Turning the Page: 2026 GPS District Battle of the Books

This Tuesday April 21st, 5th and 6th graders from elementary schools across the district gathered at Mesquite Junior High to take part

in the 2026 Gilbert Public Schools’ District Battle of the Books competition. 

While Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading program intended to encourage students to read and have fun learning about books with their peers, students who advanced to the district competition were able to wow the audience with their expertise on the selected books.

All teams of 2-3 students were involved in their schools’ Battle of the Books clubs and activities; competing with peers and preparing themselves for the district-wide competition. At the conclusion of 3 battles at the school level, the winning team from each school heads to the district competition. While each of the 3 school battles focused on 4 books, the district competition will have questions on all 12.

The Battle books this year were: Pictures of Hollis Woods, Where the Red Fern Grows, Earthquake Terror, The Girl Who Could Fly, Esperanza Rising, Number the Stars, Hatchet, Jumbies, The Castle in the Attic, Poppy, Wonder, Bridge to Terabithia.

The district competition has two types of questions: Phase 1 asks students questions from the books and requires the correct book and author name to win points; Phase 2 questions are worth double the points and the question is specific to the book, requiring knowledge of events, characters, and other details to win points.

A perfect score for a battle would be 70 points. Four teams had perfect scores of 70 after the 2 phases of the Battle: Ashland Ranch Elementary, Boulder Creek Elementary, Neely Traditional Academy, and Quartz Hill Elementary.  

To break this four-way tie, there were a series of Phase 2 tie-breaker rounds to determine a winner. It took 7 rounds to narrow the competition down to the top three. 

First Place: Quartz Hill Elementary

From left to right Delani Dowell, Jane Glenn, and Kinsley Lauer

Second Place: Neely Traditional Academy

From left to right Bridgette Hodges, Kyen Ding, and Annika Johnson

Third Place: Ashland Ranch Elementary

From left to right Taylin Dorris, Annabelle Bauman

Quartz Hill and Neely will represent Gilbert in the Regional Battle on May 6th in Mesa.