Battle of the Books, America’s #1, nationwide, reading incentive program, will be held at Monte Vista Elementary for the 2026-27 school year. The Battle Dates will take place April 19-23, 2027. The purpose of Battle of the Books (BOB) is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers. Your children may be coming home with new books, book lists, story maps and excitement about battles in April. Here is a short explanation of Battle of the Books for Monte Vista parents so you can share in your children’s reading and battling excitement.
Who Participates: All 3-6 graders are invited to participate and be part of a BOB team.
Teams: Each student will be put on a BOB team, which consists of 4-5 students in their class. Each team has a diversity of reading levels between students.
Book Lists: There is a 20 book list for 3rd-4th graders and a 20 book list for 5th-6th graders. These book lists are generated each year by the Battle of the Books organization and contain a mix of classics and new literature. Each student will be given a laminated bookmark listing the 20 books for their grade. To rent a copy of a book, you can visit the South Jordan Public library catalog or find a copy at the Monte Vista Library!
2026–2027 Book List Grades 3–4
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Applegate, Katherine | The One and Only Ivan |
| Barretta, Gene | Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare |
| Blume, Judy | Freckle Juice |
| Brown, Tricia | Bobbie the Wonder Dog: a true story |
| Byars, Betsy | Tornado |
| Catling, Patrick | Skene The Chocolate Touch |
| Cleary, Beverly | Muggie Maggie |
| Clements, Andrew | Frindle |
| Davies, Jacqueline | The Lemonade War |
| DiCamillo, Kate | Because of Winn-Dixie |
| Fleming, Candace | Boxes for Katje |
| Green, John Patrick | InvestiGators |
| Kelly, Erin Entrada | The First State of Being |
| Orr, Wendy | Nim’s Island |
| Pennypacker, Sara | Clementine |
| Scieszka, Jon | Knights of the Kitchen Table |
| Tarshis, Lauren | I Survived The Great Molasses Flood, 1919 |
| Warner, Gertrude | Boxcar Children |
| White, E.B. | Charlotte’s Web |
| Winter, Jonah | You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! |
2026-2027 Book List Grades 5-6
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Christopher, John | The White Mountains (Tripods Series #1) |
| Christopher, Matt | Ice Magic |
| Edwards, Roberta | Who Was Neil Armstrong? |
| George, Jean Craighead | My Side of the Mountain |
| Grabenstein, Chris | Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library |
| Hale, Shannon | Princess Academy |
| Jones, Kelly | Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer |
| Korman, Gordon | Masterminds |
| Levine, Gail Carson | Ella Enchanted |
| Lowry, Lois | Number the Stars |
| Magras, Diane | The Mad Wolf’s Daughter |
| *Morris, Chad & Brown, Shelly | The Playmakers |
| Mull, Brandon | Candy Shop War |
| Palacio, R.J. | Wonder |
| Paulsen, Gary | Hatchet |
| Roberts, Willo Davis | Scared Stiff |
| Ryan, Pam Munoz | Esperanza Rising |
| Sachar, Louis | Holes |
| Swore, Wendy | Strong Like the Sea |
| Vernick, Audrey | Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team |
Reading: BOB books may be read individually by the student, by a parent as a read-a-loud, or listened to as an audio book. Once your child completes the book, they will fill out a story map and receive reading incentive prizes (raffle ticket for a weekly prize mobile drawing, book buttons, prize from the BOB prize alley).
Battle Week: April 19-23, 2027 . With the help of parent volunteers and teachers, 3rd and 4th grade teams will battle Monday and Tuesday mornings. 5th and 6th grade teams will battle Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Based on points earned, the top two teams from each group will advance to the final battle on Friday, which will take place during a virtual school assembly.
Battles: Each battle consists of two teams and a judge who will ask 20 questions about any of the 20 books on the BOB book list. The team must answer with both book title and author to get full points for the question. Partial points are given for a correct title but an incorrect author (or visa versa).
Sportsmanship: In addition to motivating reading and a love for books, BOB teaches sportsmanship. Losing is hard. Every battle will result in a winner and loser. Participation in Battle of the Books gives the students opportunities to develop stronger sportsmanship skills.
Grand Prize: 60 students will be given the opportunity to attend a school field trip (More info TBA). These 60 students will include students who: advanced to the final battle (4 teams), read all 20 books, or showed good sportsmanship and/or leadership.
We are excited to have Battle of the Books at Monte Vista for many years to come. This reading program has the ability to increase the reading skills and love of books of our children. For the 2026-27 school year, any questions you may have regarding Battle of the Books may be directed to Jenn Goff at nenner22@gmail.com , Becky Rosevear at beckybrosevear@gmail.com , or Kira Secor at kirasecor@gmail.com. You can also find more information about Battle of the Books at their website: battleofthebooks.org