This year 30 students in fourth and fifth grade participated in Battle of the Books. These students were divided into eight teams. Starting in October the teams started reading the 20 Battle books. They worked very hard to read their books and remember details about the plots, characters, and settings. In January the Green Meadow Battle of the Books competition took place. The defending champions from last year, Meghan, Jack, Andy, and Taylor, took first place again this year. Congratulations! They will now go on to the state competition which will take place on February 19th. They will answer questions about the books online to compete against other teams from around the state.

First through fifth grade students learned about the Caldecott Award that is given to the book with the best illustrations. They learned about the criteria a book must meet to win the award. Then they looked at five books being considered for the award. With a group they discussed the book's pictures and made sure each book met the criteria needed to win the award. Each student then voted for the book they thought should win the Green Meadow Caldecott Award. When the votes were counted Hedgie Blasts Off by Jan Brett was the winner. Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies and Flotsam by David Weisner were the Caldecott Honor books.

On January 22nd the real Caldecott winners were announced and they are: Caldecott Award: Flotsam by David Weisner (Green Meadow Honor Book), Caldecott Honor: Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Encyclopedia by David McLimans, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her People to Safety by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.