The Oregon Battle of the Books is a statewide reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored

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2008
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Introduction

• The Oregon Battle of the Books is a statewide
  reading motivation and comprehension program
  sponsored by the Oregon Association of School
  Libraries in conjunction with a Library Services
  and Technology Act grant. Students, regardless of
  ability, are exposed to quality literature
  representing a variety of literary styles and
  viewpoints. The goals of the program are to
  encourage and recognize students who enjoy
  reading, broaden reading interests, increase
  reading comprehension, and promote academic
  excellence.

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The WOMScompetition

• These will be all class competitions. Mrs. F-B
  will ask random questions based on any of the
  novels from the list.
• Answers will consist of book titles (3 points)
  and authors (2 points).
• You will get three tickets per person to give
  titles. You may answer unlimited authors. So,
  everyone should learn all the authors, even if
  you dont read all the books because you can help
  your team that way. There is no helping among
  team members by calling out answers.
• If your team misses a title, the question moves
  to the next team.

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The state OBOBcompetition
These will be 4 person team competitions (with a
5th alternate member) with only one spokesperson
per team. These competitions will run
differently. There will be In which Book
questions - answers will consist of book titles
(3 points) and authors (2 points) And there will
be and Open Response/Content questions -
answers for these will be worth 5 points. If your
team misses a title, the question moves to the
next team. We will have local competitions at our
school to determine the team which goes to
regionals. The regional competition will have
over 30 schools participating and will be held
here at WOMS on Saturday, March 1st. Regional
winners will go to the state competition on April
19th. If you are interested in signing up for the
Oregon Battle team, please get a flyer from Mrs.
FB.
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Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
2008 YRCA
Set in a small town, this is a story about
friends who spend a summer together filled with
wonderfully ordinary moments block parties,
fireflies, warm apple dumplings, romance and
social awkwardness. Debbie, Hector and Lenny get
to know each other better as they spend each
Saturday morning listening to a radio show while
sitting in a truck. As the summer days move on,
each one of the friends face a crossroad in their
own life and must choose how they want to cross
it.
Lexile 820
Realistic fiction
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Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
In a society that allows only two children per
family, Luke is a third child--a shadow child.
Hes illegal, strictly forbidden, and must stay
hidden in his house away from others and be alone
most of the time. However, one day he discovers
another shadow child, Jen, living in one of the
fancy new houses behind his familys farm. They
quickly become friends, but Jen is bold and
daring and wants him to be a crusader willing to
risk everything for their freedom. Will Luke
take on the challenge?
Lexile 800
Science fiction
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Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Cole, an angry young man, gets into a fight
causing potential brain damage to the another
boy. Rather than prison, he chooses Circle
Justice and faces one year of banishment on a
remote Alaskan island. Cole starts his journey
with a flippant attitude, and continues to blame
his troubles on his alcoholic mother, abusive
father and even the wimpy victim. That is,
until he is attacked viciously by a bear and left
hideously injured...while still on his own in the
wilderness. In order to survive, Cole must come
to terms with his anger, his own reactions, and
deal with his past.
Lexile 670
Adventure/Survival
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Flush by Karl Hiaasen
2008 YRCA
Noah Underwoods father has been jailed for
intentionally sinking a river boat. In order to
free his father, Noah must gather evidence
proving that a floating casino owner is emptying
his bilge tanks into the protected Florida water.
With the help of his little sister Abby, and an
ex-crewmate of the casino, Noah works hard to
prove what his father could not. Will Noah prove
the casino owners dirty deeds and finally help
free his father?
Lexile 830
Realistic fiction
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Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
On December 7, 1941, thirteen-year-old Tomikazu
Nakaji and his best friend Billy Davis are
playing outside near their homes in Hawaii when
the Japanese launch a surprise attack on Pearl
Harbor. As Tomi looks up at the sky and
recognizes the Blood-Red Sun emblem on the
fighter planes, he knows that his life has
changed forever. His father and grandfather, both
Japanese-Americans, are quickly arrested and
taken to concentration camps. Plus, his mother
loses her job because she is Japanese. Tomi must
fight and do something to save his family.
What will he do?
Lexile 640
Historical fiction
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Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl is a wonderfully colorful, and truly
sweet high school student. She celebrates
everybodys birthdays by giving them home-made
cards and a song played on her ukulele. She has
a pet rat, loves being a cheerleader, and gives
an amazing speech that really stirs up school
spirit. Stargirl is just a lot of fun! Who
couldnt love Stargirl? Why then is this
popular girl now shunned from her classmates?
Lexile 590
Realistic/Allegory
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Cages by Peg Kehret
After losing a much-desired acting role and
fighting with her alcoholic stepfather, Kit
steals a gold necklace. Shes arrested for
shoplifting and ordered to work at an animal
shelter as part of her sentence. While working,
she meets a kind old man who plays the harmonica,
lots of lovable dogs and cats, and works with a
friendly staff. Kit begins to spend more and
