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QuickTake:
The Oregon Battle of the Books State Championship gathered some of the brightest young readers in the state on Saturday. Eugene School District 4J’s Reading Koalas fought their last battles together in a competition that pitted the Koalas against other highly prepared teams.
The atmosphere in the Chemeketa Community College auditorium in Salem at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 11, was electric.
More than 100 elementary school students, along with their parents and other supporters, waited nervously. Fifth-grade teammates Austyn Eck, JaeLynn Jimenez, Paloma Samora-Walker and Hazel Ramos Parr of the Reading Koalas played with fidget toys and talked. Their families, including aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents and siblings, sat in the rows behind them.
This was the day the Eugene elementary schoolers had been waiting for — the Oregon Battle of the Books State Championship. Twenty-six other elementary-level teams and their cheering sections were also gathered for the opening ceremony, all with handmade signs and matching team T-shirts.
Retired librarians BJ Toewe and MaryKay Dahlgreen, the emcees of the morning, beamed at the children.
“I would like to thank you for renewing my faith that reading is not dead,” Dahlgreen said. “Reading is alive and well.”
The crowd roared.
Toewe announced each team name with the seriousness of a sports announcer, and the elementary schoolers swiveled in their seats to inspect their competition. Families cheered for each team. Then, an OBOB organizer reminded students — and parents — of the rules. It was time for the teams’ first battles of the day.
Pool play
Anya Samora-Walker, mother of Paloma, was already sweating through her shirt as the team hustled to its first match. She had learned from past battles to bring a change of clothes for herself, a mouthguard and plenty of CBD-infused tea to deal with the second-hand stress of the days.
“I just don’t want their little hearts to be broken,” she said.
Austyn’s mom, Haley Eck, calmed herself by gripping a squishy cube as the Reading Koalas’ faced off against a team from Deer Creek Elementary in the Tigard-Tualitin School District.
“In which book does a character wear a patched shirt that has faded from blue to gray?” the judge asked the fifth graders.
The girls huddled, conferring with each other. The room was silent. Paloma and Austyn, the most calm and confident speakers, were the team’s go-to spokespeople.
“‘City of Ember’ by Jeanne DuPrau,” Paloma said.
“That is correct,” the judge said.
Eck exhaled quietly, glancing at Jennifer Jimenez, JaeLynn’s mom.
The morning’s battles were “pool play,” meaning the teams accumulated points from correctly answering questions about the 16 official OBOB books. After four battles for each team, points would be tallied and 16 teams would move on to knockout matches.
After the first two battles, the girls had 50 points, a score that felt promising.
Haley Eck gave Austyn a tight squeeze.
“You did that,” Eck whispered proudly, holding Austyn’s face in her hands.
Friendships and books
After another intense set of battles with a mix of correct and incorrect answers, the girls headed to lunch.
They rehashed their mistakes. JaeLynn lamented about mixing up aluminum and steel in a question about what a plane was made of in one of the books.
“In another book, the front door was made of steel and that’s all I could think of,” JaeLynn said.
The Koalas were nervous. They had no idea how other teams had done. There was nothing to do but wait for the news, however, so the parents unpacked their potluck-style lunch. For the next half-hour, the girls, their younger siblings and their parents played, ate and talked together.
The friendship between the girls is what Anya and James Samora-Walker value the most about Paloma’s experience in Battle of the Books.
Paloma and the others started elementary school during the pandemic, which made friendships difficult at first, Anya recalled. Battle of the Books has given Paloma, a voracious reader, a competitive outlet that isn’t sports. She especially loves books about World War II history, like Lois Lowry’s “Number the Stars.” Her birthday party was themed around the book “The Enigma Girls,” about the real teenage girls who helped break German codes during World War II.
in the Oregon Battle of the Books State Championship on April 11, 2026. The team from Buena Vista Elementary in Eugene did not advance. Credit: Timothy J. Gonzalez / For Lookout Eugene-Springfield
Lessons for a lifetime
After lunch, the Reading Koalas headed to the auditorium for an author presentation and the announcement of the “Sweet 16” afternoon bracket.
The auditorium was again packed. Toewe announced each team moving on to the next round, and as she reached the end of the list without naming the Reading Koalas, the girls realized they wouldn’t be advancing in the championship.
Haley Eck wrapped Austyn in a long, teary hug. JaeLynn and Paloma were less emotional, both relieved to be done with the stress.
With middle school on the horizon, this year was the Reading Koalas’ third and last year competing together. JaeLynn said she’s hopeful that they will all stay friends.
Jennifer and Juan Jimenez were proud of JaeLynn’s resilience in the face of the loss.
The moment when a team realizes it won’t be moving on is one of the hardest parts of the day, said Toewe.
“All but one team every year learns that they won’t always win, but that the joy is in working toward the goal and doing as well as you can,” she said.
A former librarian who specialized in youth literature, Toewe is always buoyed by the excitement of the young readers at the OBOB state championship.
“I think it’s incredibly important to recognize kids for things besides athletic prowess,” she said. “And when you look at lifetime skills, they have been honing their reading and comprehension skills, which will last their lifetime.”
