The winners of the Battle of the Books competition were the Fabulous Four, including, from left to right, Owen Vette, Tucker Hurst, Teagan Taylor, and Keely Bredensteiner, all of Tarkio. The winners are presented with a giant pencil, which is signed by the winning teams and displayed in the winning team’s respective school until the next competition. (Erica Taylor photo)

The Book Keepers included, from left to right, Josh Schlueter, Ben Rolf, Braylyn Wood, and Harper Wood, all of Tarkio.

The Plot Twisters included, from left to right, Grant Spiegel, Isabella Kroeger, Olivia Roup, and Jaylynn Jones, all of Rock Port.

The 2022 Mark Twain Battle of the Books was held Friday, March 25, at the Tarkio Resource Center for Atchison County students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. There were nine teams comprised of 35 students who competed, answering questions involving information found in the 12 Mark Twain 2022 Award Books: “Unsung Hero of Birdsong, U.S.A.” by Brenda Woods; “Pay Attention, Carter Jones” by Gary Schmidt; “The Memory Keeper” by Jennifer Camiccia; “New Kid” by Jerry Craft; “Shine!” by JJ and Chris Grabenstein; “Shouting at the Rain” by Linda Mullaly Hunt; “Song for a Whale” by Lynne Kelly; “Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen” by Niki Lenz; “The Bridge Home” by Pandma Ventkatraman; “White Bird: A Wonder Story” by R.J. Palacio; “Charlie Thorne & the Last Equation” by Stuart Gibbs; and “Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse” by Susan Vaught.

The total pages read was 51,174. The top reader was Braylyn Wood of Tarkio, who read 4,495 pages. Second place was shared by Owen Vette, Harper Wood, Josh Schlueter, and Ben Rolf, all of Tarkio, who each read all of the 12 books and 2,934 pages.

In the first round, The Book Keepers had all correct answers. The Fabulous Four and The Plot Twisters tied for second, missing only one of their 12 questions. In the championship round, the competition starts fresh and with harder questions. At the end of seven rounds, The Fabulous Four had 10 points and The Book Keepers and The Plot Twisters were tied at eight. The competition continued for four more rounds with The Book Keepers and The Plot Twisters to break the tie. The Book Keepers got second place and The Plot Twisters received third place.

This event would not be possible without the Atchison County Development Corporation, which provides a grant to the Mule Barn Theatre Guild each year to buy extra copies of the award books for the county schools; as well as all the teachers, librarians, parents, and grandparents who encouraged the children to read and enter this competition and those who read the books and create the questions; and those who set up, take down, register the students, and calculate the numbers. Some of the money is also used for individual books for the participants, as well as special treats and prizes.

The Z.A.D. Bulldogs included, from left to right, Zander Grossman, Dayton Burke, and Alexander Wintz, all of Fairfax.

The Book Bosses included, from left to right, Katelyn Rouse, Kenni Davis, Eliza Mason, and Briar Daugherty, all of Rock Port.

The Airballers 2 included, from left to right, Knox Oswald, Henry Smith, Jaxson Smith, and Mack Smith, all of Fairfax.

The On The Same Page members included, from left to right, Leah Meyerkorth, Reese Herron, Jacob McMahon, and Landon Melton-Burrell, all of Rock Port.

The Reading Rockets included, from left to right, Ellie Garst, Stevie Gaines, Maeve Roup, and Raylynn Jenkins, all of Rock Port.

The Big Book Brainiacs included, from left to right, Natalie Waterland and Holdyn Moore, both of Rock Port, and Mikayla Windham and Graceyn Reeves, both of Tarkio.