Persephone Lawrence-Wescott sat quietly at her desk, patiently waiting for the question. Suddenly, her eyes got big as she snapped her head to the left and whispered to her teammate.

" 'The Schwa Was Here' by Neal Shusterman," said Andrew Krieger, 12, confident of his answer.

Persephone, 12, let out a sigh of relief as the book's title was confirmed and The Holy Kiwis from Chappelow Middle School scored their first points of the night. The team was one of 12 from Greeley-Evans School District 6 that competed in the Battle of the Books competition on Thursday night at Maplewood Middle School, 1201 21st Ave. in Greeley.

Waiting for the second round to start while tied for the lead, Andrew -- who was dressed in blaze-yellow shirts along with Persephone and Kirstine Hopwood, 13 -- said the competition almost was as fun as reading the books.

"This is my first time, but I liked the suspense of the questions," Andrew said.

The competition pits teams of elementary and middle school children against each other as they answer questions about what happened in the 12 books they were assigned to read earlier in the school year. The students, who are separated by reading level, are then awarded various amounts of points for answering with the correct title and/or author of the book.

Thursday's competition included students from Brentwood, Chappelow, Heath and Maplewood Middle Schools. Elementary school students have been competing for the past two weeks.

Watching on as the contestants took a break while organizers scrambled for more questions to ask because of a long-running overtime, Lisa Krieger Mart, Andrew's mother, said the event was a fun one to watch.

"It's been a lot of fun," said Lisa Krieger Mart. "It's a little more nerve-racking than I thought it would be. I'm very excited for them."

Yet Pam Tann, a librarian at Brentwood Middle School, said the program -- besides offering a night spirited competition -- serves one other important purpose.

"I love Battle of the Books for one reason: only because it makes kids excited to read," said Pam Tann. "Some kids that are reluctant readers, it's that extra bit of motivation because they get to have a contest."

Almost two hours into the contest, Jonathon Salazar, 13, offered his team's answer to the judges and threw his arms in the air in celebration.

"I didn't know what was going to happen because it kept going back and forth," said Jonathon, visibly relieved.

Alas, the Cataphracts from Brentwood Middle School -- named for the heavily armored members of cavalry that served during the days of antiquity -- emerged victorious from the Battle of the Books in almost fairy tale fashion.

Breakout:

First Place Finishers from Battle of the Books

5-6 grade reading level

Sheena Rodrigiuez

Crisol Portillo

Yafte Agredano

Brentwood Middle School

7-8 grade reading level

Alberto Villegas

Jonathon Salazar

Nicole Duffield

Brentwood Middle School

High school reading level

Kayla Hunziker

Nikki Florez

Allie Hill

Maplewood Middle School