Rockwood Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Students Face Off in District’s Eighth Annual Battle of the Books

Rockwood held its eighth annual Battle of the Books event at the Administrative Annex on April 9, as 152 students from all 19 Rockwood elementary schools competed.

Each school was represented by eight fourth- and fifth-grade students. The librarians at each school gave a preliminary test to see which students made the team.

“The event went very smoothly,” said Chesterfield Elementary librarian Steve Brim, who facilitated the event. “There was a lot of buzz in the room as the kids are always excited.”

The trivia-style contest pairs teams of students up against each other to test their knowledge about books designated as Mark Twain Award nominees. Students competed over eight rounds of 10 questions each, created by Westridge Elementary librarian Anne Reed to test the students' reading comprehension.

“She always keeps the students and librarians on their toes by changing some of the categories for a few of the rounds,” Brim said.

Brim said the goal is to get students more interested in reading literature and develop a love of reading.

“We always hope the students learn to work well as a team and always to enjoy the Mark Twain nominees,” he shared.

Students also had the opportunity to hear from Taryn Souders, author of the children's book The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle, and ask her questions about the writing process during a 30-minute conference call at the event. Each student received a copy of her newest book, Secrets of the Broken House, as well.

After eight rounds, the team from Chesterfield Elementary accumulated the most points and was declared the winner. The team claimed the coveted Battle of the Books wrestling belt for the third time. Last year, the team from Ellisville Elementary scored the most points.

“This couldn’t happen without the help of all 19 elementary librarians and the support of our coordinator, Margaret Sullivan,” Brim said.