HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Howard County kids are pumped to read!
Over 1,700 fifth graders filled Merriweather Post Pavilion for the Battle of the Books.
But it wasn't your average reading competition, with dance breaks and all students dressed up in team costumes.
Some were dressed up as bananas, others were cowboys, and some were even dressed as raccoons.
Their main similarity - all of them love to read.
“It makes me feel like I’m in another place," fifth grader Elijah Doxtater said.
Students were quizzed on their knowledge of nine books they were assigned to read back in the fall.
“My favorite book was "We Still Belong" because it represented the Native Americans - or Indigenous people and their perspective on how they’re being treated," fifth grader Aaron Nyers said.
“I like the book “When Stars are Scattered” because it teaches me what refugee camps are like in Somalia," fifth grader Benjamin Nyers told WMAR-2 News.
The annual event was put on by the Howard County Library System.
The President and CEO Tonya Aikens told WMAR-2 News it's much more than just a fun event.
“And I just think it’s so important because obviously through the pages of a book you can go anywhere, you can learn anything, and they have the opportunity to do that and to really experience the joy of that and the benefit of that at such a young age," Aikens said.
Even with the high energy there, kids showed laser focus during trivia time.
But Aikens said at the end of the day, it's not the competition that matters.
With how much fun the students have learning, all of them walked away as winners.
