Pleasant Valley Middle School hosted its first Spring Reading Challenge on April 9, welcoming about 250 bibliophiles from area middle schools, junior highs and high schools.

Students celebrated and tested their knowledge of various books at the annual event, also known as the Reading Olympics.

Several classrooms were filled with two teams answering questions, as a moderator, timekeeper and scorekeeper — all volunteers — oversaw each friendly competition.

“There was a great turnout,” said Alexandria Gibb, teacher of the gifted/intro to media design at PVMS, who coordinated the event with Roxanne Scott, PVMS librarian. Scott said “some of the students might not participate in anything else,” explaining that a “mixed bag” of kids took part.

Book selection

Team members had to read books from a designated list with different tomes for the middle schools/junior highs and high schools.

Some of their students started reading last summer after they got the titles, said Marjory Gullstrand, librarian at East Stroudsburg High School South and co-adviser for their Reading Olympics Club. While many use an e-book platform, she said they prefer hard covers.

Gullstrand was a leader for her school’s team, named the “Unreliable Narrators.” That name was on the back of the students’ unique T-shirts, with “Take me to your readers” and a spaceship printed on the front. “They did enjoy themselves,” she said.

Teams competed in three rounds, with 15 questions for each side. Captains could answer or nominate a teammate to respond. And there was a chance to steal, if a team didn’t answer correctly.

Questions focused on topics such as characters, setting, plot and things that happen in the books.

During a short break for snacks, ninth-grader Estella Skeans from Salisbury High School said, “This is really cool and a lot less pressure than I thought. Everyone is so friendly,” she said, adding that she hadn’t participated before.

When the results were announced at the end of the rounds, the Delaware Valley High School’s “Reading Gods” were victorious. “Monsters at the Root,” Saucon Valley’s high school team, earned second place, and the Pen Argyl High School “Knights” were third.

Middle School winners were: Delaware Valley “Tulips,” first place; Moravian Academy “Blooming Bibliophiles,” second place; and Delaware Valley “Word Warriors/Team Poore,” third place.

“It was an awesome event,” said PVMS Assistant Principal Josephine Fields. “I’m grateful to our teachers and staff who organized and facilitated the competition.”

“I’m excited that they all read,” said PVMS Principal Tim McCutchan.

Competition

Twelve middle/junior high schools took part, some with multiple teams, while 10 high schools participated. Teams ranged in number from seven to 12 students. Some wore special shirts, and most had creative names. Points were cumulative and everyone received a certificate.

The champions received medals and a trophy. Raffle tickets were drawn so all readers could win a springtime prize, such as flower leis, flower pens and flower notepads. Gibb said she gave out hand-painted bookmarks last year.

“All the kids had fun and everyone went home with a smile,” said student volunteer Jasper Finn of Effort, an eighth grader at PVMS and a member of the National Junior Honor Society. Besides NJHS, volunteers came from Pleasant Valley High School’s Leo Club.

Easton High School previously hosted the Reading Challenge, but “after a number of years, the organizers decided to pass the baton,” Gibb said. Another change was that the questions were done in-house this year, to save money from purchasing them through Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21.

Teams were given 20 seconds to answer each question. Conferring, huddling, concentrating and even giggling took place before the student timekeeper announced that time was up.

If they got the correct answer, there was often clapping before a point was recorded on the white board and scoresheet. Moderators would confirm that answers were correct and sometimes provide clarification. Each round began with a practice question per team.

PVMS sixth-grade English language arts teacher Lesley Doff was a moderator for a round between her school and Pen Argyl/Wind Gap Middle School’s Book Worms team. “Don’t answer until you agree that is your answer,” she advised. “Be more specific,” she said in regard to one response.

According to PVMS team leader Valerie Palmieri, almost all the books on their reading list were new. “Students signed up for which books they would read. Some read more than others,” said Palmieri, who is the middle school reading specialist.

“I like going against different schools,” said PVMS seventh grader Nataliya Myers. Her teammate, fellow seventh grader Natalie Mackowiak, said how much she likes to read and the opportunity to compete. In their first round, they vied against the Cardinal Olympians from Pocono Mountain East Junior High.

A lot of preparation goes into the months leading up to the event. For instance, the Book Worms have their first meeting in late September and then meet every other week.

“During these sessions, students discuss the books, practice answering questions, support one another, and build teamwork skills in a fun and engaging environment,” said team leader and reading specialist Jackie Henchy, who is club adviser along with Liz Doll, the librarian at Wind Gap Middle School.

At Pocono Mountain, the Cardinal Olympians read as many books as possible from the list of 20 titles, said team leader/club adviser Tammy Yukna, the librarian at PMSD’s East Junior High. “Some take notes or summaries to help them remember the key details of the story,” she said.

Preparation paid off, with the Cardinals winning two of their rounds and tying in one.

“The whole point is to get students reading and to talk about what they read with like-minded students,” Gullstrand said.

Books on the 2025-26 reading lists included the following:

• Middle School/Junior High — “My Life as a Potato,” “Popcorn,” “Echo Mountain,” “Fish in a Tree,” “Slacker,” “Mallory in Full Color,” “They Called Us Enemy,” “Timmy Failure,” “The Girl Who Fell to Earth” and “The Last Cuentista.”

• High School — “Clap When You Land,” “Internment,” “Pumpkinheads,” “The Smell of Other People’s Houses,” “Silent Spring,” “The Kite Runner,” “Long Way Down,” “The Downstairs Girl,” “The Odyssey,” “Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio,” “Faceless” and “Ceremony.”