Battle of the book lovers

NEW HAVEN — The Worthington Hooker "Pointy-Headed, Pretty Pink Princesses of Print" won the Middle School Book Bowl Final this month.
Second-place winners were Betsy Ross "Bella Books" Book Bowl.

The Worthington Hooker "Pointy-Headed, Pretty Pink Princesses of Print" won the Middle School Book Bowl Final in January. In the photo, above, the Worthington Hooker students are, l to r, Rachel Smith, Esther Rose-Wilen, Tarpley Hitt, Maya Levine-Ritterman and Sophie Dillon. They were coached by Library Media Specialist Beth Hart.
Betsy Ross students, shown in the lower photo above, as they prepare a challenge are, also l to r, Erica Noonan, Josie Kulp, Lucy Robinson and Orianna Cruz. Squad member Lisa Chiplinsky is not shown. They were coached by Library Media Specialist Richard Naples.

The competition was held in Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall at Yale University. The four competing teams were:

• East Rock Magnet School "Reading Extraordinaires," coached by Paula Daitzman, library media specialist.
• Nathan Hale "Rockin’ Readers," coached by Lynne Martens, library media specialist.
• Worthington Hooker School "Pointy-Headed, Pretty Pink Princesses of Print," coached by Beth Hart, library media specialist.
• Betsy Ross Magnet School "Bella Books," coached by Richard Naples, library media specialist.

Hosts were Appellate Court Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. and Yale School of Music Dean Michael Yaffe.
Mistress of ceremonies was Mary McMullen at James Hillhouse High School.
The questions were created by Diane Turner and the Yale University Library staff.
Book Bowl is a reading program in which all students read the same 10 books and then participate in a competition where they answer questions based on the books. The program features competitions for students in grades four and five, six through eight, and high school.
Students first compete with other teams at their school.
The winning team from each school advances to an intramural round where they compete with all the other schools in the district.
The four top teams from the intramural round advance to the final four round where the district championship is decided.
Lucia Rafala, library media specialist at Davis, and Mary McMullen, library media specialist at James Hillhouse are the 2007-08 Committee co-chairmen. Susan Ritter, library media specialist at John S. Martinez and Eleanor Willis, library media specialist at Wexler/Grant are the co-chairmen for grades 6-8. Regina Lilly-Warner, supervisor of library media services, oversees Book Bowl.