Becker, Muhonen win fifth-grade Battle of the Books

After taking third place in last year’s Battle of the Books competition for third- and fourth-graders, Lila Becker and Aria Muhonen were feeling optimistic coming into this year’s final competition for fifth-graders only.

“I felt like we had a good chance, but I thought we would get second or third place because Ingrid (Karvonen) and Adalyn (Jacobs) won in both third and fourth grade,” said Muhonen.

When those four found themselves in the final buzzer round on March 12, along with a third team consisting of Dani Karson and Dylan Sargent, nerves began to take over.

“In the buzzer round, my voice was shaking,” said Becker.

“I was very nervous,” said Muhonen. 

In the end, Becker and Muhonen took first place out of 16 total teams and 34 total contestants that started the competition, which challenged students to read 10 books and answer trivia questions that tested their memory of the content. Karvonen and Jacobs took second, and Karson and Sargent finished third.

“My sister said she wanted to see what I won when I went home. I told her I might get third, or second, or maybe not win anything. So I’m really excited to show her this,” said Muhonen, holding up her first-place trophy.

How did the pair prepare for success?

“We read all the books, but we split them up into five and five so we didn’t have to deal with the stress or reading all 10 books. It felt fair that way,” said Muhonen. 

“And also, if we read one a while ago, like in September, we would read it and re-read it so it stayed fresh in our minds,” said Becker. 

Becker’s favorite story was “The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum” by Lisa Yee, “because I kind of like mysteries and adventure. It keeps me into it and it’s very interesting,” she said.

Muhonen’s favorite was “Hoops,” by Matt Tavares.

“I like graphic novels. I feel like they’re easier to read,” she said.

As fifth-graders in their last year of the competition, the pair was excited to go out on top. But both embraced the process as much as the result.

“It’s fun that you get to read books and you get questioned on them,” said Muhonen. “And if you get into the buzzer round, it’s fun just beeping the buzzer and getting questions right.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” said Becker. “You don’t really need to win a prize; you just should enjoy it whether you lose or win.”