Despite the absence of running, balls or bats, reading can be a sport, too, and 50 Oak Harbor third graders recently learned how much fun the sport of reading can be.

The Island Reading Challenge, organized by Jane Lopez-Santillana, librarian for the Oak Harbor Library, and supported by the Friends of the Oak Harbor Library, is a “battle of the books” event aimed at improving literacy skills while fostering a love of reading.

This year’s Island Reading Challenge included six teams of third-grade students from Olympic View and Crescent Harbor elementary schools. After reading a selection of six books, the children took part in a quiz bowl game to determine the high scoring team from each school.

All teams demonstrated impressive knowledge of the books and wonderful sportsmanship skills, Lopez-Santillana said.

The two dominant teams, Cool Books from Crescent Harbor and Legendary Readers from Olympic View, advanced to the final round, with Cool Books from Crescent Harbor winning the grand trophy.

Prizes were awarded to all participants, with the biggest reward being the advancement of their reading skills, Lopez-Santillana said.

According to Kim Kellogg, OHSD literacy coach, students who participated in the reading challenge increased their grade equivalent scores by an average of 0.5, which translates to five months of growth, between Jan. 27 and April 12. The overall third grade class GE score average for this same time period increased by 0.2, or 2 months of growth. The GE score is a norm-referenced score that represents how a student’s test performance compares with other students nationally.

Lopez-Santillana heard responses from the students including: “The best part about the reading challenge was reading the books.”

When asked what advice they would give a third-grade student next year to be successful in the Island Reading Challenge, one student said, “Try hard and read as many books as you can.”

More schools will be added next year as the challenge expands.

According to Lynn Goebel, third-grade literacy coach, “This was a highlight for the year. Happy reading moments were made for many!”

Some books the students read were: “Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things,” by Lenore Look; “Half Magic,” by Edward Eager; “The Hundred Dresses,” by Eleanor Estes; “Little Wolf’s Book of Badness,” by Ian Whybrow; and more.