Oregon Battle of the Books, OBOB, had its first meeting of the third, forth and fifth graders last Friday. Thirty kids (!) filled Sharron's room to meet each other and learn about OBOB.
Oregon Battle of the Books sounds like a square-off between various books, or a variation of prison dodge-ball -- or possibly (based on the logo) an event where teams of children pull books apart with ropes. In actuality, it's a way to get kids in grades 3 through 12 reading and excited about various books by participating in a trivia contest.
Each year, Oregon librarians choose a list of books to be the source material. This year's list for third through fifth graders includes "Shiloh," a story about a boy and how he might rescue a mistreated dog; "What is Ellis Island?" a book about immigration; and "The Shadows," a story about a girl's adventures in a strange old house.
In addition to the interesting stories, what our family likes about OBOB is that we read some fabulous books that we might not otherwise have discovered.
The kids form teams and compete to see who can answer the most questions about the books on the list. Questions take the form of "In what book?" and content questions. Sometimes the kids discover answers the judges missed.
We'll meet with the kids in November and again in December before the weekly practice sessions begin in January. In April, the kids who want to participate in the regional and state battles will take a written test that will help us select the four teammates (and alternates) who will compete against other Lane County teams.
The OBOB organizers arrange a grand event for our regional competition. In the past, over thirty teams from Lane County have gathered at Thurston High School. Students, families and friends come from all over and cheer the competitors on. Authors send video greetings, and there's lively entertainment before the contestants test each other's knowledge.
Regional competitions are typically held during the first or second Saturday of March. If our team makes it to the State level, we'll be at the Chemeketa Community College Campus, in Salem, Saturday, April 9, 2016.
Over 350 Oregon school teams are registered to compete in OBOB events around the state. Ridgeline's third, fourth, and fifth grade teams went to state two years ago, and placed in the top eight in the county last year.
You can find out more about the Oregon Battle of the Books here: http://oboblsta.pbworks.com/
