Skip to Main Content

Lakeshore's Battle of Books: Home

This site is for Lakeshore's Battle of the Books. Here find the books we are reading, the teams, and calendar.

Banner

Book List

Big Tree by Brian Selznick
Call Number: Fantasy F Sel
Sycamore seed siblings Merwin and Louise must use their wits and imaginations to navigate a mysterious and often dangerous world, filled with talking plants, monsters, meteors, and the fear of never finding the right conditions to set down roots and become big trees.

City Spies by James Ponti
Call Number: Mystery F Pon
Sara Martinez is facing years in the juvenile detention system for hacking into the foster care computer system to prove that her foster parents are crooks. But then she gets a second chance when a mysterious man offers her a chance to join a group of MI6 affiliated spies.

Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Call Number: Historical F Cli
It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything-- Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved. In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life. At home he's lonely, his father always busy at work; at school he's bullied for being a country boy. But Langston's new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the Chicago Public Library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston--a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him.

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass
Call Number: Mystery F Ste
When a mysterious Little Free Library guarded by a large orange cat appears overnight, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
Call Number: Mystery F Bra
Five murder suspects are invited to the haunted Barclay Hotel for a weekend getaway, and it is up to twelve-year-old JJ and eleven-year-old Penny--and a lonely ghost--to figure out who committed the crime

The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate
Call Number: Animals F App
Ruby's story picks up a few months after the events of 'The One and Only Bob.' Now living in a wildlife sanctuary, Ruby's caretaker from the elephant orphanage in Africa where she grew up is visiting. Seeing him again brings back a flood of memories both happy and sad of her life before the circus, and she recounts the time she spent in the African savannah to Ivan and Bob.

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
Call Number: Historical F LaR
Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she's the only Indian American student, and home, with her family's traditions and holidays. But Reha's parents don't understand why she's conflicted--they only notice when Reha doesn't meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked--Reha means 'star' and Punam means 'moon'--but they are a universe apart. Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick. Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can't stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She'll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma's life.

Roll with It by Jamie Sumner
Call Number: Realistic F Sum
Twelve-year-old Ellie, who has cerebral palsy, finds her life transformed when she moves with her mother to small-town Oklahoma to help care for her grandfather, who has Alzheimer's Disease.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Call Number: Adventure F Had
When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1996 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Call Number: Science Fiction F Bro
Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.

The Big Cheese by Jory John
Call Number: E Joh
The Big Cheese is the best at everything, and brags about it, too. When the annual Cheese-cathlon comes around, the Big Cheese is prepared to win, as always. But what happens when the quiet new kid, Wedge Wedgeman, comes out on top? Is a slice of humility all the Big Cheese needs to discover that some things are better than being the best?

Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year by Andrea Beaty
Call Number: E Bea
When Lila, a worrier, moves to a new town, the what ifs only grow, and she feels alone and invisible until her teacher finds a creative and kind way to make Lila feel welcome and open to new experiences, a lesson that will stay with her long after second grade.

Ostriches Eat Sausages by Robin Kelley
Call Number: E Kel
Ostriches eat sausages? Cheetahs eat fajitas? Dragonflies eat . . . turkey pot pies?!
This silly animal story is sure to make animal lovers of all ages laugh. Come along on this alphabet adventure to find out what food the animals love to eat after closing time at the zoo!
A Very Cranky Book by Angela DiTerlizzi
Call Number: E DiT
A snarky tale of a very cranky book that might not be so cranky after all.

Absolutely Nat by Maria Scrivan
Call Number: GN Scr
Natalie has just arrived at summer camp and soon realizes it isn't anything like the brochure. Instead of spending the summer with her best friends, Zoe and Flo, Natalie is stuck with her ex-BFF, Lily, and someone even more annoying than the endless mosquitoes: Millie Flatbottom. Even worse, she's constantly pushed out of her comfort zone and forced to come face-to-face with some of her greatest fears. Although summer camp isn't at all what Natalie expected, could it be exactly what she needs?

The Challenger Disaster: Tragedy in the Skies by Pranas T. Naujokaitis
Call Number: GN Nau
In History Comics: The Challenger Disaster, we turn the clock back to January 28, 1986. Seven astronauts boarded the space shuttle Challenger on what would be a routine mission. All eyes and cameras were on crew member Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher, who was set to become the first private citizen in space. Excitement filled the air as the clock counted down to liftoff. But at T-plus seventy-three seconds after launch, the unthinkable happened... What caused the midair explosion? In Pranas T. Naujokaitis's imaginative tale, set in a far-off future, a group of curious kids investigate the hard questions surrounding the Challenger explosion. Inspired by the legacy and sacrifice of the Challenger seven, they continue in their footsteps, setting out toward the stars and into the great unknown!

Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Call Number: GN Gon
When five middle school kids are thrown together to complete community service hours in the local cafeteria, Miguel, Dayara, Sara, Nico, and George, who come from different backgrounds, learn that they've been put together because administrators see them only as Latinx. However, when they learn that someone is in desperate need of help, the five band together to help in the best way they know how and later must explain themselves to skeptical school officials.

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series by Traci Sorell
Call Number: 796.357 Sor
The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native American pro baseball players to face off in a World Series, teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports.

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
Call Number: E 595.44 Lan
A nonfiction picture book that follows a day in the life of a backyard jumping spider. Includes information about jumping spiders.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
Call Number: B Sas
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.

Teams

4th Grade Teams

Monkers:
Fitz
Jonathan
Myles
Zaedyn

Reading Sloth Whales:
Aeris
Kelsey
Norah
Reshawn

Dementors:
Ciarie
Griffin
Pearl

Hamster Noodle Dog:
Adelynn
Gabe
Sophie
Theresa

Read Riders:
Henry
Mayson
Teddy
Xander

Pickle Pickle Jelly-Time:
Elliott
Greysen
Jamie
Landon

Baddies:
Ayla
Clara
Gabby
Hannah

Library Spies:
Jude
Lila
Loretta
Violette

The Rizzlers:
Cayson
Garrett
Roman
Zevon

Pickle Men:
Mark
Mason
Stryker

5th Grade Teams

Vipers:
Carl
Henry
Isaiah
Zaybel

The Dominators:
Aaliyah
Briella
Jayden
Ma'Lona

I Like Blue:
Aary
Maria
Molly
Rose

The Wavers:
Abby
Jay
Rayna
Suawya

Granny Goose Pies:
Jaron
RJ
Vayu
Zooey

Skeleton Pirate Finders:
AJ
Avaryon
Kacen
Oliver

Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Big Mac and Margot:
Finley
Kaysen
Margot
Ryland

The Preppy Loraxes:
George
Harlee
Jolee
Kaydence

Practice Activities

Title and Author Matching

Title and Author Matching Game

Practice Quiz #1

Practice Quiz #2

Calendar

Calendar

Last updated: Dec. 2024

September- Sign Up

October- Meet with Team & Read

January 24th-Battle of the Books Qualifier

January 28th & 31st-4th Grade Battles

January 28th & 29th- 5th Grade Battles

February 7th- Lakeshore's Battle of the Books

February 24-28-State Battle of the Books

Battle Logo