Alameda Battle of the Books

Congratulations to the Reading Racoons!

Good luck at Regionals!

OBOB 2026 Title List

Upcoming important dates:

What is Battle of the Books?

The Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries in conjunction with a Library Services and Technology Act grant. Students in 3rd-12th grade, regardless of ability, are exposed to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints.

OBOB’s mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.

Alameda Elementary has a long history of participating in OBOB. Teams will form and go through several rounds of battles in a quiz-show-like format. The Alameda winner will represent the school at the Regional Battle of the Books competition in March.

Multnomah County Library

A Children's Place Bookstore

OBOB Book List

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

Fifty-Four Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers by Caela Carter

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra

J.D. and the Great Barber Battle by J. Dillard

Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney

Leonard (My Life as a Cat) by Carlie Sorosiak

Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau

The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury

The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

Sam Makes a Splash by Nicole Melleby

Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Thirst by Varsha Bajaj

A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity by Nicole Valentine

Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

IMPORTANT DATES

Info & Registration

October 23 @ 7pm: Parent information session

December 10 @ 7pm: Coaches meeting (online)

December 13: Team registration deadline

Early-January: Afterschool meeting for OBOB participants

Early-January: Judge's training

Battle Play

January 23/February 5: Practice Battles

February 8: Pool Play

February 12/13 & 18: Tournament Play (After school)

February 21: Celebration and Final 4 (4:00-5:30pm)

TEAMS

The deadline for team registration is December 13.

If you need help finding a team or finding another teammate to fill out your team, submit your info below and we will do our best to match you up. We cannot guarantee team size or that you will be matched with students at the same grade level.

Register a Team

Get Help Finding a Team or Teammate

VOLUNTEERS

We need your help! Judges and Scorekeepers are essential to run the battles. Sign-up below to learn about volunteer opportunities.

Sign-up to Volunteer

Sign-up to be a Scorekeeper

HOW IT WORKS

Create a team:

Teams consist of 4 members and possibly one alternate.

Choose a spokesperson:

This is the only person that may answer questions during the battles.

Read, read, read:

Each team must read all 16 books. Tip! We recommend each team member read at least four different titles of the 16.

Practice:

Make up questions, have team members quiz you, discuss the books with your team members. Tip! The more books read by all team members, the more competitive a team can be.

Battle:

Pool Play battles are about accumulating points. The top 16 teams, based on points earned in first round battles, continue on to single-elimination Tournament Play battles.

Battle Flow:

Up to four members represent a team in a battle.

Two teams will compete during a single battle.

Teams are asked 16 questions in each battle:

Eight "In which book..." questions

Eight "Content" questions

The two teams alternate answering questions.

When a question is asked, the team will have a short time in which to discuss and answer the question.

The spokesperson’s first answer will be the only acceptable one.

Points are awarded for correct answers.

Tournament Play:

During Bracket Play battles teams have the opportunity to answer questions the other team missed and "steal" the points.