Edmonds Heights team wins elementary school Battle of Books Trophy

Missing only one question in four rounds, the Edmonds Heights Axolotls took home this year’s Edmonds School District Elementary Battle of the Books trophy on April 1.

Falling just one point short of the winners was Seaview Elementary’s Just a Pinch of Seaview, which finished in second place.

More than 150 students representing 18 of the district’s elementaries packed the Meadowdale Elementary School gym Wednesday morning to participate in this year’s competition. Organized by elementary school librarians, Battle of the Books is a friendly competition in which students compete to answer questions about books they’ve read from a librarian-chosen reading list. Each elementary hosts their own competition, and the top two teams of four are selected to represent their school at the Districtwide event.

“It’s such a good way for them to explore their imagination a little bit more, to connect to ideas that maybe wouldn’t normally be exposed to,” said Edmonds Heights Book Club volunteer Laura Holloway. “For them to be able to share those stories with other people is really exciting.”

Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst, School District Assistant Superintendents Greg Schwab and Helen Joung, and KING 5 News Meteorologist Leah Pezzetti all helped present questions to the competitors. District Superintendent Rebecca Miner was prepared to participate in a tiebreaker round, but after four rounds the Axolotls cemented their victory.

In addition to keeping the Battle of the Books trophy until next year, the winning students also received gift bags, donated by the Lynnwood Barnes and Noble. Middle and high school editions of Battle of the Books will be hosted later this school year.