Media Hub

Good Endings for Battle of the Books Teams

The 2021 Battle of the Books hosted by McDonogh took place over four days during the week of May 3. Despite the pandemic, the annual competition has not missed a beat since it was founded in 2000 by former librarian and current fifth grade Language Arts teacher Nancy McFadden. For the second consecutive year, using a virtual platform, students demonstrated their knowledge of the plots, characters, and authors of 10 books selected by school librarians for the fifth/sixth and seventh/eighth grade reading levels.

Middle School librarian Sara Beach noted that this year, because the tournament was virtual and spread out over four days, each grade could have two teams of up to four participants. 

The week of literary excitement began with McDonogh's two rookie fifth grade teams competing against students from nine other schools. Team #1 participants Choe H., Maxine K., and Thomas R. earned an honorable fifth place, while Team #2 comprised of Lyla K., John P., and Angad S. fought hard to win fourth place. The next day, the sixth grade teams faced off against strong competition. Team #1 composed of Claire B., Nengi B., Amelie S., and Elianna V. battled hard against nine other teams to earn a spectacular second place finish, while Team #2:  Cline H., Asghar M., and Anissa S. fought to win fourth place. 

In a nail-biter on Wednesday, the spirited seventh grade Team #1:  Llana C., Aanya K, and Abby W. won the coveted first place with a perfect score. On their heels, Team #2: Meheret G., Vivie L., and Onyeka N.  came in an outstanding second place. On the final day of competition, the dedicated eighth grade team of Ella N., Muyiwa O., and Sophia P. earned a fourth place finish in their final Battle of the Books competition.

Congratulations to McDonogh’s Middle School teams and to all those who participated. Learn more about the Battle of the Books and see the reading lists here.