Book Blast 2018 has sixth-graders put their reading skills to the test

MILLBROOK — This year’s battle of the books, aptly named Book Blast 2018, was both fun and instructive. The battle between sixth-graders from Stissing Mountain Library Media Specialist T.C. Morton’s class and Millbrook English Language Arts sixth-grade teacher Erin Hicks’ class took place on Friday, June 1, in the Millbrook Middle School Library.

Millbrook Library Media Specialist Katherine Morton, T.C.’s wife, was the facilitator. The teachers read a series of questions to their own team beginning with, “In which book… ” The student who hit the buzzer the quickest got to the chance to answer first.

Parents, staff and the other sixth-graders made up the audience.

The books used were: “Bridge to Terabithia,” by Kathrine Patterson; “Where the Red Fern Grows,” by Wilson Pawlie; “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” by Garth Stein; and “Because of Winn Dixie,” by Kate DeCamillo.

The Battle of the Books has been in place for three years, but it has been a battle among Millbrook Middle School students only. This is the first year that two school districts have battled, and next year the plan is to hold the contest in the Pine Plains Central School District.

Pine Plains took an early lead, though Millbrook soon caught up to close the gap. But in the end, Pine Plains won the battle, 23-13.

“I was excited to expand our sixth-grade Battle of the Books to include the battle with another district,” said Kathy. “Watching the excitement build up as students read and engaged in conversations about literature is beyond words. To see them quizzing each other and testing their knowledge about the books gives me a sense of satisfaction.

“I’m proud to be a means for our readers to share their talents in a public setting and among their peers,” she added. “These are sometimes the kids who don’t receive sports and music accolades, so giving them this sense of accomplishment and public recognition is so important.””

Millbrook’s Hicks was also pleased, even though her team lost. 

“Battle of the Books encourages sixth graders to read multiple books for incentive-based reading as part of a team,” she said. “This would not be possible without Joan Frenzel from the Millbrook Public Library. She helped us collect multiple copies from the Mid-Hudson Library System, and also Mr. and Mrs. Morton, media specialists from Pine Plains and Millbrook Middle School. It was a wonderful experience collaborating with Pine Plains and we look forward to making the battle annual.”

Although the Pine Plains team was one student short, it was confident, and its members responded quickly to each question put out by their leader.

T.C., meanwhile, was excited about the win and rejoiced with his students when they collected their winning Battle of the Books Cup. 

“Watching our kids reading and showing their pride with a competitive spirit reminded me that we need more interscholastic activities, activities like this, because more and more reading is being perceived by kids as boring,” he said. 

“Sadly, the expedient distraction of video games and social media has kicked the habit of reading to the curb for a lot of our students,” T.C. added. “This event demonstrated that if a reading culture  has a chance of making a comeback it needs to be sustained by the kids who get it and act as role models by participating in events like this. As educators, we can do our best to fan the flames and keep it going.”