(02/26/2025) A team from Oak View Middle School (OVMS) will proudly bring the Battle of the Books traveling trophy back to its school after winning the annual competition on Feb. 25 that challenges middle school students to prove their knowledge and understanding of literature. 

How it works: Teams of students compete first within their middle school, and the top-finishing teams advance to a district-level Battle of the Books competition. The annual competition promotes reading and comprehension of literature in a fun and engaging format. 19 teams representing all six middle schools battled to prove they learned key concepts from 25 books chosen for this year’s competition. 

The champions: Sixth-grade students Conrad Kissel, Sawyer Lane, and Zachary Kuehn, who chose the name “Nobody,” were the winning team. Betsy Nordin, a sixth-grade teacher, is the Battle of the Books coordinator at OVMS. You can view photos from the competition on Feb. 25 and watch the 2025 Battle of the Books replay. 

Quotable: “It feels pretty good,” Kissel said. “There were a lot of great books to read and I enjoyed testing and showing my knowledge.”

“There was a lot of reading and I found summaries very helpful, but when we put our heads together as a team, we knew we could do well,” Lane said. 

“I really enjoyed reading the books, there were a lot of great books and enjoyed the competition,” Kuehn said.

Participating schools:

• Anoka Middle School for the Arts.
• Coon Rapids Middle School.
• Jackson Middle School - A Specialty School for Math and Science.
• Northdale Middle School.
• Oak View Middle School.
• Roosevelt Middle School.

Thanks to the sponsors: Battle of the Books was sponsored by the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation and Border Bank.

Congratulations to all participants on a successful competition.