The Departure Bay Elementary students who racked up the most points during a Battle of the Books competition on May 20.
By Mandy Moraes, NLPS staff
Battle cries, drum rolls, pizza, and plenty of page-turning excitement filled the gym as Grade 6 and 7 students from across Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools gathered for this year’s Battle of the Books competition.
Students from Brechin, Georgia Avenue, Uplands Park, Chase River, Cinnabar Valley, Hammond Bay, Departure Bay, and McGirr Elementary Schools participated. They faced off in a trivia-style reading competition at the Dufferin site after months of preparation.
Since January, students had been reading and studying six novels: Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, Mortified by Kristy Jackson, Mascot by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell, Like a Hurricane by Jonathan Bécotte, and It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime for young readers.
The competition challenged students to answer detailed trivia questions about the books, with teams giddy with anticipation after every round.
At the close of the final round, students packed the gym while scores were calculated. Excitement was palpable as they awaited the results, lining up for pizza and singing along to pop songs.
Few songs bridged generations quite like Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’.
Departure Bay Elementary claimed first place, answering nearly every question correctly. They earned a $100 gift card to Treehouse Toys at Country Club Centre. Brechin Elementary placed second and earned an $80 gift card. McGirr Elementary placed third and received a $50 gift card.
But even deciding second place required one final showdown.
Since Brechin and McGirr tied, teacher-librarians from both schools stepped in for a best-two-out-of-three rock-paper-scissors tiebreaker. Students pounded out a dramatic drum roll as the competitors squared off. They looked more ready to arm wrestle than play a playground game. Cheers and squeals erupted from the Brechin team when their teacher-librarian won both rounds.
April Hilland, teacher-librarian at Departure Bay Elementary, said students voluntarily gave up recesses to practice trivia questions and discuss the books together.
She explained that teacher-librarians from across the district organize the annual event together. They select books, write questions, and gather prizes.
“We all bring four or five books. Then we kind of duke it out over which ones will make the final list,” she said.
Hilland said the reading list is carefully curated to include high-quality, recent literature.
Liz Laforest, teacher-librarian at Chase River Elementary, said organizers were also intentional. They wanted to include Canadian authors in the lineup.
For many participants, Battle of the Books became much more than a reading assignment.
The event has become so popular that younger siblings look forward to joining. They hear older brothers or sisters talk about their experiences in past competitions.
Students from the winning Departure Bay team said they felt proud that their hard work paid off.
However, they described the competition as extremely close.
“We thought Hammond Bay was going to beat us,” one student admitted.
Several students named Impossible Creatures, Mascot, and It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime as their favourite reads.
Some books also prompted deeper conversations and new perspectives.
One student said Mascot helped him better understand the different ways racism can appear in society.
“I never thought mascots could be racist,” he said.
Hilland said Trevor Noah’s memoir sparked important discussions as well.
“I think we also take for granted, because a lot of our families are biracial families,” she said. “Reading Trevor Noah was like, ‘excuse me, during apartheid?’ Multicultural families weren’t a thing. It was a crime. That was shocking.”
Students nodded in agreement.
One speaker at the event reminded participants that, regardless of placement, they should all feel proud to represent their schools in a unique way and to show strong sportsmanship throughout the competition.
While trophies, gift cards, and NLPS swag mattered, students agreed the competition made reading more enjoyable. Especially when books became part of a head-to-head battle.