George Greenaway Elementary wins second annual Surrey Schools Book of the Year Battle!
From left, George Greenaway Elementary teacher-librarian Dana Shiels; Grade 7 students Japleen, Victoria, Alexis, Julia, Nimrit, Avery; and teacher-librarian helping teacher Shaunna MacDonald. The team from George Greenaway avenged their runner-up finish from last year to win the second annual sports reading competition.
For some well-read students at George Greenaway Elementary, the sequel was better than the first!
A team of Grade 7 students at the school are winners of the second annual Surrey Schools Book of the Year Battle, avenging their runner-up position from last year’s inaugural Grade 4 to 7 sports reading competition.
Held in May, the event saw students from 27 schools compete – nearly double the number of teams from last year! But despite the stiff competition, the George Greenaway team came out on top.
“The students were determined to win the Battle this year as it would be their last opportunity to compete in the battle before moving onto secondary school,” said Shaunna MacDonald, the district’s teacher-librarian helping teacher. “They were thrilled to be announced as first place and receive the battle trophy.”
The Book of the Year Battle aims to engage students in the joy of reading, encouraging recreational reading while having fun with peers in competition. The contest quizzes teams of up to six intermediate students on the 10 Book of the Year nominees in the district’s annual Surrey Book Awards, tasking them with answering 25 questions in a live competition – complete with graphics and sound effects to replicate a real game show.
Many schools hold in-school battles prior to the live district event to determine which students will compete at the district level. Some of this year’s questions included, “In which book did electrical tape play an important role?” and “In which book is there a creation named after Thor’s hammer?”
But the questions couldn’t stump George Greenaway Elementary as they secured a first place finish!
MacDonald said the overall contest was a tremendous group effort by teacher-librarians from across the district, and she hopes next year’s contest brings out even more eager readers to compete.
Congratulations, George Greenaway Elementary, on winning the second annual Book of the Year Battle!
2025 Book of the Year
Winner: Hoops by Matt Tavares
Nominees:
- Farther than the Moon by Lindsay Lackey
- Game Face by Shari Green
- Good Different by Meg Kuyatt
- The Lonely Book by Meg Grehan
- Medusa by Katherine Marsh
- Monster Camp by Sarah Henning
- Saving Sunshine by Saadia Faruqi
- A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner
- You Are Here by Ellen Oh
