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Battle of the Books

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Rules

Overview

There are 20 books on the Battle of the Books list. Each team should divide the books so each person is responsible for reading 10 or more books. The list is located in the Youth Services Department and on our website.

Registration

All teams should have two (2) members who are in 4th and 5th grades.

Students will organize their own team and decide the team name. The team may be all 4th graders or all 5th graders or a combination of 4th and 5th graders.

Parents are responsible for registering each team member during October - November. Sign up on our website.

Please be sure to consider all possible conflicts with your schedule at the time of registration. Please note that because four (4) families can be affected when one (1) person needs to change a battle, it is very important to adhere to the published battle schedule. When registering, please advise us of any particular day of the week the team will be unable to play due to prior commitments such as sports practices, games, piano lessons, vacations, etc. from January to the end of February.

Mandatory Parent / Student Meeting

All members and their parents will attend an orientation meeting on Monday, November 18, 2024 at 6pm or 7pm.

Schedule

A schedule of battles will be available by December 20th. Parents will receive a schedule via email or viewed on our website.

Each team will play four (4) battles within these dates: January until the end of February.

Battles will be held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, at 4:00pm, 4:20pm, 4:40pm and Wednesdays at 3:00pm, 3:20pm, 3:40pm, 4:00pm, 4:20pm and 4:40pm.

The Semi-final and Final battles scheduled for the end of February.

If one (1) team member is not available for any reason, the team may play with the remaining player.

If an entire team fails to show for their scheduled battle that team will not be awarded any points and the team that does show will be awarded an average score from their other three (3) battles.

We realize circumstances do arise and we will attempt to reschedule a battle if given one-week notice to Tammy Wulf at twulf@egvpl.org.

Poster Making / Teambuilding Event

A do-it-yourself (DIY) poster making event will take place at the Elk Grove Village Library. Teams can pick up poster making materials to create a team poster on Saturday, January 4, 2025 from 10am to 4pm. The Library will provide all the supplies.

Battles

Audio or video recording of battles is NOT allowed.

Each battle will consist of two (2) teams.

Each team should appoint a team captain to be the official spokesperson. The team can choose a different spokesperson for each battle. Only the spokesperson may give the answer to the question.

Each team is asked 10 questions pertaining to the 20 books read.

Team members may confer quietly over the answers.

Each team will have 20 seconds to answer.

If the spokesperson asks for to repeat the question, the time will be included in the response time.

Battles will be held Monday - Friday at 4pm, 4:20pm, 4:40pm with additional times on Wednesdays at 3pm, 3:20pm, and 3:40pm.

Scoring

5 points will be awarded for each initial question answered correctly.

1 point will be awarded for the correct last name of the author.

Team scores are updated weekly on our website.

Sample Questions

Question 1: In what book does Peter's younger brother knock out his two front teeth when he tries to fly?

Team 1 Spokesperson: "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume.

Question 2: In what book does a pig win a special prize at the County Fair?

Team 2, Spokesperson: "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White.

Note: These questions demonstrate an award of five (5) points for the correct title and one (1) point for the correct author for a total of six (6) points for each question.

Steal

If a team answers a regular question incorrectly or outside of the 20-second time frame, the same question will be asked to the opposite team and they will be given a chance to answer within 15 seconds. This is a steal. If the spokesperson asks for the question to be repeated, this time will be included in the response time.

3 points will be awarded if a team answers a "steal" question that the opposing team has missed. The bonus point for the author is not given.

Each team will be limited to three (3) earned steals in each battle. Totaling a maximum of nine (9) points.

Semi-Finals and Finals

When all teams have completed four (4) battles, the four (4) teams with the highest cumulative scores will compete in the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will participate in the final battle.

Semi-finals and finals are structured the same as regular battles.

If a tie occurs in the semi-final or final, the cumulative scores from the four (4) original battles will break the tie.

The Semi-Finals and Final are scheduled for the end of February.