Teen

Winter Battle of the Books

Winter Battle of the Books is a book trivia contest for 5th-8th graders who are cardholders at Longwood Public Library.  Participants read three books, attend three practice sessions, and then compete in teams against one another at the "Winter Battle of the Books" on the fourth week.  Parents and friends are welcome at the final contest, which is held at Longwood Public Library.  Registration usually takes place in November; the program usually takes place on four Fridays in January through February.  Discover the joy of reading, learning, and competing through this program and other "Battle of the Books" programs.

2013 Winter Battle of the Books:

The books we read this year were:
Cover Title Author Description
Ungifted Ungifted Korman, Gordon Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special school for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school.
Vanishing Acts Vanishing Acts: A Madison Kincaid Mystery Margolin, Phillip In Portland, Oregon, between soccer games and beginning seventh grade, twelve-year-old Madison Kincaid and new classmate Jake try to track down her missing best friend, while also helping her attorney father solve a missing-persons case.
Between the Lines Between the Lines Picoult, Jodi & Van Leer, Samantha Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom.

 2012 Winter Battle of the Books:

Thanks to all the 5th through 8th graders who made the 9th annual Winter Battle of the Books such a success.  The 2012 titles were the lengthiest selected for winter battle, adding up to 1,293 pages!  Over 40 young teens competed against one another in trivia questions.  The title for the 2012 Winter Battle of the Books were:
Cover Title Author Description
The Lost Hero The Lost Hero Riordan, Rick Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself.
 The True Meaning of Smekday The True Meaning of Smekday Rex, Adam Twelve-year-old Gratuity Tucci has a hard time writing an essay on "The True Meaning of Smekday" due to her complex life after Earth was overtaken by aliens and her mother was kidnapped and taken to Happy Mouse Kingdom in Florida.
 Cosmic Cosmic Cottrell Boyce, Frank Frequently mistaken for an adult because of his mature appearance, 12-year-old Liam tires of the few benefits he's been able to take advantage of as a result and cons his way onto a spaceship for civilians by pretending to be an adult chaperone, a situation that lands him between worlds far from home.

 2011 Winter Battle of the Books:
 The titles for the 2011 Winter Battle of the Books were:
 Cover  Title  Author  Description
 The Willoughbys The Willoughbys Lowry, Lois In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.
 The Grimm Legacy The Grimm Legacy Shulman, Polly New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.
 The Maze of Bones: 39 Clues Book 1 The Maze of Bones: 39 Clues Book 1 Riordan, Rick What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 clues? What if you were given a choice - take a million dollars and walk away..or get the first Clue? If you're Amy and Dan Cahill, you take the clue - and begin a very dangerous race. 

2010 Winter Battle of the Books:

Thanks to all the participated! The titles for the 2010 Winter Battle of the Books were: 
 Cover  Title  Author  Description
 The Graveyard Book The Graveyard Book Gaiman, Neil Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard.  Winner of the 2009 Newbery Award.
 Peeled Peeled Bauer, Joan In an upstate New York farming community, high school reporter Hildy Biddle investigates a series of strange occurrences at a house rumored to be haunted.
 Scat Scat Hiaasen, Carl Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.
 The titles for the 2009 Winter Battle of the Books were:   
 Cover  Title  Author  Description
 Schooled Schooled Korman, Gordon  After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.
 The Wednesday Wars The Wednesday Wars Schmidt, Gary During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of the value about the world he lives in.
 Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time Yee, Lisa After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer-school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.

 
The titles for the 2008 Winter Battle of the Books were:
 Cover  Title  Author  Description
 Sea of Monsters Sea of Monsters Riordan, Rick Demi-god Percy Jackson and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first Percy will discover a secret that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or a cruel joke.
 First Boy First boy Schmidt, Gary Dragged into the political turmoil of a presidential election year, fourteen-year-old Cooper Jewett, who runs a New Hampshire dairy farm since his grandfather's death, stands up for himself and makes it clear whose first boy he really is.
 Shakespeare's Secret Shakespeare's Secret Broach, Elise

Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, misfit sixth-grader Hero becomes interested in exploring this unusual connection because of a valuable diamond supposedly hidden in her new house, an intriguing neighbor, and the unexpected attention of the most popular boy in school.

 
  The titles for the 2007 Winter Battle of the Books were:
 Cover  Titles  Author   Description
Flush Flush Hiaasen, Carl With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister, Abbey, must gather evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge tanks into the protected waters around their Florida Keys home.
 Princess Academy Princess Academy Hale, Shannon 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.
 The Lightning Theif The Lightning Theif Riordan, Rick Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
The titles for the 2006 Winter Battle of the Books were:
Cover Title Author Description
Al Capone Does My Shirts Al Capone Does My Shirts Choldenko, Gennifer A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
 Love Among the Walnuts Love Among the Walnuts Ferris, Jean Born and raised in isolation in a wealthy, eccentric family, Sandy is shocked when he, his parents, and their servants become victims of a vicious plot by his greedy uncles to incapacitate them and take their money.
 The River Between Us The River Between Us Peck, Richard During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois
The titles for the 2005 Winter Battle of the Books were:
 Cover  Title  Author  Description
 Hoot Hoot Hiaasen, Carl Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.
 Surviving the Applewhites Surviving the Applewhites Tolan, Stephanie Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.
 Once Upon a Marigold Once Upon a Marigold Ferris, Jean A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father.
 The titles for the 2004 Winter Battle of the Books were:
 Cover  Title  Author  Description
 Ella Enchanted Ella Enchanted Levine, Gail Carson In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
 Artemis Fowl Artemis Fowl Colfer, Eoin When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.
 Running Out of Time Running Out of Time Haddix, Margaret Peterson When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.