Fourth-grade students throughout Clallam County are invited to participate in Battle of the Books for the 2022-23 school year. Battle of the Books is a collaborative project between the North Olympic Library System (NOLS) and schools in Clallam County, including homeschool programs.

From November through February, participants will read four books and Library staff will facilitate book discussions with classrooms. In March, participants can test their memory at a fun event featuring trivia questions about the books. Students can visit www.nols.org/BoB to find discussion questions, activities, title read-alikes, and watch book talks to help expand their experience.

Student applications are available from fourth-grade teachers and are due Wednesday, November 2. Homeschool programs can email youth@nols.org to help organize a discussion group. Participants will receive free copies of the four books to keep.

Participants will read the following titles during the Battle of the Books program:

• November: “Stepping Stones” by Lucy Knisley

• December: “Power Forward” by Hena Khan

• January: “Lena and the Burning of Greenwood: A Tulsa Race Massacre Survival Story” by Nikki Shannon Smith

• February: “A Wish in the Dark” by Christina Soontornvat

The final trivia competition will be at the Port Angeles Main Library on Friday, March 24, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

About Battle of the Books

An annual tradition on the Olympic Peninsula since 2013, Battle of the Books is designed to encourage reading, expose kids to a wide range of genres, inspire teamwork, and to help students build a home library. Based on several other Battle of the Books competitions offered regionally and throughout the country, NOLS librarians select books specifically for the program in Clallam County.

For additional information, call 360-417-8500, send an email to youth@nols.org, or visit www.nols.org/BoB. This program is generously supported in part by local Friends of the Library groups.