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What is Battle of the Books?
What is Battle of the Books?
Battle of the Books is a reading competition designed to improve reading and comprehension while building enthusiasm for reading using a fun and unique competition format. Students will compete in teams to demonstrate their knowledge of 10 preselected books.
Who can compete?
Who can compete?
All AIS students are eligible to compete. Students need to read a minimum of THREE of the "Battle" books by December 1, 2023 to be eligible to serve on a team.
How will the teams be formed?
How will the teams be formed?
Students are encouraged to form their own teams of four (4) members. If necessary, the media specialist will help students find a team. Students are asked to create a team name and elect a team spokesperson. Students are encouraged to keep a "Battle of the Books" journal with notes/details about each book read. Suggestions for journal notes include: title, author, setting, main characters, brief summary/plot.
When will the teams compete?
When will the teams compete?
In early January 2024, the Battle of the Books teams will compete against each other to determine the AIS Battle of the Books Champions. Those champions will then compete prior to spring break (March) in a "District Battle of the Books Competition" against other middle schools in our district to determine the district champions!
What are the books?
What are the books?
This year’s books have been carefully selected and are ten of the 2023-2024 South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominees. These books include a variety of genres, reading levels, and themes. Appealing to reluctant as well as enthusiastic and mature readers, all Battle of the Books selections are available for check out through the school library, as well as the public library.
There is no cost to participate in this program.
For any questions, contact Ms. Curtis, Media Specialist ccurtis@acpsd.net or 803-641-2570.
2023-2024 BAttle Book List
2023-2024 BAttle Book List
across the desert
across the desert
Across the desert
Across the desert
by Dusti Bowling
Year Published: 2021
One girl sets out on a journey across the treacherous Arizona desert to rescue a young pilot stranded after a plane crash in this gripping story of survival, friendship, and rescue from a bestselling and award-winning author.
Twelve-year-old Jolene spends every day she can at the library watching her favorite livestream: The Desert Aviator, where twelve-year-old “Addie Earhart” shares her adventures flying an ultralight plane over the desert. While watching this daring girl fly through the sky, Jolene can dream of what it would be like to fly with her, far away from her own troubled home life where her mother struggles with a narcotic addiction. And Addie, who is grieving the loss of her father, finds solace in her online conversations with Jolene, her biggest—and only—fan. Then, one day, it all goes wrong: Addie's engine abruptly stops, and Jolene watches in helpless horror as the ultralight plummets to the ground and the video goes dark. Jolene knows that Addie won’t survive long in the extreme summer desert heat. With no one to turn to for help and armed with only a hand-drawn map and a stolen cell phone, it's up to Jolene to find a way to save the Desert Aviator.
Lines of courage
Lines of courage
by Jennifer A. Neilson
Year Published: 2022
The stories of five kids living through World War I, each of whom holds the key to the others' futures... if they are lucky - and brave - enough to find each other.
World War I stretches its cruel fingers across Europe, where five young people, each from different backgrounds and nations, face the terror of battle, the deprivations of hunger, and all the awful challenges of war.
Felix, from Austria-Hungary, longs for the bravery to resist Jewish deportations before his own family can be taken.
Kara, from Britain, dreams of someday earning her Red Cross pin and working as a nurse - or even a doctor.
Juliette, of France, hopes her family can remain knitted together, despite her father's imprisonment, as the war's longest battle stretches on and on.
Elsa, from Germany, hopes her homing pigeon might one day bring her a friend from out of the chaos.
And Dimitri, of Russia, wants only to survive the front, where he's been sent with no weapon.
None of them will find exactly what they want. But the winds of fate may cross their paths to give each of them just what they need.
linked
linked
by Gordon Korman
Year Published: 2021
Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it's woken up very quickly when someone sneaks into school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Nobody can believe it. How could such a symbol of hate end up in the middle of their school? Who would do such a thing?
Because Michael was the first person to see it, he's the first suspect. Because Link is one of the most popular guys in school, everyone's looking to him to figure it out. And because Dana's the only Jewish girl in the whole town, everyone's treating her more like an outsider than ever.
The mystery deepens as more swastikas begin to appear. Some students decide to fight back and start a project to bring people together instead of dividing them further. The closer Link, Michael, and Dana get to the truth, the more there is to face-not just the crimes of the present, but the crimes of the past.
maizy chen's last chance
maizy chen's last chance
by Lisa Yee
Year Published: 2022
Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota. . . until now. Her Mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple weeks, until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance (where she and her family are the only Asian-Americans) and at The Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations—she makes some discoveries. For instance:
• You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food.
