Battle of the Books

Bringing up future generations of readers

BY SHEILA DECHANTAL

Remember summer as a kid?

You couldn’t wait to get out of school, sleep in, go swimming, play ball with your friends, maybe go camping. Now imagine that summer includes reading great books, winning prizes, meeting authors and connecting with friends — both old and new.

Hard to imagine? It doesn’t need to be. We have it right here, in Brainerd, and it’s called Battle of the Books.

In the fall of 2022, Friends of the Brainerd Public Library Board Member Laurie Wig had a vision. The Friends had just wrapped up their 10th year of bringing Wine and Words to the Brainerd lakes area. Over the course of three summer days, Wine and Words had gathered more than 800 adult readers to Grand View Lodge. There they socialized, met authors and built their book collections as they celebrated their love of reading. As a recently retired 5th grade teacher, Laurie couldn’t help but wonder how the Friends could replicate this joy, and the importance of literacy, with young readers.

Over the next several months, the idea was discussed at meetings and what it could be. Many thoughts were added to paper and many papers were thrown away. Yet the idea was there and it wasn’t letting go.

Following the October Minnesota Association of Library Conference, then President of the Friends Board, I excitedly shared a spark of an idea. I attended a session called Battle of The Books. That group invited readers to read four books throughout the summer, then they gathered them together, created teams and played a game in which they battled their book knowledge. Was this what they were looking for?

Yes and no. Yes, they wanted kids to read, but given Laurie’s background in education, she felt it important to bring the readers together to introduce and discuss the books along the way. Additionally, the highlight of Wine and Words was the authors. Young readers needed to meet the authors, or at least one of them. And, a huge goal was to include ways to connect our young readers to the public library.

And so it began. Goals were set, plans were made and the idea was shared with The Friends of the Brainerd Public Library. Their conclusion? Let’s give it a try and see where it lands. Upon the approval, the board budgeted for two sets of four books, materials and one author visit for 80 kids. Laurie and I crossed their fingers and moved on to “Step Two, Invite the Readers.”

Still working part-time with Brainerd Public Schools, Laurie also shared the idea with Jessica Gangl of the Brainerd Public

Schools Foundation and District Administration. Would they partner in this endeavor? Could they provide assistance and resources? In February of 2023, BPSF gave Laurie and Brainerd’s version of Battle of the Books a spotlight at their Big Event. After her short speech, attendees responded with $1,200 on the spot.

Additionally, Laurie was informed the program fit perfectly with, and would be approved for, the use of the District’s Learning Loss Dollars, dollars intended to inspire learning and close gaps outside the normal school day. The district’s message was “Open it wide! Invite every Brainerd area student.”

Armed with this information, a committee carefully fleshed out the details to be inclusive of all and free to all. The target age group was third through seventh grades with hopes of catching the early as well as the more advanced readers. Engaging, entertaining and thought provoking books were chosen — two different sets — one set for grades 3-7 and the other for 5-7. Invitations to school staff were sent. Would they lead discussions with small groups of readers through the summer? Yes!

Authors were invited to attend, if not in person at least via ZOOM, to tell the students about the writing process and answer their questions. All eight said yes, with some even waiving and/or lowering their fees. Six of the eight were from Minnesota and agreed to attend in person.

Add-ins, such as Kahoot, an online multiple choice game, prizes and support from the community, were discussed. With connections to local restaurants, I reached out with a request.

Would they provide food making it easier for parents to bring their kids? Yes — the answer was always yes.

In March, Wig spoke at each school, tirelessly sharing the vision through Google Slides decks of authors and book trailers with each and every third through seventh grader. When the dust cleared from the whirlwind of school tours and answering of questions, 405 readers had signed up.

The following books went out in June 2023, followed by event after event of reading, discussing, socializing, meeting authors, eating good food, winning prizes and heading to the public library for summer reading.

Set 1 (Grades 3-7):

“A Rover’s Story,” Jasmine Warga “Maizy Chen’s Last Chance,” Lisa Yee “Pencilvania,” Stephanie Watson

“Chasing Bigfoot,” Art Coulson

Set 2 (Grades 5-7):

“The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly,” Rebecca Ansari

“Controlled Burn,” Erin Soderberg Downing

“Windswept,” Margi Preus

“The Hidden Room,” Bill Durbin

In September 2023, as the program concluded with the grand battles, 245 students had regularly participated throughout the summer.

For year two, summer of 2024, tweaks were made to better accommodate families, groupings were adjusted, an eighth grade group was formed, and the goal was 300 active participants and 547 students signed up to read the following books. At the time of this writing, here are the stats:

Blue Set (Grades 3-5): 270 active participants, 3 authors via Zoom, 1 in person

“Your Pal Fred,” Michael Rex

“The Real Deal,” Lindsey Stoddard

“The Last Mapmaker,” Christina Soontornvat

“Fearless,” Kristin F. Johnson

Green Set (Grades 5-7): 130 active participants, two authors via Zoom, two in person

“Speak Up,” Rebecca Burgess

“The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle,” Taryn Souders

“Secret of the Shadow Beasts,” Diane Magras

“Just Keep Walking,” Erin Soderberg Downing

8th Grade Set: Eight active participants, two authors via Zoom

“A Good Girl's Guide to Murder,” Holly Jackson

“Salt to the Sea,” Ruta Sepety

“Deep Fake,” Sarah Darer Littman

“Look Both Ways,” Jason Reynolds Brainerd’s Battle of the Books has gone above and beyond the early expectations. Wig says, “In addition to developing reading skills, a love of reading, and library habits, the readers have become more empathetic and compassionate as they see themselves and others in the books. Sharing ideas and listening to others’ thoughts, have developed social skills and civil discourse. Readers have learned to understand others’ perspectives and their world views have grown wider.”

From the beginning, I’ve said this may be the most important thing the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library and the community have ever done. Putting 200-plus kids in a room where they are excited about books and excited about authors, is honestly, unreal. It is hard to explain this program. Having more people come and see what was happening was, and still is, important. Having community involvement was important in the beginning, and it really is now.

In September, readers will participate in 2024’s Grand Battles — at the same time that access to Learning Loss Dollars comes to a close.

To all of those who worked to provide Battle of the Books there is the question of what the future holds for this incredible program. After all, what other Minnesota community can boast that more than 400 of their kids, aged 9-14, read and discussed books all summer long?