Phoenix students show literary muscle

• Students were quizzed on 10 books
• Each team had 30 seconds to answer questions
• The winners were from Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School%2C 2720 E. Liberty Lane%2C Phoenix

Submitted by Allysa Adams, a parent at Kyrene Centennial Middle School in Phoenix.

Inter-scholastic rivalry can be brutal, and a recent battle between Kyrene middle schools was no exception. There were the screams of disappointment, the cheers of support and the occasional nail biting over a chapter not read.

Four Kyrene schools, Centennial, Kyrene del Pueblo, Kyrene Middle School and Akimel A-al took part in the annual smack down called Battle of the Books. Think of it as an Olympic primer for the literary set. For months students at the middle schools have been reading and meeting to discuss and quiz each other about the books.

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At Centennial, Library Media Specialist Linda Todd has coached her team of nine students through the rigors of a battle book read.

The literary workouts included:

-- Identifying themes

-- Remembering plot details.

-- Recognizing characters from the 10 selected battle books.

The only requirement for joining the team was the desire to read at least five of the required books and the ability to read at least one book every two weeks. Books included: "Final Four" by Paul Volponi, "Guitar Notes" by Mary Amato, and "The Raft" by S.A. Bodeen.

For students like sixth-grader Ariella Golden the amount of reading was no problem, she generally reads a book a week anyway, it was knowing what to expect at the battle. "I didn't know how easy or hard the questions would be but I was looking forward to the battle."

The battle itself was a more like a competitive game show. Each team was asked a question and had to answer with the name of one of the 10 books. There were three rounds, and at the end of each round the team with the lowest point total was eliminated. The teams had time to discuss their questions and decide on their answers collaboratively. Then the team captain presented the answer to the judges. As an added wrinkle, the competitors were allowed to challenge the official answer if they believed it to be incorrect.

Centennial middle school hosted this year's battle and they were looking to capitalize on their home field advantage with a win. Centennial Principal Jocelyn Sims emceed and says it was as gut wrenching as any competitive event at the school.

"Knowing the kids had read 10 books was amazing, but then realizing they were being asked to figure out what book a given detail was from, all in a 30 second time frame blew my mind," she said. "When kids started to challenge questions at the end and winning the challenges, I knew how serious the kids had taken this club."

After two hours of questions as esoteric as "In which book did the character wear a glove without fingers," it came down to a tie breaker between Centennial and Akimel. With a difficult question about the book Bodeen's book, Akimel pulled off the upset against the host school.

Golden, while disappointed, still felt good after the competition. "I had so much fun cooperating with my four other teammates. I hope this program continues."