Experts from each of the 11 Jefferson City Public Schools (JCPS) elementary buildings matched their knowledge of Mark Twain Readers Award-winning books against other experts at the sixth annual Battle of the Books on Friday.
East Elementary School took home first-place honors Friday, followed by Belair and Callaway Hills elementary schools in second and third places, respectively.
Local librarians selected the 10 books for this year's competition based on which were popular with students at the time, said Sharla Buthod, JCPS library coordinator. They represent a variety of genres and characters to appeal to the broadest readership.
Students began reading the selected books in the fall and battled other readers in their respective buildings in January for one of five seats on the advancing team.