History

The first Battle of the Books was held in 1995, making the year 2020 the official 25th anniversary.  However, due to COVID-19 precautions the regular Battle of the books was postponed and was held in an online format on June 19th, 2020.  In 2021, we hosted Mini BOB which was also held in an online format and open to teams or individuals.  In 2022 we introduced an online qualification round and in-school battles to allow each school to enter as many teams as they want.  The in-school battle winners went on to compete in the grand finale which was streamed online for viewers.  In 2023 we hope to have the first in person individual battles alongside the team event.  As we strive to build readers and library users, the format of Battle of the Books will continue to evolve.

Battle of the Books is a free annual book-based trivia tournament that promotes team-work, literacy and a love of reading. It encourages youth to think of their local public library as a resource and inspires good sportsmanship in an atmosphere of friendly competition. Elementary and middle school youth in Drayton Valley and Brazeau County in grades 4 through 8 are eligible to participate.

Participating schools put together a team of students who will work together to read as many books as possible from the reading list for their grade level, creating a friendly reading comprehension competition for youth in grades 3-4, grades 5-6, and hopefully grades 7-8 in 2023.

Teams practice during February through April. Each student reads some of the 16 books and, in teams of 3-5 students, demonstrate their knowledge by answering questions in a tournament. Local youth build sportsmanship, interpersonal skills, public speaking skills and literacy skills as they work together in their school teams. Team captains or coaches may assist students by holding practice trivia games and activities that encourage the students to read as many books as possible.  Books can be borrowed through Drayton Valley Library or can be found in other ways that participants may have access to.

The Battle of the Books Competition is usually held in the Town Chambers at the Town Office.  

The school with the winning team will receive a trophy to display in their school. The top three teams in grades 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 will receive recognition. 

There is no fee for youth to participate in Battle of the Books so we need support from the community! Click here if you would like to be a sponsor for this fantastic program. If you can donate or would like to participate in battle of the books please contact our programmer, Verna Wicks.