After six weeks of reading and voting, students at Woodland Elementary School in Hicksville have chosen Chris Van Dusen’s “If I Built a School” as the winner of this year’s schoolwide Tournament of Books. The story edged out the runner-up, “The Big Cheese” by Jory John and Pete Oswald, in a close final round.
The tournament, which kicked off in March, featured weekly head-to-head matchups between popular children’s titles. Each week, two books were read aloud to all classes, and students voted on their favorite. Other contenders in the bracket-style competition included “The Dot,” “Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast” and “Leonardo, the Terrible Monster.”
“The tournament was a wonderful way to build excitement around reading and foster a shared love of books throughout our school,” librarian Christina Pietras said. “The bulletin board tracking each round kept students engaged and talking about their favorites every day.”
