There’s a decade-long battle brewing.

The 10th annual Battle of the Books will be take place 7 p.m. April 7 at Decatur High School, 2800 S.W. 320th St.

At 7 p.m. today, students in third through fifth grades from every elementary school in the district will face off on the optional reading — reading as many books as possible from a list of 16 titles.

Each spring, district librarians meet to select the books for the coming year’s competition. The books are usually from the Sasquatch and Young Readers’ Choice lists.

Laura Sarver, the librarian of Lake Dolloff and Enterprise elementary schools, said the committee chooses a mix of genres and reading levels.

Hundreds of students have been spending time in teams of up to four, studying the books and memorizing the events, characters, settings and author information.

Each school has already held preliminary competitions to find a team to represent them. It’s heavy competition for those coveted district spots. This year, Enterprise Elementary School had 70 students competing and Lake Dolloff had 147, Sarver said.

Teams will answer 25 questions. The winner gets a trophy for their school — and of course, bragging rights.

The current reigning champion is Green Gables Elementary.

The event started 10 years ago with librarians Barb McElfish and Jan Copland.

Book list

“The Candy Shop War” by Brandon Mull

“Elijah of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis

“Igraine the Brave” by Cornelia Funke

“Marley: A Dog Like No Other” by John Grogan

“The Mysterious Benedict Society” by Trenton Lee Stewart

“No Talking” by Andrew Clements

“The Invention Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick

“Return of the Killer Cat” by A. Fine

“Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It” by S. Frazier

“Deep, Dark and Dangerous” by Mary Downing Hahn

“Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat” by L. Jonell

“Heat” by Mike Lupica

“Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear” by Norma Fox Mazer

“Mutiny On the Bounty” by P. O’Brien

“How to Steal a Dog” by B. O’Connor

“Lawn Boy” by Gary Paulsen