America’s Battle of the Books is held each year to encourage students in grades three-12 to enjoy reading.

The main purpose is to nourish the minds of those excellent readers, and let them have the chance to develop to their full potential through reading.

After reading books of their personal preferences, the students keep a summary of what they have read to review before they all come together to compete for a day. This gives them a chance to show off their abilities along with their understanding and comprehension of the books they have read.

On April 14, the Battle of the Books team from Wilsonville Elementary School won the Shelby County Intermediate competition for 2010.

There were 30 different books the students had to choose from, all containing a broad range of themes, writing styles and settings. The books also included fiction and non-fiction.

Coach Judith S. Lay led them to victory. She is also Wilsonville’s library media specialist and technology coordinator, as well as a wonderful role model and motivator to the students.

The team consisted of Emily Robinson, Kane White, Emily Johnson, Mimi Smith, Alex Hyatt and Coltin Vining. Four of the students are fourth graders and two are in fifth grade.

Kane White was a returning member from last year’s team. He was also the team captain. Kane scored more points than any other student in the competition and won a trophy.

The Wilsonville team played four rounds, winning all of them. Following the four rounds, they competed with Helena Intermediate for their championship.

Kennedy Tolbert is the new community columnist for Wilsonville. She can be reached at kennedytolbert@bellsouth.net.