Familiar winners in Battle of the Books
Posted on: Mar 17, 2022
There were a total of 60 teams in this year’s Battle of the Books competition at Delano Intermediate School, but only five advanced to the finals on Tuesday, March 15.
After multiple overtime rounds to sort out placement, fifth-graders Maddie Knisley, Bergen Syverson and Meredith van Bergen claimed their second Battle of the Books title in the last three years.
“This year’s competition was intense, as the top 15 teams were neck and neck in the semifinal round,” said Gifted and Talented Coordinator Heidi O’Donnell. “The championship round proved to be a true battle of memory, and it was evident that all five teams knew their books inside and out. It definitely came down to the fine details in each book!”
The top trio took first place as third-graders in the elementary competition in 2020 and followed that up with a second-place finish at DIS in 2021. Does it get old to have so much success on a regular basis?
“It’s exciting. It still feels really good to be on top of the school,” said van Bergen.
“I did not expect to win this time,” said Syverson.
What is their secret to success?
“We love to read,” said Knisely.
The competition challenged students to read 10 books, then answer questions to test their comprehension and memory. A goal of the competition is to introduce various genres to students and encourage reading outside of normal school assignments.
“I liked almost all of them, but my favorites were definitely ‘The Unwanteds,’ ‘Because of Mr. Terupt’ and ‘Coraline,’” said Syverson.
Knisely and van Bergen said they liked “Because of Mr. Terupt,” “Diamond Willow” and “Stella by Starlight” as well. Their favorite genre in general is realistic fiction.
“We are very realistic people,” said van Bergen with a laugh.
All three students did their best to read as many books as possible, and then re-read as they had time.
“We want to make sure to read them all because if only one person reads the book there is a chance that they won’t know the answer,” said Knisely. “So try to have as many people read the same books as possible.”
What would they tell younger Book Battle participants aspiring for the same level of success?
“Be organized about it, and don’t stress out about it,” said van Bergen. “We started out a little rocky, I’d say. I didn’t know which books they were reading and they didn’t know which books I was reading, so that was kind of a roadblock for us. Know who is reading what, and then just make a plan.”
Finalists had the opportunity to compete in front of a live audience of students for the first time since Covid began, and enjoyed the opportunity to test their knowledge.
“Overall, it was an energetic competition with a great variety of books, and students were excited throughout the entire competition!” said O’Donnell.
Other finalists
Second place: Glenn Beinert, Benaiah Gaalswyk, and Jacob Werth
Third place: Myla Martin, Cora Boyack, and Sophie Kopperud
Fourth place: Adelyn Logelin, Jojo Brouwer, Will Horch
Fifth place: Natasha Shafer, Gavin Shafer, and Colten Bredman
Post Categories: Intermediate School