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 L’Anse for the third summer in a row.
Our Sponsors
Magnum Opus Sponsors
Best Seller Sponsors
Friends of Battle of the Books
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Please contact Kaleidoscope at admin@kaleidoscope-education.org!
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 (11:00-4:15) and July 12th in L’Anse (10:00-5:30).
- 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 (8/7 at the Portage Lake District Library from 10:00-12:00, 8/9 at Kaleidoscope L’Anse from 3:30-5:30)
- Meet up with a staff member to see how your team is doing.
- Swap books with team members.
- Ask questions.
- Study author names (you get bonus points in the competition if you know the name of the author!)
- Discuss books
- Come with or without your team
Battle Day: August 17th. L’Anse Township Park. Backup location is Meadowbrook Arena lobby in case of inclement weather. If the competition is to take place at Meadowbrook, Kaleidoscope L’Anse will be open for families to hang out if they have a long break in their schedule.
- Each grade level will have their own checkin time as follows:
- 10:00 3rd – 5th grade check-in
- 12:15 6-8th grade check-in
- 2:30 9-12th grade check in
- A more detailed schedule for each team will be provided upon check-in
- Each battle round takes place between two teams at a time for 6th-8th grade and 9th-12th grade, with 24 questions per round. For 3rd-5th grade, three teams will battle at the same time with 36 questions per round. For more details, please read our 2023 Competition Process and Rules.
- All participants will receive prizes, including a T-shirt!
- Grand prizes for winning team members for each grade level group are $50. Second place is $25. This year, due to high participation level, the 3rd-5th grade group will have a third place price of $10.
- 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).
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