Community: Oregon Battle of the Books
By Justin Andress, The Mountain Times
Each year, more than 300 Oregon schools participate in a one-of-a-kind reading competition called the Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB). This year, a dedicated team of 5th graders from Welches School made their voices heard by placing 13th in the statewide competition.
OBOB is a volunteer-run initiative that plays out like a Jeopardy tournament. Each year, officials pick 16 books for each of the competition’s 3 divisions: 3rd – 5th grade, 6th – 8th grade, and 9th – 12th grade. Teams of 4-5 students read each book and then answer questions from the material in “battles” that test their knowledge of the material.
The competition is open to public schools, private schools, and homeschooled children, which means the competition is stiff. For parent-coach Allison Horner, this year’s OBOB was one to remember, as her team of 5th graders, the Welches’ Reading Rizzlers — Autumn Hanifin, Maizie Hornor, Erin MacInnis, and Andi Sheehan — landed in the top 13 schools in the state. In a competition where only half a percent of teams make it to the state competition, that’s pretty wonderful.
“My journey with OBOB started because my daughter Maizie is an avid reader,” says Horner. “When I heard about OBOB, I signed her up and I discovered how naturally talented she was at retaining the tiny little details needed to thrive in the OBOB competitions. It helped that her best friends were also big time readers and extremely talented as well.”
Horner continues, saying, “These kids are super smart, like blow-your-mind smart! They remember the most microscopic questions that are only mentioned once in these big books, some topping 400 pages! To see our little mountain kids compete against big city private and public schools and hold their own, often winning, is a huge acknowledgment that we are doing something right up here on the mountain!”