Battle of the Books Debuts at Ranney

Fifth and sixth grade students enjoyed a friendly reading competition at Ranney’s First Annual Battle of the Books battle on Friday, May 21 in the Searle Library.

The event is modeled after America’s Battle of the Books (ABB), a nationwide voluntary reading incentive program where students read a wide variety of books and come together to demonstrate their abilities and test their knowledge of the books they have read. The program’s mission is to nourish the hearts and minds of children with excellent literature and help them develop their potential through the discovery of reading.

This year’s participants met every Monday during the academic year to read and discuss a host of book titles that ranged from E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan to Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin’s Three Cups of Tea. According to Dana Fischer, who along with fellow Lower School librarian Dawn Cicco, coordinated this year’s event and served as Battle instructors, the program is an exciting way to “promote a love and appreciation for learning and literature.”

The structure and format of the inaugural competition was styled after the popular television show Jeopardy with students answering questions in specific categories and dollar amounts. Julianna Poupard, Taylor Gill, Ariella Silverstein and Teddy Montalbano comprised Team A and Caroline Billyard, Tessa Payer, Kevin Xia and Aidan Denver-Moore made up Team B. Fifth grade teachers Lori Ketcham and Meg Moruzzi served as scorekeepers for this year’s program.

Despite solid showings by both teams, Team B prevailed as this year’s Battle of the Books champion. All team members received a Barnes and Noble gift card for their participation and Team B members also received a bookmark for their outstanding winning performance.

For additional information on all Ranney School news, please contact the Communications Department at communications@ranneyschool.org.