Wendy Harper/MDN Eva Speight, left, Title I teacher Emily Ogle, Thomas Hjelmstad and Boden Mitchell hold their championship trophy and other awards while celebrating their team victory as The Doges of Longfellow Elementary following the Battle of the Books final competition at John Hoeven Elementary in Minot on Thursday, Feb. 5.

The final round of Minot Public Schools’ Battle of the Books brought top young readers together for the district panel competition, where Edison Elementary and Longfellow Elementary faced off in a closely contested literary showdown.

Competing under the team name, “The Doges,” Longfellow’s readers demonstrated strong recall, teamwork and composure under pressure to secure the district title. The team was awarded the traveling Battle of the Books trophy, which will be displayed at Longfellow Elementary for the school year.

Each participating elementary school first hosted its own Battle of the Books competition. The top-placing team from each school advanced to the district panel held this year at John Hoeven Elementary, to compete against other school champions.

The championship battle consisted of two rounds, with 12 questions asked in each round, testing students’ knowledge of plot details, characters and themes from the year’s reading list.

During competition play, moderators read aloud questions related to the selected books. Teams were required to respond by correctly identifying both the book title and the author, adding an extra level of difficulty that tested students’ attention to detail and recall.

Students participating in the program were required to read 12 books in preparation for the event. Teams consisted of three students, all from fourth and fifth grades, who worked collaboratively to study the material and prepare for quiz-style questioning.

Earlier in the day, elementary teams from across the district competed in preliminary battles. Participating schools included Edison Elementary, Bel Air Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, Washington Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, John Hoeven Elementary and Sunnyside Elementary.

After the final questions were tallied, Longfellow Elementary emerged victorious with a score of 84-77.

This marks the fifth year Minot Public Schools has held the districtwide Battle of the Books competition, continuing its focus on promoting literacy, teamwork and academic engagement among elementary students.

The district panel serves as the culminating event of the program, celebrating not only the winning team but all participating students for their dedication to reading.