About 1,700 Howard County fifth graders packed into Merriweather Post Pavilion on Friday with high energy, not for a concert but to compete in a Jeopardy-style event answering questions about books.

The annual Battle of the Books is what Howard County Library System CEO and President Tonya Aikens called a “fifth grade rite of passage.” Students dress up in teams and compete to answer questions about books from a reading list provided in the fall. It is a way to build community as they transition to middle school while exposing them to different literature options, Aikens said.

“There are libraries and communities that do Battle of the Books,” Aikens said. “There is no library, no community anywhere on this planet that does it as well as Howard County Library System. It’s just a whole different ball of wax here.”

Even if some might not be reading enthusiasts, Aikens said she always tells people they’ll make it through Battle of the Books because there is something for everyone. There are short books, chapter books, graphic novels, fiction, nonfiction and the ability to listen to the selected materials as audiobooks. The materials are selected to give students a “wide array” of opportunities to get interested in the books, Aikens said.

It’s crucial to continue sharing the importance of reading with students as libraries are under attack and in some places, the freedom to choose what to read is under attack as well, Aikens said.

“And this array of choices that you have available to you to help shape your journey, not just your educational journey, not just your literary journey, but yourself as you come into the young person and soon the adult that you will be, literature and reading is a critical part of that,” Aikens said.

Each year, students receive a reading list for the event, forming teams at their elementary schools and working with their team coach. Teams plan how to attack the list and study the materials. Aikens said some opt to split up the materials and have certain members become experts in specific books, while other teams have every member read all the books.

The nine-book reading list this year included titles such as “The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza,” about a cat venturing into space to save the world as rats eat the moon; “When Stars Are Scattered” about Somali refugee brothers; and “Fast Pitch” about a softball player trying to find the truth about her family’s past before it ruins her dream of winning the regional championship.

Cheers of excitement erupt after each question, even if the teams get the answer incorrect. Teams try their best and if they get the answer wrong, they applaud those who got it right, Aikens said.

The event is complete with dance breaks and can be louder than a concert at Merriweather, she said.

“That is amazing sportsmanship, it’s amazing for community building, and just to show children that, even in a competition, an educational competition, we’re doing this for fun,” Aikens said. “We’re doing this to bring them together. We’re doing this to build community, and they buy into that and support that.”

The event highlights the longstanding partnership between the library system and the Howard County school system, as well as other community organizations and sponsors such as Howard Community College.

This year, the event featured tables for the community to learn more about dual enrollment classes in high school through HCC and a vailable resources with the Community Action Council of Howard County.

With a record number of participants every year, Aikens said she hopes to see the event continue to grow. All young people should experience the whole community rallying behind them, she said.

“Our young people still read, and they want to read, and they’re finding enjoyment in that,” Aikens said.

“It is a misconception, completely false, to say that people do not read anymore, or that young people are not interested in reading; they absolutely are, and that Battle of the Books proves it every year.”

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