On Saturday, April 13, dozens of friends and family members of the Battle of the Books teams came out to show their support at the 15th annual Battle of the Books at the C.H. Booth Library.

After four rounds of challenging questions, the library had its winning team. Congratulations to The Brilliant Bibliophiles, the 2019 Battle of the Books champs.

The Brilliant Bibliophiles were comprised of seventh graders Samantha Hatcher, as captain; and Grace Chiriatti; and eighth grader Peyton Chiratti. These returning champions had thoroughly prepared, correctly answering all 40 questions posed. Besides having their names engraved on the plaque in the Young Adult area of the library, each member received a gift card to Byrd’s Books in Bethel.

The Bibliophagists also had a fine showing, taking second place in the competition. The members of this eighth-grade team were Jennifer Dushi, Olivia Moody, Maia Bracksieck, and Gillian Torreso. It was a close match, with The Bibliophagists answering 38 of the 40 questions correctly. They also received Byrd’s Books gift cards.

The third place team was The “Reed”ers with Leah Laughlin, as captain; Ella Viau; Bree Hintze; and Ella Christensen.

Five teams competed in total, including Hunger Books with Nate Hoag, as captain, and Grant Crossman, and Book Huggers with Jillian Hoag, as captain; Paige Jackson; and Eleanor Cruwys-Hayes.

The Battle would not happen without the support of the Young Adult Council members who choose the books and volunteer their time and talent preparing for the event. The 2019 Battle was hosted by retired librarian John Renjillian, Sarah Flynn was the timer and scorekeeper, Children’s Librarian Alana Bennison and Young Adult Librarian Abbey Lynch judged the responses for accuracy, and The Battle was organized by Ms Lynch and Ms Bennison.

Battle of the Books is based on four great books, almost always Nutmeg nominees from the previous year. This year’s books were: Ms Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson, Seven Dead Pirates by Linda Bailey, Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi and Loot by Jude Watson.