has
  caused her to hide from the world, loves her
  uncle Punky but sometimes feels ashamed of his
  behavior because he has Down syndrome.

15
The Black Stallionby Walter Farley

• The story of the understanding and love between a
  boy and a magnificent wild horse and the
  adventures and dangers they shared.

16
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Funby
Katherine Hannigan

• In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B. spends happy
  hours being home-schooled and playing in her
  family's apple orchard, until her mother begins
  treatment for cancer and her parents must sell
  part of the orchard and send her to public
  school.

17
Incredible Journeyby Sheila Burnford

• A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young
  Labrador retriever travel together 250 miles
  through the Canadian wilderness to find their
  family.

18
Help! Im a Prisoner in the Libraryby Eth
Clifford

• Two girls spend an adventurous night trapped
  inside the public library during a terrible
  blizzard.

19
Jim Thorpes Bright Pathby Joseph Bruchac

• A biography of Native American athlete Jim
  Thorpe, focusing on how his boyhood education set
  the stage for his athletic achievements which
  gained him international fame and Olympic gold
  medals.

20
No Dogs Allowedby

• Twelve-year-old Kristina, still struggling to
  come to terms with the death of her beloved
  horse, finds it difficult to accept the new dog
  she receives for her birthday.

21
Time for Andrew A Ghost Storyby Mary Downing
Hahn

• When he goes to spend the summer with his
  great-aunt in the family's old house,
  eleven-year-old Drew is drawn eighty years into
  the past to trade places with his
  great-great-uncle who is dying of diphtheria.

22
Chancey of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau

• After being abandoned, Chancey, an albino
  Appaloosa horse, finds a new home with Claire who
  needs him as much as he needs her, but as his
  eyesight deteriorates, he and Claire start anew
  as a therapeutic team.

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Masterpiece by Elise Broach   Kelly Murphy

• After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing
  as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human
  with whom he shares a house, the two new friends
  work together to help recover a Durer drawing
  stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff

• When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old
  newspaper clipping just before his eleventh
  birthday, it brings forth memories from his past,
  and, with the help of a new friend at school and
  the castle they are building for a school
  project, his questions are eventually answered.

25
Swindle by Gordon Korman

• After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino
  cons him out of a valuable baseball card,
  sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of
  misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded
  store and steal the card back, planning to use
  the money to finance his father's failing
  invention, the SmartPick fruit picker.

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The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great by
Gerald Morris   Aaron Renier

• Relates tales of Sir Lancelot, the bravest knight
  in King Arthur's court

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Chancey of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau

• After being abandoned, Chancey, an albino
  Appaloosa horse, finds a new home with Claire who
  needs him as much as he needs her, but as his
  eyesight deteriorates, he and Claire start anew
  as a therapeutic team.

28
Masterpiece by Elise Broach   Kelly Murphy

• After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing
  as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human
  with whom he shares a house, the two new friends
  work together to help recover a Durer drawing
  stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

29
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff

• When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old
  newspaper clipping just before his eleventh
  birthday, it brings forth memories from his past,
  and, with the help of a new friend at school and
  the castle they are building for a school
  project, his questions are eventually answered.

30
Swindle by Gordon Korman

• After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino
  cons him out of a valuable baseball card,
  sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of
  misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded
  store and steal the card back, planning to use
  the money to finance his father's failing
  invention, the SmartPick fruit picker.