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Battle of the Books 2023
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What is Battle?
Battle of the Books is a trivia-style reading competition and all Ferndale Upper Elementary 5th graders are invited to participate!
The youth librarians at FADL have hand-picked a diverse selection of 6 middle-grade books.
In teams of 2-4, participants will read the books and prepare for Battle day (Friday, April 14th), when they can test their Battle Book knowledge against their peers!
The winning team will be honored by having their names engraved on a plaque for all future FUEL students to see.
How Do I Sign Up?
FUEL 5th graders can sign up with their teachers.
Get with your friends to form a team, think up a creative team name, design costumes (optional), and get reading!
Prize for best team name will be announced at Battle in the spring.
Need a team? See your teacher for assistance.
Where do I get the books?
FADL has provided enough copies of the books to FUEL to provide each team with one copy of each book. Ask your teacher about getting the books for your team. Teams can keep the books when they are done.
If you need extra copies, there are copies at Ferndale Library that you can check out with your library card. Click on the book covers below to place a hold today. When available, eBook and eAudiobook copies can be borrowed from Libby and Hoopla.
Don't have a library card? As a Ferndale student or resident you are eligible for a Ferndale library card! Learn more about signing up for a library card.
What happens on the day of Battle?
Battle of the Books is Friday, April 14th. Things to know about the day of Battle:
- You will sit with your team
- Ferndale Youth Librarians will give each team blank answers sheets
- There will be two rounds of questions, with 10 questions each round, making for a total of 20 questions.
- If there is a tie, we will read tiebreaker questions.
- We will annouce the winning Battle team.
- We will annouce the team that won Best Team Name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does spelling count?
- Do your best.
- Spelling only counts if we have to do tiebreaker questions.
How long do you have to answer each question?
- 90 seconds
How does your team turn in their answer sheet?
- Designate a team member to hold up the answer sheet.
- Please stay seated as a volunteer/staff collects answer sheets.
How many points for each question?
- 1 point for the author's full name.
- 1 point for the book title.
Battle Books
"The Cardboard Kingdom" by Chad Sell
Welcome to a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes, and their ordinary block into cardboard kingdom. This is the summer when sixteen kids encounter knights and rogues, robots and monsters--and their own inner demons--on one last quest before school starts again.
In the Cardboard Kingdom, you can be anything you want to be--imagine that.
"Sea Sirens" by Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee
Trot, a Vietnamese American surfer girl, and Cap'n Bill, her cranky one-eyed cat, catch too big a wave and wipe out, sucked down into a magical underwater kingdom where an ancient deep-sea battle rages. The beautiful Sea Siren mermaids are under attack from the Serpent King and his slithery minions--and Trot and her feline become dangerously entangled in this war of tails and fins.
This beautiful graphic novel was inspired by The Sea Fairies, L. Frank Baum's underwater Wizard of Oz. It weaves Vietnamese mythology, fantastical ocean creatures, a deep-sea setting, quirky but sympathetic main characters, and fast-paced adventure into an imaginative, world-building story.
"Once Upon An Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices" edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed
A collection of short stories that showcases the most brilliant Muslim voices writing today, all about the most joyful holiday of the year: Eid Eid: The short, single-syllable word conjures up a variety of feelings and memories for Muslims. Maybe it's waking up to the sound of frying samosas or the comfort of bean pie, maybe it's the pleasure of putting on a new outfit for Eid prayers, or maybe it's the gift giving and holiday parties to come that day. Whatever it may be, for those who cherish this day of celebration, the emotional responses may be summed up in another short and sweet word: joy. The anthology will also include a poem, graphic-novel chapter, and spot illustrations.
"The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
Can a robot survive in the wilderness? When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a fierce storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants. As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her. From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.
"Rick" by Alex Gino
Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.
But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that ... understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones." (Source: goodreads)
"Rez Dogs" by Joseph Bruchac
Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation. She's there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There's a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.
Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family and community safe: she protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn't go outside to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian's family knows that he'll protect them too.