Battle of the Books came down to Sudden Death for seventh/eighth graders at the Denali Borough School District last week.

Team Smakinators of Tri-Valley School ran head to head with Team Snowy Books from Anderson School.  It was Anderson that carried the day and won the competition.

Truth is, everyone is really a winner in this competition.

In this particular contest, everyones’ heart was with the third place one-man team: Lone Hawk of Cantwell. He was hot on the heels of the other two teams, which each had three players: a thinker, a scribe, and a speaker.

Teams answered questions about a series of books. Each answer had to include the name of the book and the author.

For example: “In which book does someone worry about becoming a professional mathematician?” Answer: Boy Who Owned the School, by Gary Paulsen.

I thought the Spelling Bee was suspenseful. This was just as gripping.

In the fifth/sixth grade contest, TRM Bookworks conquered the Battling Bears. In third/fourth grade, the Dominators squeaked past the Reading Racers.

State battles continue next week, by teleconference. Check with the local libraries for times.

Coming up in April: the K-2 Battle of the Books Jamboree at Tri-Valley School.