Battle Of The Books Returning To The Library; Teams Forming Now

The C.H. Booth Library invites young adults in grades 5 through 8 to test their knowledge of four great books, at the 8th Annual Battle of the Books Trivia Contest, to be held Saturday, March 24, at 1 pm (snow date Sunday, March 25). Signups are open until March 5 for Newtown students or residents, with homeschoolers welcome to participate. There is a limit of 12 teams, each made up of three or four people.

The game is played in a Jeopardy-style format, similar to the television show. All the teams will hear the same question together, write their answer in 20 seconds, and then display their answers at the same time. Each team will get credit for a correct answer.

This year’s books are Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman, Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, Scat by Carl Hiaasen, and Savvy by Ingrid Law. Copies of the books are available in the Young Adult area of the library.

Team captains must sign up the team by March 5 at the library and pick up the complete information packet at the second floor circulation desk. All team members share this material. There are no online signups.

Team members read the four books to become “experts” on the stories, and submit trivia questions on the four books by March 5, at 5 pm. 

A practice round, mandatory for one or more team members, will take place Wednesday, March 21 (snow date, Thursday, March 22). The Jeopardy-style format with written answers will be explained there.

Prizes of a $20 gift certificate to an area bookstore for each first place team member, and a $10 gift certificate to an area bookstore for each second place team member will be awarded. The winning team members’ names will also be inscribed on a plaque in the Young Adult Department, and each member may select a book that the library will purchase and dedicate in their name.

Details are in the Young Adult area of the library, or online at www.chboothlibrary.org; or call young adult librarian Margaret Brown at 203-426-4533 or children’s librarian Alana Bennison at 203-426-3851.