The 8th annual Cloquet Public Schools Battle of the Books is complete.

20 teams composed of 4th and 5th graders from Washington Elementary, Churchill Elementary, and Cloquet Middle School gathered in the Churchill gymnasium, answering 20 questions based on the 12 books they were tasked with reading in preparation.

The teams huddled together after each question, ensuring they were all on the same page for their team’s answer. Points were awarded to teams that answered correctly. At the halfway mark, Washington’s “Bob the Readers” was in the lead.

By the last three questions it was a hotly contested competition. The threat of a tiebreaker was looming, and the teams focused hard as they formulated their final answers.

In the end, CMS’ “Gummy Bears” came out on top, with CMS’ “Ore’yo Reading” and Churchill’s “Goal Getters” tying for second place.

After the trophies were handed out, “Bob the Readers” had some time to reflect and prepare for next year’s competition.

“I’m probably going to practice with my teammates more and read a bunch more,” said 4th grader Kiahna Ward.

Even though they fell out of the lead in the end, they still found the silver lining.

“It’s fun reading the books and having friends on my team and practicing with them,” said 4th grader Gloria Smith.

Based on their attitudes, “Bob the Readers” will be back for next year with hopes of taking home some hardware.