Sweet Sixteen

Earlier this week I wrote about some Pinspiration for March Madness.  Our snow day was the perfect chance to get it together.  I brainstormed some of my students' and my favorite books and printed out their covers.  After school I put it all up in my room with the "brackets."  And here it is in all its glory!

I love the way it looks. The colors look awesome and I can't wait for my students to see it.  Ultimately, I hope it encourages students to try a new book or two and gets them excited about reading.

For round one I tried to think about some good pairings: by genre, author, theme, etc.  I think you could do this any way you like, though.  "Seeding" them would be an interesting twist.

Here are the contenders in round one: Percy vs Harry, Despereaux vs Winn-Dixie, Matila vs Charlie (and the Chocolate Factory), Narnia vs Terabithia.

In the "East Division" we have: Greg (the "Wimpy Kid") vs Captain Underpants, Fever 1793 vs Chains (both by the fabulous Laurie Halse Anderson), Katniss vs Gregor (Suzanne Collins 4 eva!), and Rules vs Wonder, two of my most recent favorites.

A close-up of the covers (sorry about the glare/focus!)

 

 

I am letting the students determine what their decision is based on.  Of course I know they haven't all read each book, so they had the option of opting out of a match-up.  Our gifted teacher suggested that voting could also be based on the character traits of the protagonist.  I'm sure there are other great ways to do it, too!  I'll just be happy if it inspired someone to try a new book!

 

Who will win?  Any predicitions?