What is the Battle of the Books?
The Battle of the Books is an independent reading incentive program for students in 4th and 5th grades in which teams of students read books and answer questions about the books they have read. Students should be working on building their reading comprehension as they read. They will later compete as teams to see who can recall the most about the books they read. Students compete at the school level, and then a group of six students will be chosen to compete at the District level as part of Harmony's All-Star Team. The purpose of the Battle of the Books is to encourage students to read good books and have fun competing with peers. Also, students are introduced to different genres of books that they might not normally read.
Fourth Grade Titles (2023-2024)
Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey (DRA 34)
The Bad Guys, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Shark, Mr. Snake, and Mr. Piranha, want to be heroes, and they decide that the way to do it is to free the 200 dogs in the city dog pound--but their plan soon goes awry.
Because of the Rabbit by Cynthia Lord (DRA 40)
On the last night of summer, Emma and her Maine game warden father rescue a small domestic rabbit stuck in a fence; the very next day Emma starts fifth grade after years of being homeschooled, excited and apprehensive about making new friends, but she is paired with Jack, a hyperactive boy, who does not seem to fit in with anyone--except that they share a love of animals, which draws them together, because of the rabbit.
Bicycle Spy by Yona McDonough (DRA 40-50)
Twelve-year-old Marcel loves riding his bicycle, and dreams of competing in the Tour de France, but it is 1942 and German soldiers are everywhere, stopping him as he delivers bread from his parents' bakery around Aucoin--then one day he discovers that it is not just bread he is delivering, and suddenly he finds himself in possession of dangerous secrets about his parents and his new friend from Paris, Delphine.
Bob by Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead (DRA 40)
Visiting her grandmother in Australia, Livy, ten, is reminded of the promise she made five years before to Bob, a strange, green creature who cannot recall who or what he is.
Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling (DRA 30)
A boy acquires a magical gift that turns everything his lips touch into chocolate.
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings forth memories from his past, and, with the help of a new friend at school and the castle they are building for a school project, his questions are eventually answered.
Lion of Mars by Jennifer Holm
Bell has spent his whole life--all eleven years of it--on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid--he loves cats, any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don't they have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It's up to Bell--a regular kid in a very different world--to uncover the truth and save his family.
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson (DRA 34-38)
The Hart family of Portland, Oregon, faces many setbacks after Ryan's father loses his job, but no matter what, Ryan tries to bring sunshine to her loved ones.
Wild Robot by Peter Brown (DRA 40)
Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.
Wish by Barbara O'Connor (DRA 40)
Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.
5th Grade Titles (2023-2024)
Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford (DRA 40)
When ten-year-old Newton dresses up as an unusual superhero for Halloween, he decides to keep wearing the costume after the holiday to help save townspeople and eventually his injured brother.
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (DRA 60)
In the city of Ember, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang (DRA 40)
Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao's son, Jason.
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate (DRA 60)
Kek, an African refugee, is confronted by many strange things at the Minneapolis home of his aunt and cousin, as well as in his fifth-grade classroom, and longs for his missing mother, but finds comfort in the company of a cow and her owner.
Mission Unstoppable: The Genius Files by Dan Gutman (DRA 50)
On a cross-country vacation with their parents, twins Coke and Pepsi, soon to be thirteen, fend off strange assassins as they try to come to terms with their being part of a top-secret government organization known as The Genius Files.
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (DRA 40)
Melody Brooks, a 10 year old girl is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She can't walk or talk or do pretty much anything. In the book she gets integrated into mainstream classes with other kids, overcomes her disability, gets to play on a quiz team yet finds out how judgmental and mean other kids can be.
Pax by Sara Pennypacker (DRA 40-50)
After being forced to give up his pet fox Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Elanor Coerr (DRA 40)
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Katrina Van Glaser (DRA 44)
Told that they will have to move out of their Harlem brownstone just after Christmas, the five Vanderbeeker children, ages four to twelve, decide to change their reclusive landlord's mind.
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui Sutherland (DRA 60)
Determined to end a long war among the seven dragon tribes, the Talons of Peace draws on a prophecy calling for a great sacrifice, compelling five dragonets to fulfill a painful destiny against their will.
