Battle of the Books

Who can participate? 4 th -5 th grade students Form teams of 4-6 students from the same grade level Everyone who wants to participate can

What’s it all about? It’s like a book club for students who love to read and discuss books Teams read from a list of 20 great books Teams meet often to share impressions, compare notes and master the details Teams compete in the spring

How do I sign up? Take home a registration form and talk it over with your parents (permission required) Talk to your friends - round up a team Recruit an adult team manager or coach to help you stay organized Turn in your team forms to Ms. Hodgson by September 30 th

2012 Champions: The Book Worms

What books are on the list?

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

America Is Under Attack* by Don Brown On the tenth anniversary of the day terrorism came to the United States, the author revisits the events that changed our country forever. The vivid details are laid out in facts and illustrations at the 3 sites of attack: the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It captures the enormity of the events, death and some of the miraculous survival stories. (*WAW 3-5 Nominee)

Archer’s Quest by Linda Sue Park Kevin is doing his homework when an arrow comes out of nowhere and pins his baseball cap to the wall. The man who shot the arrow claims he fell off a tiger.and wound up in Kevin's room. Kevin realizes that the man, who calls himself Great Archer, is no ordinary burglar, but a traveler from far away in both space and time.

Breaking Stalin’s Nose* By Eugene Yelchin Sasha Zaichik can’t wait for tomorrow when he finally gets to join The Young Pioneers and pledge his devotion to Comrade Stalin and the Communist Party. But when tomorrow comes, everything seems to go awry. Worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, has been taken from their apartment and arrested during the night. (*WAW 3-5 Nominee)

Bothers In Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams Eight-year-old Garang loses his parents during a civil war in Sudan. Somehow, he finds the inner strength to help lead other orphaned boys hundreds of miles on foot, first to Ethiopia, then Kenya seeking safety. Many years later they came to the United States to start a new life.

Chancey of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau After being abandoned, Chancey, an albino Appaloosa horse, finds a new home with Claire who needs him as much as he needs her. As his eyesight deteriorates, he and Claire forge a new relationship as a therapeutic team.

Close To Famous* By Joan Bauer 12-year-old Foster is a great baker and plans to have her own TV show one day like her hero, Sonny Kroll. When she and her mom land in the tiny town of Culpepper after a quick escape from trouble, her cupcakes become pretty popular around town. But what will happen when her biggest secret comes out? (*WAW 3-5 Nominee)

Cracker, the Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb- sniffing dog. Told in part through the uncanny point of view of a German shepherd, Cracker! is an action-packed glimpse into the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a dog and her handler.

Eleven by Patricia Rilley Giff When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings back memories from his past along with many questions. When he is paired up with a new friend for a school project, she helps him find the answers to the mysteries in his own life.

Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy by Andrea Warren Long was an Amerasian boy orphaned during the Vietnam War and when his grandmother could no longer care for him, he left Saigon as part of Operation Babylift in At the age of 9, an American family in Ohio adopted him. This is Long’s journey through war, poverty, different families, cultures and life experiences.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford A young Labrador Retriever, an old Bull Terrier and a Siamese cat undertake a 250-mile trek through the Canadian wilderness in order to return to their home.

Julia’s Kitchen by Brenda Ferber When her mother and younger sister are killed in a house fire, eleven-year- old Cara struggles to find a way to deal with her emotions and to reach out to her grieving father.

Larger-Than-Life Lara by Dandi Daley Mackall Using the writing techniques she has learned in school, fourth-grader Laney relates how an obese girl new to the class changes the lives of those around her, despite being bullied by her peers.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house, the two new friends work together to help recover a Durer drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen- year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty Birney Eben McAllister searches his small town to see if he can find anything comparable to the real Seven Wonders of the World.

The Summer of Hammers and Angels* bu Shannan Wiersbitzky Delia's summer is getting off to a terrible start. First, an inspector threatens to condemn their house. Then lightning strikes, literally, and Mama ends up in the hospital. Over the course of a challenging summer, she learns a lot about the importance of prayer, friendship and hard work. (*WAW 3-5 Nominee)

Swindle by Gordon Korman After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palomino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back. He plans to use the money to help his father start a new business. First Book in the “Man With The Plan” series.

True (…Sort of)* by Katherine Hannigan True: Delly Pattison likes surpresents (presents that are a surprise). And she could sure use one because for most of her eleven years, Delly has been in trouble without really knowing why. The day Ferris Boyd comes to town changes everything for Delly, her little brother RB, and the local basketball Whiz, Brud Kinney. (*WAW 3-5 Nominee)

Battle of the Books