Ciara Parizek/MDN The Roosevelt Elementary School team faces off against the John Hoeven Elementary School team in the preliminary rounds of the Battle of the Books on Monday.

Teams from all of the Minot elementary schools gathered at John Hoeven Elementary School on Monday for the third annual Battle of the Books. The John Hoeven Jammers were this year’s winners on their home turf.

The Battle of the Books is a competition featuring fourth- and fifth-graders going against each other to see which school’s team can correctly answer the most novel trivia questions. Each school had a team of three students, and the trivia questions were pulled from a collection of 12 novels and two picture books.

The students began reading the novels in late September to early October, having about three months to read and study the material.

In that amount of time, they also came up with their own individual team names and had custom shirts made to wear for the occasion.

During the competition, moderators read from a list of questions relating to content from the books. Students pressed a button to buzz in with their answers, and if a student got the title of the novel correct, their team earned five points. The student then had the opportunity to name the author for two bonus points.

If the student erred on the book title, the other team could collaborate on an answer and, if successful, steal the points. The same went for the author points.

Students who were quick to press the buzzer before the moderator finished reading the question had to answer the question based on the information received at that point. The moderator did not repeat the question for the team who buzzed in prematurely, but the question was repeated for the opposing team looking to steal.

Whichever school’s team won the final round got to keep the trophy at their school until a different school wins the event. The 2021-2022 Battle was won by Edison Elementary School, and 2022-2023 was won by Bel Air Elementary School.

The final round of the Battle of the Books was held in the school gym, where third-, fourth- and fifth-graders were gathered in the bleachers to watch. Parents of the participating students also were welcome to attend the event in-person. However, if they were not able to make it, the teachers sent a video link so they could watch remotely.

The John Hoeven Jammers reigned victorious on their home turf, and the traveling trophy will be staying at their school until next year’s Battle of the Books.