The books for Battle of the Books are already displayed in the library, welcoming third-fifth graders to check them out. Yes, you read correctly. We are inviting third graders to join the competition this year! This reading competition is district-wide and proved to be a lot of fun last year for students and their families.

In order to compete, students must read as many of the Sasquatch and Young Reader's Choice books as possible. (See list below.) Students must know these stories well enough to answer many questions about the books, such as the characters, plot, setting, and information about the authors.

More information will follow in the coming months. Right now, we need to be reading the books! These are great books to read with your child. Enjoy them together.

FWPS BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
2007-2008

WHALES ON STILTS Shy middle-school student Lily and her best friends, Katie and Jasper, must foil the plot of her father's conniving boss to conquer the world using an army of whales.

SHAKESPEARE'S SECRET A sixth-grader named Hero becomes interested in a missing diamond, a five-hundred-year-old necklace, and a mystery dating back to the time of Shakespeare.

DOUBLE IDENTITY When thirteen-year-old Bethany's parents drop out of sight with no explanation, leaving her with an aunt she never knew existed, Bethany uncovers secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew about her family.

DOG'S LIFE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A STRAY Squirrel, a stray puppy, tells her life story, from her nurturing mother and brother to making her own way in the world, facing busy highways, changing seasons, and humans both gentle and brutal.

LISTENING FOR LIONS Left an orphan after the influenza epidemic in British East Africa in 1918, thirteen-year-old Rachel is tricked into assuming a deceased neighbor's identity to travel to England.

PRINCESS ACADEMY While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

SISTERS GRIMM: THE FAIRY-TALE DETECTIVES Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead.

LEGEND OF SPUD MURPHY When their mother drops them off at the library several afternoons a week, William and his brother dread boredom and the overbearing librarian, but they are surprised at how things turn out.

MISADVENTURES OF MAUDE MARCH, OR, TROUBLE RIDES A FAST HORSE Eleven-year-old Sallie and her fifteen-year-old sister escape their self-serving guardians and begin an adventure resembling those in the dime novels Sallie loves to read.

CHICKEN BOY Since the death of his mother, Tobin's life has been in disarray, but after he starts raising chickens with his seventh-grade classmate, Henry, everything starts to fall into place.

GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA, OR, PIRATES GALORE A cabin boy on a pirate ship finds himself in San Diego in 1846 as war breaks out between the United States and Mexico.

OWEN FOOTE, MIGHTY SCIENTIST Third grade best friends Owen and Joseph have to change their science project plans two days before the fair.

AIRBALL: MY LIFE IN BRIEFS Uncoordinated Kansas seventh-grader Kirby Nickel braves his coach's ire and becomes captain of the basketball team in order to help him prove that NBA star Brett McGrew is the father he has never known.

DEFIANCE While vacationing in the country, eleven-year-old Toby, a cancer patient, learns some important lessons about living and dying from an elderly poet and her cow.

GHOST'S GRAVE Twelve-year-old Josh finds adventure when he meets the ghost of a coal miner while spending the summer in Washington State with his Aunt Ethel when his parents get an overseas job.

ABBY TAKES A STAND Gee recalls for her grandchildren the 1960 sit-ins held at restaurants and lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee to protest segregation.

Call Ms. Flint, our librarian, at (253) 945-4210 for more information.