For the first time, Pearl River Public Library hosted the Ramapo Catskill Library System’s Regional Battle of the Books on Saturday.
Back in January, libraries were given eight books for the kid participating to read, which they were then quizzed on at the Battle of the Books, which is a game show-like quiz competition.
This year, 11 teams competed: Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, Cornwall Public Library, Finklestein Memorial Library in Spring Valley, Livingston Manor Library, Middletown Thrall Library, Moffat Library of Washingtonville, Monroe Free Library, New City Library, Pearl River Public Library, Rose Memorial Library in Stony Point and Valley Cottage Free Library.
The competitors range from sixth to 12th grade, so the Ramapo Catskill Library System members who organize the event try to pick a wide range of books that will interest all of the readers, according to librarian Christina Linder, who coached the Pearl River team this year. She said two of the books the teams read for this year’s competition were “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare.
Livingston Manor won the competition this year, with Pearl River finishing second after a third-place finish last year. The Pearl River team nicknamed themselves the Book Eating Mice.
The team that finished first earned $250, while the second-place team earned $200. Linder said the competition is funded by the various Friends of each library group. The rest of the money goes to competition costs, like the buzzers and signs.
