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The Westchester Library System’s latest Battle of the Books drew children and teens from all over the county.
The annual event, which took place at Ossining High School, has two major goals: to promote the love of reading and to expose youngsters to titles and authors they might not otherwise encounter.
But the contest also, library officials said, aims to inspired teamwork and good sportsmanship.
There were a total of 21 participants from Eastchester broken up into two teams: the Eggheads, 13 fourth- through sixth- graders; and the Peculiar Children, eight teens in sixth through ninth grades.
The Eggheads made an especially strong showing as they answered questions about the assigned books, library officials said. They won all six of their regular matches and put up more points than any other team in the South bracket -- which consisted of teams from Ardsley, Briarcliff, Bronxville, Pelham, Rye and White Plains -- before losing a tough semifinal match to Pelham.
Coached by children’s librarian Jonathan Heifetz, the Eggheads were led by team captain and fifth-grader Cecilia Murray. The team included fifth-graders Julia Higgins, Sofia Kolndreu, Sofia Renzo, and Chloe Son; and fourth-graders Maxim Dragomanov, Theodore Jeliazkov, Patrick Murray, Ava Renzo, Alexander Sabelja, Koichiro Saito, Caterina Stoica, and Ben Wien.
Also competing for prestige and prizes were the Peculiar Children. Coached by young adult librarian Elizabeth Portillo, the team included: eighth-graders Elias Dube, Alya Campbell, and Katie Nello; and seventh-graders Nicholas Dragomanov, Kyoko Saito, Saliha Pepic, Sophia Sabelja, and Julia Moser.
Among the books the teams read were: “Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam,” “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library,” “Hold Me Closer, Necromancer,” and “How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous."
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