Over 450 students to face 'Battle of the Books'

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - On Monday, SUNY Adirondack will be the battleground for a battle not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. 18 school districts will come together and face off on campus in the 2023 Battle of the Books.

On Monday, March 13, a total of 475 students across 65 teams in grades 3-6 will square off to show their knowledge of 10 books, read cover-to-cover to memorize details of their plots, characters, and even authors. The books span fiction and nonfiction.

Five students at a time will have 20 seconds to answer a question with the title and author of the book it connects to, with 31 questions per round. Questions will be asked by volunteer readers, who make all decisions on answers and challenges. Competitions are set up by grade level, in a bracket system that determines first-, second- and third-place winners.

“After two years of virtual events, we are happy to be back in-person. The competition engages students, encourages them to choose books they might not read on their own, and opens up a whole new side of reading for them,” said WSWHE BOCES School Library System Coordinator Kerrie Burch. “Students who participate love it. They make new friends and connections with their peers.”

WSWHE BOCES is the event's organizing body, bringing in schools from across the five counties it works with. Winning teams from all of those districts will take home commemorative banners for their schools to display with pride.

The Battle of the Books begins at 8:45 a.m. on Monday at SUNY Adirondack's Bryan Hall at Scoville Learning Center. Round 1 kicks off with grade 3, with a schedule climbing through the grades and ending with 6th grade at 1:15 p.m.