Battle of the Books organizer Vicki Tambornino said the contest continues to see growth. This year 22 teams and a total of 64 students competed in the competition, a high turnout.

“The students are really into books this year,” Tambornino said. “They are really excited to get into it.”

The number of students interested in the contest was so high, extra books needed to be ordered.

Tambornino said she applied for and received a grant to purchase the extra books for the contest.

New Ulm Middle School work in teams to answer questions during the seventh annual Battle of the Books.

Every year for Battle of the Books, students are given a list of books to read in the fall to prepare for three rounds of trivia based on the reading list.

This year’s books included: “The Finest Hours,” “The Tale of Despereaux,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” “Wringer,” “Stupid Fast” and “Squished.”

In addition, to the trivia contest this year, awards were given out to best team name, best team poster and best costume.

“Chapter Champions,” with Evelyn Eckstein, Alanya Lovig and Nora Nelson won for best team name.

“Bookworm Minnesota Triplets,” with Amelia Weymann, Arya Monge and Isabel Hamman won the award for best poster.

At the end of New Ulm Middle Schools Battle of the Books top three scoring teams received prizes for the their literary knowledge. Teams “Cerberus” and “The Story Squad” tied for second place. Team “Rowdy Reader” finished first. In Photo form left to right: Team “Rowdy Readers”: James Groebner and Stella Albrecht. Team “Cerberus”: Natalie Marti, Brynn Wiedl and Ainsley Berger. Team “Story Squad”: Hayden Johnson, Livia Dickinson and Choloe Feemster.

“Double Trouble” with Adelena Torres and Cori Morrison won best costumes.

This year saw a tie for second place. “The Story Squad,” with Hayden Johnson, Livia Dickinson and Chloe Feemster shared silver medals with “Cerberus” with Natalie Marti, Ainsley Berger and Brynn Wiedl.

First place went to the team “Rowdy Readers,” with eighth grade students James Groebner and Stella Albrecht. This is the second time, Groebner and Albrecht, who are cousins, have won the book trivia contest. The two previously won the contest in 2024 along with teammate Alyvia Hacker.

Albrecht said in 2025, they competed on separate teams and came up short. They reformed their team this year and were able to win again.

Groebner and Albrecht said the secret to winning was to make sure someone on the team read each of the books. They both tried to read as many of the books as possible. Groebner said he was able to read all six of the titles this year and in fact read three on the books previously. His favorite of the books this year was “The Tale of Despereaux.”

Cousins James Groebner and Stella Albrecht won the seventh annual Battle of the Books Thursday. This is the second year Groebner and Albrecht have won the contest.

Albrecht said she managed to read three of the books and had started on a fourth before the competition began. Her favorite book this year was “Squished.”

Albrecht said Alyvia Hacker was also on their reading team, but was unable to participate in the actual contest. Albrecht and Groebner wanted to acknowledge her support in helping them to another victory.

Tambornino said the main reason Battle of the Books remains a popular NUMS tradition is it encourages students to read and discuss books as a group. Students are learning it is fun to read along with their friends.