Battle of the Books is back!

What is Battle of the Books?

Battle of the Books is a trivia-styled reading competion 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, 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!  Need a team? See your teacher for assistance.

How do I get the Battle Books?

FADL has provided enough copies of the books to FUEL to provide each team with a copy of each book.  Teams can keep the books when they are done.  If you need extra copies, you can speak to your FADL staff to get a copy put on hold for you.

  

Battle of the Books is scheduled for TBD. For more info, click here. 

  

Introducing: Your 2023 Battle Books!

American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar

As the only Indian American kid in her small town, Lekha Divekar feels like she has two versions of herself: Home Lekha, who loves watching Bollywood movies and eating Indian food, and School Lekha, who pins her hair over her bindi birthmark and avoids confrontation at all costs, especially when someone teases her for being Indian. 

When a girl Lekha’s age moves in across the street, Lekha is excited to hear that her name is Avantika and she’s Desi, too! Finally, there will be someone else around who gets it. To Lekha’s surprise, Avantika does not feel the same way as Lekha about having two separate lives or about the bullying at school. Avantika doesn’t take the bullying quietly. And she proudly displays her culture no matter where she is: at home or at school.

When a racist incident rocks Lekha’s community, Lekha realizes she must make a choice: continue to remain silent or find her voice before it’s too late.  (From back cover)

  

  

Brown Girl Dreaming  by Jacqueline Woodson

Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson shares her childhood growing up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s.  Touching and powerful, her story is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimps into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. (From back cover)

  

  

  

  

  

  

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge—with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. (From back cover)

  

  

  

  

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him? (From back cover)

  

  

  

  

  

Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Le

Thirteen-year-old Tai Pham lives in the apartment above his grandmother's store, where his bedroom is crammed with sketchpads and comic books. But not even his most imaginative drawings could compare to the colorful adventure he's about to embark on.

When Tai inherits his grandmother's jade ring, he soon finds out it's more than just a piece of jewelry. Suddenly he's inducted into a group of space cops known as the Green Lanterns. He is about to learn that being a superhero takes more than just a ring. Does Tai have the willpower and the imagination to uphold his ba's legacy. (From back cover)

  

  

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day.

This intimate, important, and unforgettable graphic novel is about family, home, and the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to New York Times bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story and went on to help so many other refugees.

  

Still have questions?  Email jordan@fadl.org