The crowd was enthusiastic and the competition fierce at the 12th annual Federal Way Public Schools Battle of the Books competition on April 12 at Decatur High School.

Deputy Superintendent Mark Davidson served as Master of Ceremonies at the event, which drew a packed audience of more than 200.

All 23 district elementary schools and K-8 schools competed in the event. Battle of the Books is a knowledge competition between teams comprised of third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students that have won their school level competitions.

In a game show format, competitors showed their knowledge of 18 books by answering questions about plot, characters, theme, events, settings, author information and other details.

This year, Lake Dolloff Elementary School's team, the Gelato Stand, emerged the champions. Teammates Andrew Kim, Mina Yi, Faith Elder and Emily Cho each received a medal and will have their names added to the traveling Battle of the Books trophy. They were coached by librarian Laura Sarver.

Hundreds of Federal Way students participate in Battle of the Books each year by reading and studying a list of children’s books. Winning teams at each school move on to the district event in spring, where they compete for the district championship and the opportunity to have the district trophy placed in their school for the following year.

District librarians select the books each spring for the following year. They choose a mix of genres and reading levels. The books are usually from the Sasquatch and Young Readers' Choice lists. The program’s goal is to encourage students to read good books in their free time, have fun and build knowledge.

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