• And people can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways.
• And the Golden Palace has Secrets.
But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like, why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone has left a racist note—Maizy decides it’s time find the answers.
playing the cards you're dealt
playing the cards you're dealt
by Varian Johnson
Year Published: 2021
Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table. Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. And Shirley, the new girl in his class, isn't exactly what he has in mind. She talks a whole lot of trash -- way more than his old partner. Plus, he's not sure that his father wants him playing with a girl. But she's smart and tough and pretty, and knows every card trick in the book. So Ant decides to join forces with Shirley -- and keep his plans a secret.
rivals
rivals
by Tommy Greenwald
Year Published: 2021
A novel about two student-athletes searching for stardom, a young reporter searching for the truth, and a crosstown basketball rivalry that goes too far.
The people of Walthorne love their basketball—and one of the things they love most is the special rivalry between the Walthorne North Middle School Cougars and the Walthorne South Middle School Panthers. As the season begins, two star players are feeling the heat: Austin Chambers, captain of Walthorne North, worries that he’s not good enough to live up to his father’s legacy, while across town, the brilliantly talented Carter Haswell, captain of Walthorne South, is already under pressure to get a scholarship that might ease his family’s financial stress. While both boys do whatever they can to make sure their team wins, Alfie Jenks, a school sports reporter, discovers that behind-the-scenes scandals are just as much a part of youth sports as on-the-court action. When she blows the story wide open, the whole season is jeopardized. This book is told through a series of flashbacks, newspaper reports, social media posts, and interviews.
The lion of mars
The lion of mars
by Jennifer L. Holms
Year Published: 2021
Blast off with New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning Jennifer L. Holm’s out-of-this-world new novel about a kid raised on Mars who learns that he can’t be held back by the fears of the grown-ups around him. Bell has spent his whole life—all eleven years of it—on Mars. But he’s still just a regular kid - he loves cats, any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don’t have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It’s up to Bell—a regular kid in a very different world—to uncover the truth and save his family…and possibly unite an entire planet.
what lives in the woods
what lives in the woods
by Lindsay Currie
Year Published: 2021
Welcome to the decrepit Woodmoor Manor…where something in the woods is always watching. From the author of Scritch Scratch comes a chilling middle grade story about a creepy mansion and sinister creatures in the woods.
All Ginny Anderson wants from her summer is to relax. But when Ginny's father—a respected restoration expert in Chicago—surprises the family with a month-long trip to Michigan, everything changes. They aren't staying in a hotel like most families would. No, they're staying in a mansion. A twenty-six room, century-old building surrounded by dense forest. Woodmoor Manor.
Locals claim the surrounding woods are inhabited by mutated creatures that escaped a mad scientist over a hundred years ago. And some say campers routinely disappear, never to be seen again.
When the creaky floors and shadowy corners of the mansion seem to take on a life of their own, Ginny uncovers the wildest mystery of all: there's more than one legend roaming Saugatuck, Michigan, and they definitely aren't after campers.
They're after her!
wild river
wild river
by Rodman Philbrick
Year Published: 2021
Daniel Redmayne is fast asleep on the first night of a white water rafting trip, when he's awoken by screams. The dam has failed. The river is surging, and their camp will be under water in a matter of moments.
As the shrieking roar of the river rushes closer, the kids scramble to higher ground. They make it; their counselors do not.
Now they're on their own, with barely any food or supplies, in the middle of the Montana wilderness. Do Daniel and his four classmates have what it takes to stay alive until they can get rescued? Alone in the wild, they forge powerful bonds -- but develop dangerous disagreements. If nature doesn't break them, they might just destroy each other.
worst-case collin
worst-case collin
by Rebecca Caprara
Year Published: 2021
This poignant middle grade novel in verse follows twelve-year-old Collin who manages his anxiety by mapping out survival plans for any disaster or worst-case scenario.
Collin is always prepared for something to go wrong. Ever since he lost his mom in a car accident, he's been journaling about how to overcome things like avalanches, riptides, or even a bad case of halitosis. Meanwhile, Collin's father grows more distant by the day, and has started hoarding things throughout their house. Determined to hide his home life from his friends, Collin navigates middle school alongside the hilarious and clueless Liam, and Georgia, who Collin may have feelings for. Can Collin learn to be vulnerable around those he loves, even when he can't control every possible scenario?
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