America’s Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program for students in grades 2-12. The goal is to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers. Students compete in teams similar to the style of competition in the TV game show Family Feud. To learn more about the organization, visit www.battleofthebooks.org. Kaleidoscope is excited to bring this program to our L’Anse center this summer! Registration will open for this event in May.
Kaleidoscope’s Battle of the Books Summer 2023 Schedule
Registration Deadline: June 27th
- Team members register individually and put their team name on the form or request to have Kaleidoscope assign them to a team. Each team should consist of 3-4 members.
- Competition open to all students in the community.
- This is a FREE event made possible by local sponsors.
Books lists released and books distributed: July 11th in Hancock and July 12th in L’Anse
- Book lists contain 15 books for the 2nd-3rd grade level, and 12 books for 3rd-5th, 6th-8th, and 9th-12th grade levels.
- Teams divide up books amongst their own members. Teams can decide if they want to have each member solely responsible for a set number of books or if they want to swap books to have more members read a greater number of books.
- Participants can keep the books when the competition is over or donate them to the Kaleidoscope library.
Check in Day (day/time TBD, will be a couple weeks before Battle Day)
- Meet up with a staff member to see how your team is doing.
- Swap books with team members.
- Ask questions.
Battle Day: August 17th. Location likely to be at L’Anse Township Park with an indoor backup location in case of inclement weather. Exact time TBD.
- Length of program will depend on number of participants.
- Exact times for grade level battles will be announced after registration is complete.
- Battles will take place one grade level grouping at a time.
- Each battle round takes place between two teams at a time, and there are 24 questions per round. The number of rounds will depend on the number of teams. If there are only two teams in a grade level, there will only be one round. The more teams we have, the more rounds there will be. We will begin each team’s first round with a few practice questions (not related to the book lists) so team members are familiar with the format before we begin the real questions.
- All participants will receive prizes, including a T-shirt!
- Grand prizes for winning team members for each grade level group are $50 gift cards.
- Program will likely take place outdoors. Current COVID protocols put out by the state of Michigan and the Western UP Health Department will be followed. Masks are welcome but not required (unless Health Department guidelines change).
We are seeking sponsors for this program. Please contact Kaleidoscope at admin@kaleidoscope-education.org if you would like sponsorship info.
Examples of Questions and Answer Style
These books are NOT on the assigned reading lists for this summer. I made these up as examples. The real reading lists and questions are provided by America’s Battle of the Books. The questions in the actual competition are all in this format.
Q: In what book does the main character have friends that are a hare, a raven, a wren, and a badger?
A: The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
Q: In what book is the line, “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?”
A: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Q: In what book is the main character’s birth name revealed to be “Aufa” at the end of the book?
A: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Q: In what book does the main character get in trouble for already knowing how to read when she goes to school for the first time?
A: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Q: In what book does the main character face off with an angry badger?
A: On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder