The Battle of the Books is a statewide Alaskan reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Alaska Association of School Librarians. The goals of the program are to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, broaden reading interests, increase reading comprehension and promote academic excellence.
Lists of books are chosen and questions are written for all grade levels. Students read the books, discuss them, quiz each other on the contents, and then compete in teams of not more than three students to correctly answer questions based on the books in a "quiz show" format. Questions begin with the words "In which book...." so that the answer will always be a title and author. Teams may participate at the school, district and state levels of competition.
Recommended titles for each level are compiled each year by a committee of librarians and teachers and are based on specific program criteria. An attempt is made to vary the titles chosen according to genre and difficulty so that readers may encounter a broad range of books. At the annual Alaska Library Association conference, the tentative booklist is created and school librarians choose books from the list for which they will read and write questions. The booklists are finalized in August and become the official lists at that time. Participating schools and public libraries purchase the books for students to borrow and read.
The statewide program involves a cooperative effort by many groups. It is popular with students and has provided new opportunities for academic competition. Battle of the Books has also proven effective in its specified purpose--to stimulate an interest in reading. To find out more about this successful reading incentive program, go to http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/bbhome.html
Email Ms. Reyes if you are interested in participating the JDHS Battle of the Books Program!
2018-2019 READING LIST
All American Boys BY Jason Reynolds
Caraval BY Stephanie Garber
Evil Librarian BY Michelle Knudsen
Farewell to Manzanar BY Jeanne Houston
Leaving BY Tara Altebrando
March Book One BY John Lewis
Ready Player One BY Ernest Cline
Scythe BY Neal Shusterman
Two Old Women BY Velma Wallis
The Walk On BY John Feinstein
2017-2018 READING LIST
1984 By George Orwell
Everything, Everything By Nichola Yoon
Eye of Minds By James Dashner
Hidden Figures By Margot Lee Shetterly
Monument 14 By Emmy Laybourne
Red Queen By Victoria Aveyard
Smell of Other People’s Houses By Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
These Shallow Graves By Jennifer Donnelly
Ties that Bind, Ties that Break By Lensey Namioka
Zero Day By Jan Gangsei
2016-17 High School List of Battle Books
2015-2016 BofB reading list
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz
Caged Graves by Dianne Salerni
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
George Washington’s Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Living by Matt Dela Pena
Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Peak by Roland Smith
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Submerged by Dani Pettrey
2014-2015 READING LIST
