Earlier this year, we asked for Somers volunteers
from grades 4th through 9th to represent the Somers Library in the
Westchester Library System first annual Battle of the Books. The Battle of the Books is a book-based trivia
tournament for Westchester youth with the goal to promote a love of reading in
kids and teens, to expose them to titles and authors that they might not encounter
otherwise, to encourage them to think of their local public library as a
resource for entertainment and to inspire teamwork and good sportsmanship in an
atmosphere of friendly competition. The
battle teams are broken down to 2 levels:
one with teams from grades 4th-6th and the other
from grades 6th-9th.
Each team was expected to read five books, practice with their teammates
for the battle and then represent the Somers Library on October 18th
2014 at the Battle of the Books!
Early on, we knew we had some bright, eager,
enthusiastic kids willing to take this challenge! During the summer, each team
member was given copies of the 5 books for their team, which were generously
sponsored by the Friends of the Somers Library. We met as a large group during
the summer as well to get to know each other, to think up team names, to create
our distinctive tee shirts, and to participate in team building exercises.
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| The Somers Library Battle of the Books Team 2014 |
When the start of the new school year began,
each team split up to work as separate groups.
The Lightning Books, the 6th-9th grade team, and
the Lightning Books Jr, the 4th-6th grade team met 8
times during the 6 week period from the start of school to the battle date! On
the evening before the battle we had a Pizza Party and Pep Rally to show them
how much we appreciated their hard work.
On Saturday morning October 18th, our teams
showed up at 9:00am at the Scarsdale Middle School where they battled against
teams from other libraries in Westchester County. Both teams made a good showing! The Lightning Books were only eliminated
after a grueling third round and the Lightning Books Jr. were eliminated only
after a challenging fourth round!
Although the Ossining Library team won for the older bracket, and the
Bronxville team won for the younger bracket, the two teams from the Somers
Library are winners in our book!!! We could not have asked for a more
hardworking and dedicated group. The
Somers Library would like to thank the team members, as well as their parents,
volunteer coach Holly Rivlin, and the Friends of the Somers Library.
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| The Lightning Books Jr. |
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| The Lightning Books |
Lightning Books (6th-9th
team): Alex Chuang, Sara Chuang, Max
Caron, Jordan Cowie, Mackenzie Curcio, Matthew Kushner, Dominique Pugliese and
Sofia Toledo.
Lightning Books Jr. (4th-6th
team): Braeden Barry, Carleigh Carbonaro, Leigha Carnow, Hunter Rose Duffy, Keira Ferretti, Zoe Hopper, Maria Klimentova, Maggie Parsons, Hannah Roth and Jay Wilkinson
