ECPS wins Battle of Books by 15-point margin

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March 4, 2013

ECPS wins Battle of Books by 15-point margin

THE DAILY SOUTHERNER Staff reporter The Daily Southerner Mon Mar 04, 2013, 10:00 AM EST

TARBORO — In a nail-biting, 15-round Battle of the Books competition in the auditorium of W.A. Pattillo School Friday morning, North East Carolina Prep School emerged victorious over the county’s other five middle schools.

A beaming Bricen Duff, wearing a Battle of the Books medallion around his neck and a shirt with NECP’s school colors of gold and maroon, congratulated his fellow teammates. He revealed that teamwork was the key to NECP’s win.

“A lot of them (the questions) stumped me, but the team, not a lot of them stumped all of us,” he said.

The questions posed by moderator Brian Everett were specific and the team had to provide both the title and the author of the book to get it right. In a round between Phillips Middle School and Pattillo, Everett asked, “In which book is there only one bathtub on board because water is such a heavy commodity?” Members of each team conferred with each other, but neither team got the answer right. The answer was “Airborne” by Kenneth Oppel.

“The titles were extremely difficult this year.” said Valerie Pearce, South Edgecombe Middle School team coach and media coordinator for the school. “I think it was a really good competition.”

“The best part is to see them enjoy reading,” said Cindy Brittain, NECP’s media coordinator and coach. “There’s fiction, non-fiction, books for boys, books for girls …”

Duff’s favorite book read for the competition was “Death Cloud” by Andrew Lane.

“It’s a Sherlock Holmes story,” he explained.

Brittain said she let team members choose the books they wanted to read off the list of 27 titles. The team began practicing for the competition in October and did monthly practice competitions beginning in January.

“They did the work. I’m so proud of them,” Brittain said. In its first year, NECP competed in the Battle for the first time, claiming victory by a 15-point margin over C.B. Martin Middle School. NECP received a trophy and an invitation to an upcoming Rotary Club meeting for their win, along with medallions that were given to each team by the Rotary.

The third-place team, West Edgecombe, was a spirited bunch.

“We got third place and we beat South Edgecombe!” the team proclaimed in unison at the end of the competition.

South Edgecombe placed fifth in the competition, behind Pattillo and in front of Phillips. The West Edgecombe team admitted they guessed the title and author of the book in question several times during the competition.

“You have to trust in your teammates’ answers,” said South Edgecombe eighth grader Timothy Price. His favorite literary genre is mystery/ horror and his favorite book in this year’s competition was the graphic novel “Everlast” by Chad Michael Murray.

“It’s really fun. I like Battle of the Books,” said South Edgecombe sixth grader Margaret Quincy.

“Just making a few good friends” was her favorite part of the competition. She enjoyed reading the book “Freak the Mighty” by Rodman Philbrick, which she described as an “action” book. Quincy is half blind because to a condition called hyperplasia, so she listened to the books for the Battle through an audio device, Book Port Plus.

“She remembers very well,” Pearce said. She told Quincy at the conclusion of Friday’s competition, “I liked your enthusiasm.”

“I made up a saying about Battle of the Books – on a horse, fighting books, drinking hot chocolate,” said Quincy. The team often drank hot chocolate at meetings. Quincy’s saying embodies the premise of the Battle of the Books – making reading fun.

“It was a fun time and they learn a lot by reading,” Pearce said.

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