Pages flipping, questions being asked and students battling it out ‘til the end. Third grade through eighth grade students across the Etiwanda School District look forward to the annual Battle of the Books. 

BOB students are excitedly counting down the days until the battle on March 9. The BOB list contains 30 books every year, which gives participants a challenge and something to read throughout the year.

“I am looking forward to the battle because it sounds [really] exciting. [Plus,] I am excited and I am pretty confident because I have gotten really close to winning before,” said 7th grade BOB student, Jaiveer M.

BOB has enthralled book enthusiasts for the last 16 years and will continue for years to come. In 2008, Mrs. Claflin, the Etiwanda School District’s Library Services Program Specialist and Teacher Librarian, helped develop the reading program for the Etiwanda District that we know today.

“I’m a teacher librarian of a professional association called the California School Library Association. Through that, I meet other professionals. In Kern County, there was a person who was doing something similar. I went to visit that event and saw that we could bring it back to Etiwanda. We took it from there,” said Mrs. Claflin.

Despite its origin, BOB has experienced many changes, the most recent involving the decision to get rid of the individual test that was held before the Battle.

“When [the pandemic] hit, we had to quickly switch to something online. We adjusted and we realized that some students wanted the chance to have an individual test. That worked out for around three years,” explained Mrs. Claflin. “We found out that the further we got from Covid, most students didn’t want to have an individual test. So, this year we will be getting rid of it.”BOB’s evolution continues to help students build confidence, character, and a love for reading. 

“I think reading books with empathy really develops compassion and an understanding of students, which is a great human trait,” said Mrs. Choi.