Alameda Battle of the Books

OBOB 2026 Title List

Registration is Open! Register your team here

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

Parent Info Meeting Recording

CONTACT

Ask a Question

OBOB Book List

obob-3-5-poster-2025-2026.pdf

Better with Butter — Victoria Piontek

The City of Ember — Jeanne DuPrau

Elf Dog and Owl Head — M. T. Anderson

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library — Chris Grabenstein

Finding Langston — Lesa Cline-Ransome

Hatchet — Gary Paulsen

Inside Out and Back Again — Thanhhà Lai

Just Like Click — Sandy Grubb

The Lost Library — Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

The Million Dollar Race — Matthew Ross Smith

Number the Stars — Lois Lowry

Odder — Katherine Applegate

The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow — Elaine Dimopoulos

The Secret Garden on 81st Street — Ivy Noelle Weir and Amber Padilla

Squished — Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter

The Tail of Emily Windsnap — Liz Kessle

IMPORTANT DATES

Informational meetings & Registration

October 23 @ 7pm (virtual): Parent information session

December 4 @ 7pm (virtual): Coaches meeting (link to come)

December 12: Team registration deadline

January 8: Moderator's training

Battle Play

January 21/29 (after school): Practice Battles

Saturday, February 7: Pool Play

February 11 & 12 (after school): Top 16 Tournament Play

February 17 (after school): Top 8 Tournament Play

February 20 (after school): Celebration and Final 4

TEAMS

The deadline for team registration is December 12.

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! Moderators, Scorekeepers, and other volunteers are essential to run Alameda OBOB. Sign-up below to learn about volunteer opportunities.

Moderator/Judge - Every battle is run by a moderator. There is a short virtual training meeting, a mandatory practice and then one or two 2-3 hour shifts over the 3 week competition window. This is a great job for you if you've always wanted to be a game show host. (Late January/Early February)

Scorekeeper - Each battle has an official scorekeeper. The scorekeeper keeps time/scores for the battles. Scorekeepers generally work 1 or 2 short shifts over the course of the entire competition. (Late January/Early February)

Door Staff - We need volunteers to manage the doors/direct parents for an hour or two at our large Pool Play Saturday event. We will also need a handful of volunteers to manage the library doors during the practice battles in late January after school. (Late January/Early February)

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.