Battle of the Books 2025

Tournament Structure
Teams score points by identifying the titles, authors, and characters of books from questions based on the plots and settings of stories. 

Several days of competition could occur depending on the number of teams participating. Each team participates in 4 out of 5 rounds of play. Junior and Senior Teams only compete against their counterpart teams.

At the end of the tournament, the judges total the scores for the rounds played by each team. The two highest-scoring teams in each grade division compete against each other at the Grand Battle to determine the Oakville Champions.

Team Composition
Schools can register one Junior Team and one Senior Team. We will strictly enforce the team composition to ensure fairness among the players. 

Every team has six players and up to three substitutes, to a maximum of nine students.

Teams have two members from each grade within their division. The three substitutes come from each grade.

If you do not have enough players from a certain grade, only players from lower grades may substitute. For example: If you have no Grade 7 players, you can have more players from Grade 6, but not from Grade 8. 

Six team members play at one time. One player is the designated Spokesperson. 

All team members may discuss the possible answers, but only the Spokesperson answers for the team.

If team coaches/managers are students, they cannot participate in the actual competition.

Principals, teachers, and school librarians from Oakville Catholic, public, and independent schools can register a team through our online form.

Each school can register a maximum of two teams, in the age categories: Junior (grades 3-5) and Senior (grades 6-8).

Read. Read. Read.

Team leaders, watch out for the author list posted to this site in early 2025. All battle round questions will be derived from books written by author on our Author List. Specific book titles are not provided. Titles will primarily come from the last five years.

Battle of the Books will run in April 2025, with specific dates confirmed with registered teams. The Round Robin Battles will occur in early April, with the Grand Battle occurring in late April. Regional Battle returns in 2025, hosted at Halton Hills Public Library in May.

I am a parent; can I register a team?
No, registrations from parents or volunteers will not be accepted.

Do other library systems offer Battle of the Books?
Yes! Milton, Burlington, and Halton Hills Public Libraries all offer Battle of the Books. Check your local library for more details.

Where can I get more information?
If you are a teacher, librarian, or principal in Halton Region, a Welcome Letter & FAQ document has been sent to your school-board library manager. Please reach out to your school-board library manager if you did not receive these documents.

Check back in early 2025.