The district-wide Battle of the Books competition is on Friday, May 29th!

10AM for Upper Elementary, 1PM for Middle School

Here are the meeting links so you can add to your calendars: Upper Elementary | Middle School

As a reminder, each school can have up to 3 teams, each with a maximum of 5 students (15 students total). All coaches should also make sure their DCLA membership is up to date.

A few tips as you prepare students at your school:

Need help getting access to the BOB books? Utilize your resources throughout the city: get copies of books from the public library, use the 3-Stars collections on Sora, check discount book sites like First Book Marketplace, or reach out to families to obtain copies for your school.  

Need help selecting only 15 students? Host a school-wide battle a few weeks before the district-wide competition to help your students practice for the event and narrow down your teams (if you have a lot of interest at your school). Get help from families and other teachers with writing mock trivia questions.  

Need technology help? The district-wide competition will be held using Kahoot via a Microsoft Teams meeting. Begin familiarizing students with these platforms and brainstorming ways for teams to have a successful setup on the day of the event. This year, we will be using a new Kahoot feature that doesn't reward speed to be more inclusive of processing and internet speed!

We hope you and your students are feeling excited! If you need any support before then, please reach out (and please cc' catherine.fravel@k12.dc.gov & ashleigh.rose@k12.dc.gov).

The BOB (Battle of the Books) is a district-wide reading motivation program based upon the current Three Stars nominated titles.  This program is sponsored by DCLA SLS (District of Columbia Library Association School Library Section).  Students in 4th-8th grades participate in this competition by simply reading the Three Stars titles listed on the DCLA SLS website and answering questions.   

DCLA SLS’s BOB mission is to encourage a culture of reading and introduce students to new and exciting titles that they might not normally read. We recognize that the virtual BOB competition is an annual event that staff and students enjoy and look forward to each year.

Battle of the Books 2025 Winners!

Thank you to all participating students, librarians, and schools that make our DCLA Battle of the Books events possible! We hosted two successful virtual Battles this spring.  We'd like to congratulate the following Battle of the Books champions. To receive details about 2026 events, make sure you remain an active DCLA member. Hope to see you back next year! 

Upper Elementary Battle 

1^st Place: Stoddert

2^nd Place: Shepherd

3^rd Place: School-Within-School

Middle School Battle

1^st Place: Deal

2^nd Place: Eliot-Hine

3^rd Place: Deal

Is your school planning to participate in this year's Battle of the Books? You can get a head start on next year's books from the list of Three Stars Awards Nominees for 2026!

Join DCLA today and don't miss any updates on the 2026 season!

The coach from each participating school MUST be a member of DC Library Association.  If not a member, join today.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Battle of the Books Chair, Carson Everett (dclabotbchair@dcla.org) and the DCLA School Library Chair, Ashleigh Rose (school_lsc@dcla.org)

NEW! Flyers to promote 2026 BOB at your school

2026 Upper Elementary BOB Flyer

2026 Middle School BOB Flyer

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2026 BOOK LIST

UPPER ELEMENTARY BOOKS 

1. Fresh Start by Gale Galligan. Published: January 7, 2025.
2. Lola by Karla Arenas Valenti. Published: September 10, 2024.
3.  Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller. Published: April 22, 2025.
4. Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride. Published: October 1, 2024. 
5. A Split Second by Janae Marks. Published: October 1, 2024.
6. A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga. Published: September 10, 2024.
7. Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Published: January 14, 2025. 
8. Your Pet’s Secret Lives: The Truth Behind Your Pet’s Wildest Behaviors by Eleanor Spicer Rice and Rob Wilson. Published: May 28, 2024. 

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOKS

1. All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson. Published: February 4, 2025.
2. Black Girl Power: 15 Stories Celebrating Black Girlhood by Leah Johnson. Published: November 12, 2024.
3. Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste. Published: January 27, 2026.
4. A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight over Science in Schools by Debbie Levy. Published: January 14, 2025.
5. Free Period by Ali Terese. Published: March 5, 2024.
6. Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina, Anna Elena Balbusso. Published: July 1, 2025.
7. Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta. Published: February 18, 2025.
8. Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi. Published: August 26, 2025.
9. Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef. Published: May 7, 2024. 
10. Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar. Published: April 2, 2024. 978-1338775655

Practice with Our Previous Virtual Battle of the Books Questions

DC schools can participate in a Virtual Battle of the Books through Kahoot. In partnership with Junior League of Washington, questions were designed using titles from the Three Stars Book Award nominees from their respective years in the Upper Elementary and Middle School categories. Play at home or stage a virtual or in-person battle with students!

2024 Upper Elementary Battle of the Books (80 Questions)

2024 Middle School Battle of the Books (80 Questions)

2023 Upper ES and Middle School Questions (160 questions)

2022 High School Battle of the Books (100 questions)

2022 Middle School Battle of the Books (80 questions)

2022 Upper Elementary Battle of the Books (80 questions)

2021 Middle School Battle of the Books (100 questions)

2021 Upper Elementary Battle of the Books (80 questions)