Tournament of Books!

All 399 students at Katonah have a vote in deciding what is the best picture book. It’s a big, exciting responsibility and the children take the fun seriously.

Serious fun with reading!

The Tournament of Books is a KES PARP tradition that children love. Each day, for the first half of March, all classes considers two picture books which have been carefully selected by Mrs. Hand, the school librarian. Younger students are attentive listeners as the books are read to them by their teacher or Mrs. Hand. Older students are careful readers because they know they'll need to cast their vote later that day. Class decisions are delivered to the PARP Committee and the whole school watches when Mrs. Hand updates the brackets. 

All of the books in the tournament are adventure books, in keeping with the school’s PARP theme Book Your Next Adventure. “As we live through a time of social distancing and restricted travel, real-life adventures are hard to come by,” said Mrs. Hand. “This year’s PARP selections take our students on amazing, fantastical adventures.”

An exciting, immersive event!

The final four are being voted on this week and the results will be announced on Friday, March 19. As the matches begin to pair winner against winner, decisions get even harder. Coming this week: “Jumanji “by Chris Van Allsburg, a wondrous adventure about a game that, once started, must be finished or it will go on forever, vs. "Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon” by Torben Kuhlmann, a science fiction tribute to space exploration that follows a little mouse on his quest to be the first mouse on the moon.

The daily votes have tended to be clear winners, reports Mrs. Hand. The one close call was on March 2: “Lift” by Minh Lê, beat out “vs. “George Flies South” by Simon James by one vote!

Mrs. Hand’s personal favorite in the Tournament is “Armstrong,” because of its gorgeous illustrations. She doesn’t get a vote but she does have her fingers crossed!

Track the daily winners here.