Elementary and junior high students throughout Santa Barbara County competed in a battle of literary wit at the Santa Barbara County Education Office’s 25th annual Battle of the Books event series. 

Participating students prepare year-round for the event by reading — and often re-reading — books from a designated list before tackling friendly “battles” against other teams to test their knowledge through trivia questions about plot, characters, and theme.

This year, more than 240 students in grades four through eight took part in the three events, which included two elementary and one junior high school battles.

At the elementary level, students are placed on teams with peers from different schools across the county and at the junior high level, students compete in school teams.

At every event, each group invents a team name, which they proudly display on their literary “battle shield” throughout the competition. 

During three nail-biting rounds, students were quizzed on 28 different titles (elementary list; junior high list), ending with the final Battle Royale, a friendly, but intense showdown of the two top teams.

The junior high battle had an extra contest this year — a relay battle, which mixed up the teams and required each member to take turns hustling to the judge to provide an answer.

A full list of winners from each event can be found here.

“My favorite parts of the day were making our shield, meeting new people, and finding out our scores,” said a sixth-grader from Peabody Charter School who returned for a third year. “I love how there’s recommendations of books and I end up really enjoying a lot of them.”

“As we celebrate 25 years of Battle of the Books, it’s inspiring to see how this event continues to bring students together through a shared love of reading, fostering connection, curiosity, and teamwork,” said Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido.

“Congratulations to all of the students who brought their knowledge and excitement to this year’s competition,” Salcido said.

The Santa Barbara County Education Office will also host a Spanish-language version of the Battle of the Books, Batalla de los Libros. The event invites fourth-seventh grade Dual Language Immersion students from across Santa Barbara County to gather on Thursday, May 14, and compete in Spanish on a list of Spanish-language books they read throughout the year.

The reading lists for next year’s Battle of the Books events are scheduled to be released in May at sbceo.org/battle.