BAY MINETTE, Alabama — Bay Minette Middle School held on to the bragging rights as the winners of the fifth annual “Battle of the Books” competition, at the Baldwin County High School Library.

Delta Elementary won in the inaugural battle in 2012 and again in 2014. Bay Minette Middle previously won in 2013 and 2015.

Rounding out the winners were Delta Elementary, second; Bay Minette Intermediate, third place; and Perdido School, fourth place. Their team sponsors are Kathy Wright, BMMS; Kathy Weatherford, Delta; Gail Richerson, BMIS; and Trachy Miller, Perdido.

The North Baldwin Battle of the Books is an annual reading competition open to all fifth to eighth grade students in the Baldwin County High School feeder pattern. Participating schools read chapter books provided by a grant from the North Baldwin Coalition for Excellence in Education.

This year’s titles included “The Lose Heir;” “Theodore Boone: The Abduction;” “Mr. Tucket” and “Number the Stars.”

Throughout the school year, the students discuss and study these books in relation to genre, plot, setting, theme and characterization. The student also learn about literary elements such as simile, metaphor, personification, idiom and point of view.

The librarians at the schools provide the teams with coaching sessions during the school day and also set up a Moodle site for students to do on-line assignments outside of school. To be a member of the school’s Battle of the Books team, the students must take personal initiative to do the preparation work in addition to classroom studies, organizers said.

All that hard work culminates in the rapid-fire question-and-answer competition each spring at Baldwin County High School Library. Students must answer questions involving literacy skills, vocabulary and character pop-up questions.

Trachy Miller, who helps coordinate the Battle of the Books, praised all the participants and local businesses who support this annual event. She said all participating students receive a Battle of the Books T-shirt, an individual reading medal, enjoy a picnic lunch, and are treated to an afternoon of skating on competition day.

In addition to NBCEE, Battle of the Books sponsors are Perdido School PTO, Piggly Wiggly in Bay Minette, Stockton Five Arts Club, Strickland Orthodontics, and Tillery & Tyrell, DMD.

She also extended thanks to Ronda Campbell and Betsy Long at the BCHS library who assist with the project each year. Judges were Joanna Bailey, director of Bay Minette Public Library; Tina Covington, North Baldwin Coalition for Excellence in Education; and David Cox, Baldwin County School Board.