Book club - optional

Harper and I found a cool book on kid book clubs at the library.  We found 3 battle books in it and are psyched!  We would like to host a Battle of the Books optional book club party in Jan, Feb, and March.

Jan book - Because of Winn-Dixie
Feb book - Hatchet
March book - The Giver

We will have some food and crafts related to the book and do some book discussion.  We were thinking of doing it after swimming on Friday, maybe 11:30 or noonish.

We'll put the first one, Jan 16, on the calendar.  RSVP to me if you are coming and I will decide if we are doing it at my house or at the Y.  It's a fantastic book and not a long read so hopefully lots of you can read it before January.

Happy reading!

Teams, finalized

Julie, Kerri and I reviewed the team list and we think they are fine.  You might want to check with your other team members to see what they are reading and make sure everyone has their first book picked out.  Happy reading!

Team list was at this post

Battle - what you should be doing now

1.  READING - Check a few books out from the library that interest you.  Check with your teammates once teams are finalized and see what they are reading.  Enjoy some good books!  Try to read at least 1 book a month.  You can start reading before your team is finalized.  The more people on your team that read a book, the better, so overlap is OK!

2.  PRIZES - Start stockpiling some books and other cool things for our prize table.  I am looking for good books (used are OK as long as they are in good condition) and other fun things for kids to win on battle day.  Everyone will get a prize, but the winners will get extra.

Things your kids can do to help them remember books:

- Make a summary sheet with main characters, plot points (if they want)
- Write sample questions to ask their teammates about the book

There are a ton of fun book report-y projects out there if you are interested - here's one pinboard with a bunch.

Kerri and I were thinking of kids design "badges" for books.  Each child can volunteer to do one book.  We can scan them in and I can print them out on small labels and kids can decorate bookmarks on Battle day with books they have read.  More to come on this later.

Our Fantastic Book List!

Can't wait to read all these!

1. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
2. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit 
3. Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates 
4. The All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
5. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald
6. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
7. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
8. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
9. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
10. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
11. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
12. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
13. Stowaway by Karen Hesse
14. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
15. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner
16. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
17. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
18. The Giver by Lois Lowry
19. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
20. The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

Tentative teams - updated

Do we need to balance these out?  Is every child who wants to participate on a team?

Team 1 

Maryanne Hammond
Ezra Hammond **
Hannah Bettencourt
Leyna Firth
Grace Mikhail
(Jaxson Saldia and Georgia Saldia cannot make it)

Team 2

Angelique Ramlogan
Gabrielle Ramlogan **
Jaden Cook
Kaitlyn Cook
Laura Adili
David Adili
Adam Adili

Team 3

Caleb Bettencourt

Teegan Firth

Jayden Ramlogan
Christian Ramlogan
Andrew Eggert

Geoffrey Vitali
Michael Vitali

Lincoln Firth **

Team 4

Benjamin Smith

Joseph Smith

Thomas Smith

Hendrick Weirsma

Nicole Weirsma **

Ben Bettencourt **

Team 5

Harper Treschuk

Delia Jansen

Joscelyn Wilson

Sebastian Wilson

Campbell Treschuk

Battle Summary

Here's a review of the information we covered at the meeting and that was in our initial document.

Battle of the Books is a friendly quiz-show type competition between teams.  The students read books and are tested on their knowledge of the books as a team.

Goals for our program:

• Have a blend of pre-selected books but also quiz kids on the “universe of books” - rewarding kids for being well-read
• Allow parents to define the list of books - include curriculum books, favorite books, etc
• Have fun (not too stressful)
• Allow kids of mixed ages to participate together
• Celebrate and inspire reading

Interested families

Smith
Bettencourt
Saldia
Treschuk/Kenney
Jansen
Wilson
Hammond
Firth
Wiersm
Eggert
Ramlogan
Mikhail
Cook
Adili

Decisions made

Teams of 3-5 kids ages 6 and over.  Younger siblings can be added to team.

Outstanding issues/questions
Do we want to ask questions about other books, fairy tales, etc?
When should our final competition be (May/June at YMCA)

Sample questions (to get an idea of format):

Q: In which popular series do Rachel and Kristy help defend Fairyland the the Human World against the trouble caused by Jack Frost and his Goblins?
A: Rainbow Magic (series) by Daisy Meadows

Q: In what fairy tale is a young girl rescued from a tower when the prince climbs up her long golden hair
A: Rapunzel
Q: Name the main character in Tolkien's book "The Hobbit."
A: Bilbo Baggins (Bilbo)