Youth Department Gail Borden Public Library 847-608-5011 jlanglois@gailborden.

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Project Objective: 1) Encourage education and literacy, 2) Galvanize the
community through partnerships with other public libraries 3) Invigorate and
build awareness of rich literary fiction and non-fiction books. 4) Requires
team collaboration and cooperation 5) Intrinsic discipline 6) The
encouragement of quality reading.
Project Date: Battle of Books Celebration date for 2014 TBA.
What do we hope to accomplish in School District U-46 Office of
Education?

The Battle of the Books teams come together in community wide
celebrations with families, and friends of the participants at the end of the
school year. Our anticipated count is 400 people or more.
This year we are looking for funding for a notable author, Margi Preus, for
her book Shadow on the Mountain which is on the list for the Battle of the
Books.
Collaboration
We are requesting $800.00 from, Kane County Regional Office of Education
(ROE) to cover Margi Preus speaking fee. We would like to advertise our
program on the Kane County Regional Office of Education website. We will
maximize the impact of this opportunity using our 55,000 circulation
newsletter, our over 30,000 e-newsletter, our educational partnerships and
our many partner organizations that include the city and private
organizations.
Her travel, food, lodging and location and other celebration expenses will be
funded by the 3 libraries in the U-46 district.
Battle of the Books Author Visit:
An Executive Summary
School District Board of Trustees

Spring 2014
Submitted by Bob Cassinelli and
Julia Langlois
Youth Service Department for the
Gail Borden Public Library

Youth Department Gail Borden Public Library 847-608-5011 jlanglois@gailborden.info Page 2

The U-46 invoice to rent an auditorium for the Battle of the Books event is
$1,000.00. The U-46 School District will absorb this cost.
Battle of the Books Background: Battle of the Books is in its 39
th
year
and is co-sponsored by the Gail Borden Public Library, the Bartlett Public
Library, and the Poplar Creek Public Library. This literature based program is
designed to revitalize the role of books and encourage students to read for
pleasure and enlightenment.

The Battle of the Books is a contest that has as its purpose the
encouragement of quality reading for grades 4-8.
Each year, a list of books is prepared and teams from area schools are asked
questions based on these books.
Scores are kept and winners are recognized; however, much emphasis
throughout the season is placed on the fun of participation and the
satisfaction that comes from reading and from starting and finishing an
assignment.
* School teams from public and private schools and home schooled learning
located within the library district boundaries of one of the sponsoring
libraries are coached by a U-46 teacher or librarian.


Author Bio:
Margi Preus is a childrens book author and playwright. Her first novel for
young people, Heart of a Samurai, is a 2011 Newbery Honor Book, an ALSC
Notable Book and a recipient of the Asian Pacific American Award for
Childrens Literature, among other honors.
Her 2013 book, Shadow on the Mountain was awarded the Bank Street
College Best Books for Children List 2013, Notable Books for a Global Society
2013, VOYA Top Shelf for Middle Grade Readers 2012.
Her nonfiction book, Celebritrees; Historic and Famous Trees of the World
and her illustrated fiction, The Peace Bell give you a sense of her divergent
writing abilities.

When she isnt writing, she teaches a course on childrens literature at the
College of St. Scholastica or the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Publicity: This event will be posted on the Gail Borden Public Library
website www.gailborden.info, as well as in an e-mail, and it will be featured
in our newsletter. The School District of U-46 will post this event on their
Youth Department Gail Borden Public Library 847-608-5011 jlanglois@gailborden.info Page 3

website and their electronic bulletin board. Private and public schools as
well as public libraries within the Kane County area will be visiting Kane
County Institute Day website. Private schools in this area will be contacted
by Gail Borden Public Library and the Bartlett Public Library, and the Poplar
Creek Public Library.