Last fall the Library took on the responsibility of sponsoring the first county-wide Battle of the Books, a quiz-style competition for avid young readers in the fifth grade. In so doing, we were reviving (and attempting to amplify) a program that had existed only in the Mount Vernon City Schools from 1993 to 2012. Peggy Mavis, who was Elementary Library Coordinator for the Mount Vernon City School District at the time, initiated the program and developed it into a robust annual event that drew large crowds of parents, teachers and children. Each of the city schools, plus St. Vincent School, had one team of seven kids, but the program's influence and impact went well beyond just that small group. It spurred an interest in reading and literature for their own sake and drew hundreds of kids--including third and fourth graders--into the excitement. After Mrs. Mavis's retirement, the program was continued a few more years but was then abandoned.
When we started working on the new county-wide Battle of the Books last fall, there was a lot of initial interest, but not every school was able to field a team. Even so, there will be seven teams competing in our first program this Tuesday evening, March 22, at Memorial Theater, starting at 6 p.m. Two schools--Columbia and St. Vincent--will each have two teams in the competition, while Centerburg, Columbia and Danville each have one team. Admission is, of course, free. The kids and their coaches have been working hard to get themselves ready, and we expect this to be a lively, fun and entertaining event. It's our hope that in succeeding years more and more schools will be able to join us, and like its Mount Vernon-only predecessor, the new Knox County Battle of the Books will become bigger and better and more enthusiastically received each year. Please join us for the program. We're all looking forward to it with great anticipation.
When we started working on the new county-wide Battle of the Books last fall, there was a lot of initial interest, but not every school was able to field a team. Even so, there will be seven teams competing in our first program this Tuesday evening, March 22, at Memorial Theater, starting at 6 p.m. Two schools--Columbia and St. Vincent--will each have two teams in the competition, while Centerburg, Columbia and Danville each have one team. Admission is, of course, free. The kids and their coaches have been working hard to get themselves ready, and we expect this to be a lively, fun and entertaining event. It's our hope that in succeeding years more and more schools will be able to join us, and like its Mount Vernon-only predecessor, the new Knox County Battle of the Books will become bigger and better and more enthusiastically received each year. Please join us for the program. We're all looking forward to it with great anticipation.
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