Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is back! Newberg-Dundee Public Schools happens to be one of the rare School Districts with teams in grade levels K-12, with many districts having no clubs after fifth grade.
In fact, local schools, including Mountain View Middle School, above, and Chehalem Valley Middle School, below, started meeting as soon as this past September. The OBOB season will be in full swing in November after students have split into teams and read their assigned books.
Students will form teams of four or five and work together to develop a detailed understanding of 16 specific books. Each year, the OBOB Title Selection Committee chooses a new list of books for elementary, middle school, and high school reading levels.
Competitions involve teams answering questions designed to illustrate that they read and understood the 16 titles in their age group. Students can be tested on every aspect of a book, including the author’s notes section and the illustrations.
Students have a chance to fine-tune their knowledge of the books to ready themselves for the big battles in the spring. The OBOB season begins with mock in-school battles in the fall, with official competitions in the winter. The top team from every participating school will compete at regionals, which are held in March. Regional winners compete at the state level in April.
With so much reading and so many battles, OBOB stands out as an academically challenging and competitive activity in school, so we wanted to know why so many local students are interested. We asked four students, two from each middle school, why they love OBOB. For them, the challenge and competition were exciting and fed into their love of language. Here is what they had to say:
MVMS
Seventh-grader Hudson Thomas:
What do you like about OBOB?
“I have a passion for reading, and I decided that OBOB would be a good choice. … I can connect with other readers and show how attentive I am as a reader.”
What do you like about reading?
“I like how I can envelope myself in the story. I grow emotionally attached to the characters.”
What makes a story good?
“A story that makes characters feel real and that has relatable settings.”
Sixth-grader Peyton Parker:
Why did you join OBOB?
“I joined it because I love reading, but I mostly like reading graphic novels and some other books. … I want a little bit of a challenge sometimes. It’s trying to see what you can do with your abilities.
Why should other students participate in OBOB?
“Reading, it’ll take you on an adventure, and when you go on an adventure in books, it inspires us to do things. It inspires you to do more in the world or write your own story. Adventures are fun too.”
CVMS
Sixth-grader Janice Olsen
Why did you join OBOB?
“I like to read and I like competitive things.”
What else do you like about OBOB?
“They recommend good books, and I like the prizes. That’s not my main goal, but one of the prizes was an ice cream party. I like to be able to say I won. (We almost won!) We got one question wrong.”
Sixth-grader Manny Sandoz
Why did you sign up for OBOB?
“I did OBOB last year, and I had a pretty good, positive experience. I’ve always had a knack for retaining information. OBOB is fun. It felt like home.”
What do you mean by home?
“I mean, it felt natural. I love it, the reading. I think it’s a great way to learn and to engage your brain!”