Ferndale Area District Library staff were on hand on March 17th to host 2026's 5th grade Battle of the Books competition! The Cool Kids (Cash Harrington, Caleb Moment & Caldwell Schultz) came out on top in a very competitive trivia-style competition where nineteen teams and 65 fifth graders competed! We also want to give a shout out to the team voted "Best Name" by our Ferndale Librarians - congrats to The Pickle Penguins (Hayden Christensen, Layla Coleman, Ellis Scamardella & Jasper Thomas).
Each year, FUEL 5th graders are challenged to read and study six novels and become "Battle Book Experts!". This year's selections included a diverse cast of characters, cultures, and formats, including Sanity and Tallulah by Molly Brooks, The Many Masks of Andy Zhou by Jack Cheng, Dear Mothman by Robin Gow, Forever this Summer by Leslie C. Youngblood, Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young, and The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez.
Participants were able to keep their copies of the books at the end of the Battle. Many thanks to our Ferndale librarians for their incredible creativity in putting this together this year, as well as to our 5th grade students and teachers for all of their reading and hard work leading up to the Battle! Shout out also to our family volunteers for helping put on the event!
