Battle of the Books

Team of 2 teachers and 5 students on stage holding Honeycutt sign
  • Head Coach:  Alison Perry, Media Coordinator

    Co-Coach:  Catherine Thompkins, 5th grade teacher

    Elementary Battle of the Books is a county wide reading competition for students in grades 4 and 5.  Approximately fifteen books are selected each year to be featured in the competition.  Each team may have 12 team members.  Throughout the year team members read and become experts on the fifteen selected books.  Our team meets after school at least once per week to read, prepare, and practice for competition.  Candidates for the team need to be avid readers who are willing to make a commitment to read the selected books, multiple times.  During the competition, questions are posed to a team of 4-6 members and conferring occurs before the answer is given.  This is truly a team effort.  Approximately 40 teams compete in 5 days of preliminary rounds.  The top 2 finishers each day compete in the county finals.  BOB permission forms are available in the Media Center.  The first meeting will be in September, after school.  Your child must have prompt and reliable transportation home at the end of each practice time.

  •  Cover of book Stand up, Yumi Chung

    Stand up, Yumi Chung!

    by Jessica Kim Year Published: 2020 Realistic Fiction

    On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, and perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her "Yu-MEAT" because she smells like her family's Korean barbeque restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special.

    Instead of spending the summer studying her favorite comedians, Yumi is enrolled in test-prep tutoring to qualify for a private school scholarship, which will help in a time of hardship at the restaurant.   One day after class, Yumi stumbles on an opportunity that will change her life: a comedy camp for kids taught by one of her favorite YouTube stars.  The only problem is that the instructor and all the students think she's a girl named Kay Nakamura-and Yumi doesn't correct them.

    As this case of mistaken identity unravels, Yumi must decide to stand up and reveal the truth or risk losing her dreams and disappointing everyone she cares about.

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  •  Cover of book Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe

    Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe

    by Jo Watson Hackl Year Published: 2018 Fiction

    All her life, Cricket's mama has told her stories about a secret room painted by a mysterious artist.  Now Mama's run off, and Cricket thinks the room might be the answer to getting her to come back.  If it exists.  And if she can find it.

    Cricket's only clue is a coin from a grown-over ghost town.

    So with her daddy's old guidebook and a coat full of snacks stolen from the Cash 'n' Carry, Cricket runs away to find the room.  Surviving alone in the woods isn't easy.  While Cricket camps out in an old tree house and looks for clues, she meets the last resident of the ghost town, encounters a slobbery, poetry-loving dog (who just might hold a key to part of the puzzle), and discovers that sometimes you have to get a little lost...to really find your way.

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  •  Cover of Sal and Gabi break the universe

    Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

    by Carlos Hernandez Year Published: 2019 Adventure

    When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn't under the best of circumstances.  Sal is the principal's office for the third time in three days, and it's still the first week of school.  Gabi, student council president and the editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal.  She is determined to prove that, somehow, Sal planted a raw chicken in Yasmany's locker, even though noone saw him do it and the bloody poultry has since mysteriously disappeared.

    Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent noone would guess...except maybe Gabi, who's sharp eyes never miss a trick.  When Gabi learns that he's capable of conjuring things much bigger than a chicken-including his dead mother-and she takes it all in stride, Sal knows that she is someone he can work with.  There's only one slight problem: Their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk.

    A sassy entropy sweeper, a documentary about wedgies, a principal who wears a venetian bauta mask, and platefuls of Cuban food are just some of the delights that await in this mind-blowing novel gift-wrapped in love and laughter.

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  •  cover of Homer P. Figg book

    The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

    by Rodman Philbrick Year Published: 2009 Historical Comedy

    In this award-winning page-turner, twelve-year-old orphan Homer runs away from Pine Swamp, Maine, to find his older brother who has been sold into the Union Army.  With laugh-aloud humor, Homer outwits and outruns a colorful assortment of Civil War-era thieves, scallywags, and spies as he makes his way south, following clues that finally lead him to Gettysburg.  Even through a hail of gunfire, Homer never loses heart--but will he find his brother? Or will it be too late?

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  •  cover of league of seven book

    The League of Seven

    by Alan Gratz Year Published: 2014 Adventure Fiction

    Young Archie Dent knows there really are monsters in the world.  His parents are members of the secret Septemberist Society, whose job it is to protect humanity from hideous giants called the Mangleborn.  Trapped in underground prisons for a thousand years, the monsters have been all but forgotten- until now.

    Evil genius Thomas Alva Edison and his experiments in the forbidden science of lekricity have awakened Malacar Ahasherat, the Swarm Queen, in the swamps of Florida.

    When the monster brainwashes Archie's parents and the rest of the Septemberists, it is up to Archie and his loyal Tiktok servant, Mr. Rivets, to assemble a team of seven young heroes to save the world: The League of Seven.

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  • The Last Musketeer

    by Stuary Gibbs Year Published: 2011 Adventure

    On the first day of a family trip to Paris, Greg Rich's parents disappear.  They're not just missing from the century.

    So Greg does what any other fourteen-year-old would do: He travels through time to rescue them.

    Greg soon finds out that his family history is tied to the legendary Three Musketeers.  But when he meets them, they're kids his age, and they'll only live long enough to become true heroes if he can save them.  To rescue his parents, Greg must assume the identity of a young Musketeer in training and unite Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan--but a powerful enemy is doing everything possible to stop him from succeeding.

