See the joy of reading come alive as fourth-grade students from Clallam County schools take part in a trivia-style Battle of the Books competition at 6:30 pm on Friday, March 22, at the Port Angeles Main Library, 2210 S. Peabody St. The competition is the culmination of a school-year reading program.

A tradition since 2013, Battle of the Books is a collaborative project between the North Olympic Library System (NOLS) and schools around Clallam County. It is designed to encourage reading, expose kids to a wide range of genres, inspire teamwork, and help students build a home library. During the 2023-24 school year, 170 fourth-grade students at 12 schools participated in the program.

Each student received three books to keep, and NOLS youth services librarians visited classrooms monthly, November through January, to facilitate book discussions.

Although similar programs are hosted throughout the country, NOLS librarians select books specifically for the program in Clallam County. This school year, the students read “Chupacarter” by George Lopez, “Maizy Chen’s Last Chance” by Lisa Yee, and “My Aunt is a Monster” by Reimena Yee. The trivia competition on March 22, which the schools can choose to attend, will test students’ understanding of the characters, story, and concepts in these books.

Family members and library visitors can watch the competition – and see which school team walks away with the Battle of the Books trophy – in the main area of the library. All competing students must check-in with library staff in the Carver Meeting Room by 6:15 pm. Failure to check-in on time will result in an alternate student being used on the team.

The Battle of the Books program is made possible through generous support from the Port Angeles Friends of the Library, the Friends of Sequim Library, the Friends of the Forks Library, and Clallam Bay Friends of the Library.

For more information about this program, visit nols.org/BoB, call 360-417-8500, or send an email to youth@nols.org.