Battle of the Books 2015

Earlier this year, we asked for Somers volunteers from grades 4^th through 9th to represent the Somers Library in the Westchester Library System Second 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 4^th-6^th and the other from grades 6^th-9^th.  Each team was expected to read five books, practice with their teammates for the battle and then represent the Somers Library on October 17^th 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, but when the start of the new school year began, each team split up to work as separate groups.  Since September, the both teams met at least 9 times to review and practice for battle day! 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 17^th, our teams showed up at 9:00 am at the Ossining High School where they battled against teams from other libraries in Westchester County.  Both teams made a good showing!  The Tusker Readers scored the highest point score and qualified for the semifinal round.  The Tusker Readers, Jr.fought valiantly and made a great showing!  Although the Briarcliff Manor team won for the older bracket, and the Bedford 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, and volunteer coach Holly Rivlin. Additionally, the Somers Library would like to thank all the volunteer readers & question makers especially Diane Heyert, Ruth Rosenberg, and Mary Coletti.  We would like to also thank the volunteers who showed up for the Somers Library on a beautiful Saturday to help at the battle:  Pat and Barlow Humphreys, Ruth Rosenberg, and Jane Rothschild. Our library director, Andrew Farber was at the battle as well to act as the master score keeper for the entire event. And last but not least, thank you to the Friends of the Somers Library for their financial support.

We congratulate both the teams on their amazing dedication and teamwork:

The Somers Tusker Readers, the 6^th-9^th grade team: Leigha Carnow, Maria Klimentova, Aine Hoekstra, Jordan Han, Darius Faizani, Hannah Roth, Max Caron, Jordan Cowie, Matthew Kushner, and Marguerite Pugliese.  And assistant coaches Keira Ferretti and Dominique Pugliese.

The Somers Tusker Reader, Jr, the 4^th-6^th grade team: Sean Kim, Jacob Cowie, Julia Wilkinson, Jay Wilkinson, Connor Entenberg, Madeline Jen, Amanda Jen, Jaewon Yeo, Nicholas Maurantonio, Sebastian Wissa