The Erie County Legislature has wagered a friendly bet on the 16th annual Battle of the Books. The Legislator that represents the winning branch will personally pay for a pizza party for the team members and advisors. Best of luck to all the teams competing on Saturday, Aug. 2 at ECC South. 

Nearly 200 local young people, representing 17 different Buffalo & Erie County Public Libraries, will compete. Battle of the Books is free and open to the public and the teams are made up of dedicated young readers entering sixth through the ninth grades in September.

Battle of the Books, now in its 16th year, pairs participating library teams against one another. Each team reads the same five preselected books – The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone; Into the Wild (Warriors Book 1) by Erin Hunter;  Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos; Peak by Roland Smith; and The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John, which was selected as this year’s Kids’ Choice winning title.  Teams spend months practicing challenging trivia questions pertaining to each book before the big Battle event.

This summer’s 31 Battle of the Books teams represent the following Libraries:

• Amherst Public Library
• Boston Free Library 
• Cheektowaga Public Library
• Clarence Public Library    
• Eden Library
• Elma Public Library
• Grand Island Memorial Library
• Hamburg Public Library
• Lackawanna Public Library
• Lancaster Public Library
• Marilla Free Library
• Newstead Public Library
• North Collins Public Library
• Orchard Park Public Library
• City of Tonawanda Public Library
• Town of Tonawanda Public Library
• West Seneca Public Library