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  • The Last Last-Day-Of-Summer

    by Lamar Giles Year Published: 2019 Fantasy

    Otto and Sheed Alston are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction.  As summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have.  That is, until a mysterious man named Mr. Flux appears with a camera that literally freezes time.  

    Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put aside their differences to save their town-and each other.

    The legendary Alston boys have always lived in the moment, but if they don't do something fast, they be living this moment forever.

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  • The Key to Extraordinary

    by Natalie Lloyd Year Published: 2016 Fantasy

    Dream big.

    Be extraordinary.

    Everyone in Emma's family is special.  Her ancestors include revolutionary spies, brilliant scientists, and famous country music singers-every single one of which learned of their extraordinary destiny through a dream.  

    For Emma, her own Destiny Dream can't come soon enough.  Right before her mother died, Emma promised that she'd do whatever it took to fulfull her destiny, and she doesn't want to let her mother down.

    But what Emma's dream finally arrives, it points her toward an impossible task-finding a legendary treasure that is supposedly hidden near her town's historic cemetery.  If Emma fails, she'll let down generations of her extraordinary ancestors...including her own mother.  But how can she find something that's been missing for centuries and might be protected by a mysterious singing ghost?

    With her signature blend of lyrical writing, quirky humor, and a cast of unforgettable small-town characters, Natalie Lloyd's The Key to Extraordinary doesn't just tug on your heart strings, it strums them-cementing her status as one of the most original voices writing for children today.  

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  • The Great Treehouse War

    by Lisa Graff Year Published: 2017

    Ten kids, a bunch of angry parents, and one great war.

    When Winnie's parents get divorced, her frustration at their constant fighting starts to grow until it's as big as a tree itself.  By the end of fifth grade, she decides the only way to change things is to barricade herself in her treehouse until her parents come to their senses--and her friends decide to join her.  It's kids versus grown-ups, and no one wants to back down first.  But with ten kids in one treehouse, all with their own demands, Winnie discovers that things can get complicated pretty fast!

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  • Front Desk

    by Kellly Yang Year Published: 2018 Realistic Fiction

    Mia Tang has lots of secrets.

    Number 1:  She lives in a motel, not a big house.  

    Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.

    Number 2:  Her parents hide immigrants.

    And if the meant motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.

    Number 3:  She wants to be a writer.

    But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?

    It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year.  Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?

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  • Fish in a Tree

    by Lynday Mullaly Hunt Year Published: 2015 Realistic Fiction

    Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people.  Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She's tired of being called "slow" and "loser," but she's afraid to ask for help; after all, she thinks, how can you cure dumb?

    However, Ally's newest teacher sees the bright, creative kid beneath the troublemaker and helps to shine a light on her gifts.  Meanwhile, Ally get to know tell-it-like-it-is Keisha and science- and facts-obsessed Albert, who also break the mold.  The three stand together against others who are not so kind.

    As the outsiders begin to fit in, surprising things begin to happen in Ally's classroom that show her there's a lot more to her--and to everyone--than a label, and that great minds don't always think alike.

    The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who's ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn't fit in.

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  • Crenshaw

    by Katherine Applegate Year Published: 2015

    Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times.  There's no more money for rent.  And not much for food, either.  His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan again.  Crenshaw is a cat.  He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary.  He has come back into Jackson's life to help him.  But is an imaginary enough to save this family from losing everything?  Beloved author Katherine Applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary.

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  • Clean Getaway

    by Nic Stone Year Published: 2020

    For the life of him, William "Scoob" Lamar can't seem to stay out of trouble- and now the run-ins at school have led to lockdown at home.  So when G-Ma, Scoob's favorite person on Earth, asks him to go on an impromptu roadtrip, he's in the RV faster than he can say FREEDOM.  With G-Ma's old maps and a strange pamphlet called The Travelers' Green Book at their side, the pair takes off on a journey down G-Ma's memory lane.  But adventure quickly turns to uncertainty: G-Ma keeps changing the license plate, dodging Scoob's questions, and refusing to check Dad's voicemails.  And the farther they go, the more Scoob realizes that the world hasn't always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren't always what they seem-G-Ma included.  Take a trip with New York Times bestselling Nic Stone in this instant classic.

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  • A Place at the Table

    by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan Year Published: 2020

    Sara and Elizabeth cannot be more different.  Sara doesn't know anyone in their huge middle school, which is completely unlike the small Islamic academy she's gone to her entire life.  Elizabeth has her own problems:  her best friend is ditching her for the sixth grade cupcake queen, and her British mother is sad all the time.  When the two are thrown together in an afterschool cooking class, they don't exactly hit it off.  But they find that they make good partners and even team up to win a spot on a local food show by creating an amazing, mouth-watering cross-cultural dish together.  Becoming more than cooking companions is another story, though.  Can they overcome their differences and learn to trust each other enough to become true friends?  Or are some things just not meant to be?  This important, timely, and beautifully explores themes of food, friendship, family, and what it means to belong.

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  • A Nest for Celeste

    by Henry Cole Year Published: 2010

    Celeste is a mouse who is looking for a home.  Is it nestled in the toe of a warm boot?  In the shirt pocket of Celeste's new friend Joseph, who is Audubon's apprentice?  Or is home the place deep inside Celeste's heart, where friendships live?

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