Tournament of Kids Books WINNER

It's all over. Out of 16 titles, one came out victorious.

After weeks and weeks of voting throughout March, the Tournament of Kids Books came to a close last Saturday when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling was announced as the winner.

Over 400 kids participated in voting!

And good ol' Harry claimed the championship by 3 votes....

The Lawrence Public Library was very fortunate to have two special guests from the University of Kansas Men's Basketball Team, Justin Wesley and Jeff Withey, assist in announcing the Tournament of Kids Books winner. They also selected the grand prize raffle winners and each read a picture book to an awe-struck attendance.

Each week a raffle winner was chosen for a stack of books provided by the Friends of the Library, but kids who voted throughout the month were ALSO eligible for the grand prize raffle: A signed basketball by the 2011-12 KU Men's Basketball team OR a stack of the newest titles by the authors represented in the tournament.

At the Winner's Ceremony on Saturday, after announcing Harry Potter as the winner (Justin Wesley opened a wrapped library copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Jeff Withey decorated the bracket with a poster of the book's cover), the athletes each selected one raffle winner. Unfortunately, it was a little anticlimactic because both winners were not present, but they were very excited to receive the phone call later that evening!

After the tournament winner was announced and the raffle winners selected, the audience was treated to a couple of tall tales. Yeah... bad joke.

Jeff Withey read the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Justin Wesley read his childhood favorite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

And that was that! It's all said and done.

Best part of all?

The kids loved it.

They embraced the Tournament the whole way through.

Especially, last Saturday, when all their heroes... basketball heroes Jeff Withey and Justin Wesley...  and book heroes Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Jack and Annie, Geronimo Stilton, Greg Heffley etc. were all under one roof.

For the love of basketball and most importantly for the love of reading.

Keep on reading kids and Rockchalk!

Jayhawk Proud

Tournament of Kids Books

I live in (my opinion) THE BEST college basketball town.

University of Kansas Basketball was founded by the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, back in 1898, so you could say Lawrence, Kansas, the home of the University of Kansas, and the place I proudly live, has a strong history of college ball. The roots run deep.

It's the reason that this time of the year, during the March Madness season, Lawrence is full of energy. It hangs in the air like an oncoming storm. We're a town that loves basketball and we love our Kansas Jayhawks. So, to get the kids of Lawrence excited about the upcoming tourney AND excited about reading, the time has come to present...

Lawrence Public Library's First-Ever Tournament of Kids Books!

Here's the game plan....

Each week in March, the children of Lawrence are encouraged to vote for their favorite books bracket-style, from Sweet Sixteen all the way to the Championship round.

Tournament of Kids Books brackets are now available in our library or on the library's website for casting predictions or to follow the progress of the tournament. Voting for the first round starts March 1!!!  At the end of each round, one lucky ballot will be selected to win a prize provided by The Friends of the Lawrence Public Library. All ballots will be tallied and the winning titles advance to the next round.

First Round Ballots Due Saturday, March 10
Second Round Ballots Due Saturday, March 17
Third Round Ballots Due Saturday, March 24th
Championship Round Ballots Due Saturday, March 31

The champion of the sixteen books will have a shield installed inside the jacket cover naming it: "Winner of the Tournament of Kids Books 2012, Voted by The Kids of Lawrence". There will also be a winners ceremony in the beginning of April.

The titles chosen to compete were the top 16 most circulated (most checked out) children's fiction and young fiction books in 2011. Meet the 2012 opening round contenders:

The Heroes of Olympus #1: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

vs.

Eleven by Lauren Myracle

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My Weird School Daze #11: Mr. Tony is Full of Baloney by Dan Gutman

vs.

Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny by Barbara Park

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Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land by John Flanagan

vs.

Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Peirce

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

vs.

Warriors, Omen of the Stars #2: Fading Echoes by Erin Hunter

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Magic Tree House #31: Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne

vs.

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins

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Geronimo Stilton #26: Mummy with No Name by Geronimo Stilton

vs.

Ivy & Bean by Annie Barrows

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Dork Diaries #2: Tales of a Not So Popular Party Girl by Rachel R. Russell

vs.

Happy Birthday Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

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Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon

vs.

Diary of a Wimpy Kids #5: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney

Paired up, ready for battle.....

Who do you think is the front runner?

Who's the sleeper?

Who will win it all?

Download your Tournament of Kids Books 2012 bracket here or from the
Lawrence Public Library website.

It all starts March 1....

image sources: ku basketball, lost hero, eleven, mr tony is full of baloney, dumb bunny, icebound land,  big nate strikes again, harry potter, fading echoes, summer of the serpent, gregor, mummy with no name, ivy and bean,  dork diaries, happy birthday bad kitty, dragonbreath, ugly truth

Day with Dad

Last weekend was KU's homecoming.

My non-traditional student of a husband won tickets to the game from the non-traditional student services.

I was at work.

Will took pictures while I was away.

Blue eyes and blue sky.

It was a daddy and daughter day.