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 the Port Angeles Main Library of the North Olympic Library System (NOLS), on Friday, March 24, at 6:30 pm. The competition is the culmination of a school-year reading program.
A tradition on the North Olympic Peninsula since 2013, Battle of the Books is a collaborative project between 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 2022-23 school year, 225 fourth-grade students at 15 schools and three homeschools participated in the program. Each student received four books to keep, and NOLS youth services librarians visited classrooms monthly, November through February, to facilitate book discussions.
The schools in Port Angeles and Joyce that participated in the reading program are Crescent Elementary, Dry Creek Elementary, Franklin Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Pacific Northwest Discovery Academy (Pac West), Queen of Angels Catholic School, and Roosevelt Elementary. In Sequim, Five Acre School, Greywolf Elementary, Helen Haller Elementary, and Olympic Peninsula Academy participated. On the West End, Clallam Bay Elementary, Forks Elementary, and Quileute Tribal School participated.
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 “Stepping Stones,” by Lucy Knisley, “Power Forward,” by Hena Kahn, “Lena and the Burning of Greenwood,” by Nikki Shannon Smith, and “A Wish in the Dark,” by Christina Soontornvat. The trivia competition on March 24, 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 room of the library. All competing students must check-in with library staff in the Carver Meeting Room by 6:15pm. 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.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For more information about this program, visit nols.org/BoB, call 360.417.8500, or send an email to Youth@nols.org. The Port Angeles Main Library is located at 2210 South Peabody Street.
