READING REBELS PRESENTS…
A ready-to-use reading program kids love—fun, meaningful, and self-directed. Designed to grow character, confidence, and curiosity through friendly competition and perspective-expanding stories.
Battle of the Books is fully supported, plug-and-play tournament, designed to inspire a love of reading, promote school spirit, and support teachers and librarians—all without adding strain to your schools’ time or resources.
Listen to the Audio Summary: Battle of the Books Program
Success Stories…
"Battle of the Books is great value—it engages an entire class or school, not just a handful of strong readers, and builds year-long excitement around reading."
Christie Glenn
FACT: Reading a diverse curated selection of books helps develop empathy by understanding different perspectives.
“I am incredibly proud of Deer Park’s students’ enthusiasm and commitment to the Forest of Reading Program and their participation in Battle of the Books. This initiative not only promotes a love of reading but also builds teamwork, confidence and critical thinking. It’s inspiring to see students engage with Canadian literature while supporting one another in a friendly, knowledge-based competition. The program helps create lifelong readers and learners!”
Carmelo Nanfara, Principal
Why It Works…
Literacy: Deep Reading and Critical Thinking
Confidence: Students Show Pride in Accomplishment
• Collaboration: Team Spirit and Rich Community Experience
• Accessibility: Failure-safe and Inclusive of All Reading Levels
Literacy: Deep Reading and Critical Thinking Confidence: Students Show Pride in Accomplishment • Collaboration: Team Spirit and Rich Community Experience • Accessibility: Failure-safe and Inclusive of All Reading Levels
Program Toolkit…
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Curated Books Lists
We partner with the Forest of Reading and use the Silver Birch Award Nominees, chosen by the OLA (Ontario Library Association)
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Comprehensive Question Bank
Over 2,000 questions to choose from.
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Tournament Software
Automated tournament game scheduling, question assignment to each game, team selection, scoring leaderboard, and more…
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Turnkey Resource Guide and Planning Templates
Guided checklist of tasks to accomplish, pre-written emails, tips for smooth event organization and more…
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Coaching and Event Faciliation
Bring one of our facilitators on to organize the entire program and integration.
The Heart of the Program…
Fostering a Love of Reading
Building literacy skills at all reading levels through an engaging format
Easy to Implement
We offer step-by-step checklists, templates, leaderboards, and pre-sorted questions for each 'battle,' making event management easy.
Develop Teamwork Skills
Developing communication, problem solving, critical thinking and cooperation through connection.
Fosters an environment that promotes team spirit and healthy competition, making it both entertaining and educational.
Scaleable and Flexible:
Whether you want to start small or involve the whole school, we can customize based on your resources: moderators, location, schedules, etc.
Inclusive and Curriculum-Aligned
The program supports all reading levels, with quizzes designed to meet grade standards, making it both fun and educational.
Pick the Perfect
Tournament Plan…
Tournament Wizard Software
$300/ annually
Full Tournament Organization: Team registration, question sorting by difficulty and by game, scoreboards, and more...
Question Bank
$347/ annually
Questions Created from all 10 Forest of Reading Fiction Nominees (2025)
Access to 500 questions (50 questions per book for all 10 books)
Tournament Wizard Software & Question Bank
$597/ annually
Full Tournament Organization: Team registration, question sorting by difficulty and by game, scoreboards, and more...
Access to 500 questions (50 questions per book for any of the 20+ books)
Add-Ons
$37+/ annually
Additional Questions: $37/50 questions
Custom Quiz Sets: $79/set of 50 questions
Rules and Templates: $47 entire set
Customized Software Features: $250+
Annual Renewal Discounts: 15%
Consulting: Hands-on support $70+/hour
WHAT WE STAND FOR
• Good School Culture
• Communication
• Community
• Love of Reading
• Empathy
• Inititative
• Conquering Fears
• Failure-safe Environment
• Team Spirit
• Connection
• Collaboration
• Participation
• Good School Culture • Communication • Community • Love of Reading • Empathy • Inititative • Conquering Fears • Failure-safe Environment • Team Spirit • Connection • Collaboration • Participation
BOOKS…
The books nominated for the Silver Birch Fiction Award® are designed for young readers.
From fantastical, fun titles to serious, life-learning tales, the 10 nominated titles have been our go to list of books used specifically for Battle of the Books because of variety of topics and stories for readers to enjoy.
The Silver Birch Fiction
Award Nominees 2025 Are…
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Asking for a Friend - Ronnie Riley
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Bertie Stewart Is Perfectly Imperfect - Melanie Mosher
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Eerie Tables from the School of Screams - Graham Annable
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Game Face - Shari Green
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Gamerville - Johnnie Christmas (Author of Swim Team)
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Iggy Included - Deborah Kerbel
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The Kodiaks Home Ice Advantage - David A. Robertson
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The Legendary Mo Sets - A.Y. Chan
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Mortified - Kristy Jackson & Rhael McGregor
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Scarewaves - Trevor Henderson
Chapter One:
It all started when I volunteered at a small public school’s reading tournament. What began as a simple act of giving back quickly grew into something bigger than I ever imagined, thanks to an incredible school community. In 2023, I felt a strong pull to bring that magic to other schools across Toronto, and now, we’re opening the Battle of the Books program to schools nationwide.
What makes Battle of the Books so special is that it’s for everyone—students of all reading levels can join in. The program is run internally within each school, making it a true community effort. I’ve seen firsthand how much an engaged school can boost a child's love for reading. It’s not just about books; it’s about building a sense of community where students encourage, support, and push each other to do their best.
The coolest part for me has always been watching how reading transforms students. It’s not just about becoming better readers—it’s about seeing the world differently. Reading gives kids a chance to step into new perspectives, understand different people, and imagine lives beyond their own. It’s an incredible confidence-builder too because they get to choose what excites them.
At the end of the Battle of the Books Tournament, it’s never just about winning (though that’s always a highlight). It’s about how much students have grown, learned, and bonded with their teammates and peers. And that’s something they carry with them well beyond the tournament.
That’s what makes this program so exciting for me—watching these transformations happen right in front of you. And I can’t wait to bring that experience to even more schools!
Thank you,
Christie
CONNECT…
Build a Sucessful Reading Culture!
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