On Wednesday, April 23rd, 5th and 6th graders from elementary schools across the district gathered at Mesquite Junior High to take part in the Gilbert Public Schools’ District Battle of the Books competition. 

While Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading program intended to encourage students to read and have fun learning about books with their peers, students who advanced to the district competition were able to wow the audience with their expertise on the selected books.

All teams of 2-3 students were involved in their schools’ Battle of the Books clubs and activities; competing with peers and preparing themselves for the district-wide competition. At the conclusion of 3 battles at the school level, the winning team from each school heads to the district competition. While each of the 3 school battles focused on 4 books, the district competition will have questions on all 12.

This year's battle books are: Chasing Vermer, Doll Bones, Frindle, Healer of the Water Monster, Invisible, Jennifer Murdley's Toad, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Maniac Magee, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, Sarah Plain and Tall, and The City of Ember.

The district competition has two types of questions: Phase 1 asks students questions from the books and requires the correct book and author name to win points; Phase 2 questions are worth double the points and the question is specific to the book, requiring knowledge of events, characters, and other details to win points.

A perfect score for a battle would be 70 points. Usually, the district battle ends up with a few teams with perfect scores who must answer Phase 2 tiebreaker questions until a winner is determined.

That’s exactly what happened this year! The top three teams all ended Phase I and Phase II with perfect scores. 

After the first tiebreaker question Greenfield Elementary was declared the winner. After the second tiebreaker question Neely Traditional Academy took second place, with Islands Elementary in third place.

Frist place - Greenfield Elementary: Kaylee Bezy, Maycee Bezy, Norah Thompson, and Heather Meaux (Librarian)

Second place - Neely Traditional Academy: Annika Johnson, Kyen Ding, Bridgette Hodges, and Kelli Fairchild (Librarian)

Third place - Islands Elementary: Maci Ford Farra, Eliza Siders, and Allison Hunt (Librarian)

Greenfield Elementary and Neely Traditional Academy both moved on to the Regional Battle of the Book, which took place on May 7, 2025. Congratulations to Neely Traditional Academy for taking homing 2nd place in the regional competition! Neely ended the first 2 rounds with a perfect score and entered a tie-breaker with four other teams. After three rounds of questions, the Knights finished in 2nd place.