First place winners The Fighting Bananas, made up of Liam W., Gabe O., Will G., Grant D. and Ronnie S. Photos provided by Sharon Crain.

By Megan Kelley
Clarkston News Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE — It was a matter of brains versus brains – with a surprising amount of bananas involved – earlier this month at the final night of the Clarkston Community Schools Battle of the Books competition where fourth and fifth graders throughout the district battled it out to see who would prevail as the ultimate champions.
Battle of the Books is an annual program and competition run by CCS with the help of both the Clarkston Independence Library and the Springfield Township Library.
Fourth and fifth grade students at all district elementary schools are encouraged to form teams with their peers in early December and the books students will be reading are announced in January.
Book selection is done by Sharon Crain, Elementary Division Media Specialist for CCS and Battle of the Books Coordinator, with the help of librarians from the CIL and the STL
This year, seven books were chosen.
“We try to be very diverse in what we choose. So, we try to be multicultural. We try to have a poetry, a graphic novel, just a good old fashioned fiction chapter book, we try to do non-fiction, we do biographies,” Crain said.
For the next several weeks, students read the assigned books and discuss them with their teams all with the help of team coaches.
CCS had 519 students participate in Battle of the Books this year, making up 120 teams with 176 coaches.
“Literacy is the foundation of us moving forward and the things that we can accomplish in life. I just think to have 176 coaches this year, that speaks to me of the number of people who are passionate about literacy for not only their own children but all children and I think that’s powerful,” said Crain.
In February, each individual elementary school holds a Building Battle where teams from that school compete by answering questions about all seven books. The highest scorers that earn first and second place then move on to the District Battle which was held at Independence Elementary on March 4.
Teams show their excitement by dressing up and coming up with fun, witty team names and families show their support by cheering their students on with signs and rigorous applause.
“This year, they went over the top with their costumes. It was amazing,” Crain said.
After a hard fought battle, the first place winners were The Fighting Bananas, from Independence Elementary, made up of Liam W., Gabe O., Will G., Grant D. and Ronnie S.
Second place went to Book Bananas, from Clarkston Elementary, comprised of Brayden B., Connor S., Ellana E., Wyatt T. and Logan S.
Meter Readers, from Independence Elementary, took third place. Meter Readers were made up of Grace C., Felicity Y., Everly S., Claire H. and Lindi D.
Some honorable mentions include: The B.O.B.s, from Andersonville Elementary, winning Best Team Costume. The B.O.B.s were made up of Madelyn C., Rosie E., Joelle N. and Jordyn G.
Best Team Name went to Fabulously Famous Women, from Springfield Plains Elementary. Competing for Fabulously Famous Women were Samaya D., Charlotte K., Madalynne V. and Arla W.
Winners received signed copies of one of the battle books Beauty and the Beak as well as other prizes from local businesses and gift cards to 2nd and Charles.
While only a select few students went on to win the tournament, Crain says she was proud to see all of the students do their best and step out of their comfort zone by competing.
“I don’t care what the answer is on the board. I don’t care what your point is at the end. The bottom line is that you’re here. You had the courage and the bravery to say yes to doing this. That’s a win for me, for them just saying yes. In my heart, each and every one of them is a winner simply because they were willing to try this and I think that’s huge,” said Crain. “I think about them standing up in front of a big crowd, facing a crowd and answering questions, I don’t think I would have done that when I was in fourth or fifth grade. It’s a life skill too.”
Staff at all buildings, including central office, as well as staff from both surrounding libraries and an abundance of parent volunteers are what continue to make the program so successful each year and the packed gymnasium on the night of the final battle was a strong indicator of that.
“It truly takes a village to put this together, it really does. I am just the face of it but there are a whole lot of other people that help make this happen for which I am truly grateful,” Crain said. “It’s a powerful program. It really is. It brings the community together and I think that’s what I absolutely love about it is how it brings everybody together.”