more time there. However, secrets about her
arrest pose big problems for her relationship
with her best friend and her mother. Will she
learn her lesson on stealing? Will she keep her
best friend?
Lexile 660
Realistic fiction
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Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Newbery Honor
In a small town on Mount Eskel, a princess
academy has opened and all 12-16 year old girls
must attend. The Kings priests have declared
that the prince shall find his princess in this
small village, therefore all teen girls must
learn how to live as a Royal. However, only one
girl will marry the prince and for Miri, a young
vibrant 14 year old, this is her chance to shine
for her town! Yet, she must first contend with
the cruel Tutor Olana plus overcome other
hardships. Will she even like the prince? Will
her quarry speech hurt her or boost her
confidence? Will she bring pride to her small
town?
Lexile 890
Fantasy
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AIRBORNby Kenneth Oppel
Matt Cruse is the 15-year-old cabin boy aboard
the Aurora, the 900-foot luxury airship, he has
called home for the past two years. While
crossing the Pacific, Matt fearlessly rescues the
unconscious pilot of a crippled hot air balloon.
Before he dies, the balloonist tells him about
the fantastic, impossible creatures he has seen
flying through the clouds. Matt dismisses the
story, but when Kate de Vries arrives on the
Aurora a year later, determined to prove that the
story is true, Matt finds himself caught up in
her quest.
Lexile 760
Science Fiction
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Code Orangeby Caroline B. Cooney
2008 YRCA
Mitty Blake is a talented but an underachieving
student in advanced biology. In fact, he is more
interested in his friend Olivia than in
completing his infectious-disease report.
However, when he discovers a smallpox scab in an
envelope in an old medical book, his research
takes an urgent turn as he tries to determine
whether he has contracted the disease himself.
Then, while searching for information on the
Internet, he inadvertently alerts a terrorist
group to his situation. They kidnap him. Will
he survive?
Lexile 850
Adventure
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Code Talker A Novel about Navajo Marines of WW
II by Joseph Bruchac
Six-year-old Ned Begay leaves his Navajo home for
an Anglo boarding school, where the Navajo
language is forbidden, and he must learn the
English language and American ways. At 16, he
enlists in the U.S. Marines during World War II
and is trained as a code talker, using his native
language to radio battlefield information and
commands in a code that was kept secret until
1969. He deals with loneliness, and the horrors
of the battlefield, and tells of his experiences
in Hawaii, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo
Jima, and Okinawa.
Lexile 910
Historical fiction
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Eleanors Story An American Girl in Hitlers
Germany by Eleanor Ramrath Garner
In 1939, just months before World War II actually
erupts, Eleanor Garner's German-born father takes
a new job in Berlin and moves his whole family
from America to Germany. However, as the
political scene worsens, the family is plunged
into horror, living with death, starvation, and
daily betrayals by trusted friends and neighbors
they also become dimly aware of the larger
Holocaust unfolding around them. This is a true
memoir written by the young girl of this family.
Lexile 940
Biography
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The Kite Riderby Geraldine McCaughrean
In 13th-century China, a 12-year-old boy Haoyou
looks on in horror as his fathers lifeless body
returns to earth after being forcibly strapped to
a kite as a wind-tester for his ship. Now,
Haoyou must prevent the evil first mate from
marrying his beautiful mother and find a way to
provide for them. He joins a traveling circus
and becomes a a kite rider himself, performing
for thousands of onlookers and becoming quite
famous. However, his mother is upset with his new
skills, the evil first mate hates him and his
greedy uncle steals from him. Will he survive
and earn his mothers love again?
Lexile 900
Historical Fiction/ Multicultural
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The Lightning Thiefby Rick Riordan
2008 YRCA
Perseus, aka Percy Jackson, thinks he has big
problems. His father left before he was born,
he's been kicked out of six schools in six years,
he's dyslexic, and he has ADHD. What a surprise
when he finds out that that's only the tip of the
iceberg he vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher,
and is almost killed by a minotaur before his
mother manages to get him safely to Camp
Half-Blood--where he discovers that Poseidon is
his father, making Percy a demigod! But, wait,
that's a problem, too. Poseidon has been accused
of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, and unless
Percy can return the bolt, humankind is doomed.
What will happen?
Lexile 740
Fantasy
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Shadow Spinnerby Susan Fletcher
Every night, Shahrazad tells a story, and in
return her husband, the Sultan, lets her live
another day -- providing the story is interesting
enough to capture his attention. After almost one
thousand nights, Shahrazad is running out of
tales that is how Marjan's story begins.... It
falls to Marjan to help Shahrazad find new
stories -- ones that the Sultan has never heard
before. This means that she must undertake a
dangerous and forbidden mission sneak from the
harem and travel to the city, pulling tales from
strangers and bringing them back to Shahrazad.
Will she be caught? Will she be safe?
Lexile 710
Adventure/ Multicultural
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Ugliesby Scott Westerfeld
2008 YRCA
Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society
that teaches its citizens to believe that they
are ugly until age 16 when they'll undergo an
operation that will change them into
pleasure-seeking "pretties." Anticipating this,
Tally meets Shay, another female ugly, who shares
her enjoyment of risky pranks. Shay urges Tally
to defect with her to the Smoke, a distant
settlement of simple-living conscientious
objectors. Tally is coerced by the cruel Dr.
Cable to find Shay and the Smoke or remain
forever "ugly. Will she become pretty like
everybody else?
Lexile 770
Science Fiction