Carroll County Youths Face Off in a Battle of the Books

Sykesville Middle School, New Windsor Middle and Northwest Middle School will compete in a Battle of the Books at Francis Scott Key High School this Friday, April 26 from 6-8 p.m.

Each school has several teams participating. In preparation, students have read 20 Black-eyed Susan nominees and are getting ready to answer questions about those titles. 

According to a news release, students who participate and students who attend to cheer on their classmates will be awarded prizes including Amazon gift cards, Orioles tickets, Frederick Keys tickets, movie passes and more. Winning teams of the Battle of the Books will also receive a trophy.

Lisa Back of the Carroll County Public Library said that this event is actually the last of of four Battle of the Books competitions that have taken place this year in Carroll County.

The teams often dress the part, wearing matching shirts, some even go so far as to decorate their competition space, such as Taneytown Elementary School’steam The Book Detectives, who all dressed up wearing matching trench coats and decorating their area with caution tape.

“It’s great to see the kids getting so excited about reading and about sharing their knowledge. The children’s enthusiasm and excitement over having the answers is so contagious,” Back said.

Last year, staff at the Carroll County Public Library (CCPL) modeled the Battle of the Books competitions in Carroll County on events in the Howard County Public Library system. The Carroll County Arts Council donated $500 to get the program started.

CCPL along with Taneytown schools hosted two events in 2012 in the Taneytown area that were so successful that they have expanded to four battles in 2013. 

The battles that already took place include:

• April 5: A Battle of the Books was held at Manchester Valley High School.  The North Carroll Branch of the CCPL along with Ebb Valley Elementary, Hampstead Elementary, Spring Garden Elementary, and Manchester Elementary participated.
• April 12: The second Battle of the Books took place at South Carroll High School. The Eldersburg and Finksburg branches of CCPL participated along with Freedom Elementary, Mechanicsville Elementary, Piney Ridge Elementary and Eldersburg Elementary.
• April 19: The third Battle of the Books was held at Runnymede Elementary School. The Taneytown branch of the library helped sponsor this event along with Runnymede Elementary, Charles Carroll Elementary and Taneytown Elementary.

While the CCPL and local schools are excited about the four Book battles this year, they are hoping to expand once again and host even more Battle of the Books Competitions next year.