On March 30, four teams from Ripley and one from Brockton held their own Battle of the Books, hosted by RCS. “When the Chautauqua Institution canceled theirs, our students were beside themselves,” said Ripley Library Media Specialist Karen Kondrick. “We had participated for the last six years, so they have been waiting to be old enough to participate.”

Kondrick said she got some of the Ripley teachers together and worked out a plan. “Our sixth-graders wanted to do it and then Brocton wanted to be involved in a battle, as well,” she said.

Five teams, with four to five members on each team, took part, Kondrick said. There were two sixth grade and two fifth grade teams from Ripley and one fifth-grade team from Brocton.

It was a very exciting event, Kondrick said. The battle, which included a seven question overtime round, as well as a sudden death overtime to distinguish the second- and third-place winners, was tense. When the smoke of battle subsided, Ripley’s sixth-grade team, the Thinkers, took first place, second place was claimed by Ripley’s fifth-grade team, the Nugget Lords, and the fifth-grade team from Brocton, the Spine Crackers, came in third.

The Nugget Lords, a fifth-grade team from Ripley, show off their second-place trophy. Ripley Library Media Specialist Karen Kondrick, who organized the event, stands behind them.

According to America’s Battle of the Books, the battle is a voluntary reading incentive program for students, typically in grades three through 12, designed to encourage reading, comprehension, and teamwork while making reading fun and competitive. Students read a curated list of books which cover a variety of genres.

Students usually form teams of three to six members, with each member responsible for reading a portion of the book list. Competitions are structured like game shows such as Family Feud or College Bowl, where teams earn points by answering questions about the books.

Kondrick said that the event at RCS did not follow a specific program. “We modeled what we did around what the Institute used to do — chose the books and created questions ourselves,” she said.

Students began preparing for the event in January, Kondrick said. Ten books were chosen: The Crossover, A Rover’s Story, El Deafo, Among the Hidden, The Trouble with Heroes, Hikes, The Lost Library Ghosts, For the Birds, The Life of Roger Tory Peterson and Dear Acorn.

Because Ripley was hosting the Battle, it could be held during the day, which allowed students in grades three to six to watch, Kondrick said. “This was one of the most exciting parts, because all of the students saw how much fun we had with reading,” she said. “The enthusiasm of the participants as well as the spectators was fantastic.”

Several students who took part expressed how much they enjoyed the Battle. Brocton student Gianna Himan said: “All of the other teams made us feel so welcome.” Her classmate, Lilly Burrows said, “As team captain, I was so impressed with how our team worked together and we all had so much fun.”

Kaylee Knight from Ripley said the event was fantastic. “It was exciting and a great experience! Everyone was included and everyone had fun. I am very grateful,” she said.

Apparently, the Battle impressed some of the students’ parents as well. Kondrick related what a parent of one of the Brocton students told her. “He said his daughter used to just want to read graphic novels, but once she read The Rover’s Story, she realized that she loved reading chapter books,” Kondrick said. “I call that a win!”