Evil Genius (Day 26/31 #sol22)

Remember that Book Bracket that I started in our classroom and then wrote about in a past slice? Back on Day 4 of #sol22?

Well.

I forgot to tell you.

We frantically pushed it made it to the final round yesterday.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy vs. Andrew Henry’s Meadow.

Oliver Jeffers vs. Doris Burn.

Modern, attention-grabbing, creative, full of hilarity and spicy craft moves, and a celebration of all things book vs. whimsical, unique, empathetic, child-affirming, imagination-alighting, and written fourteen years before I was born.

The final showdown.

We all gathered ’round. I shared these two finalists out loud. Students soaked up these two versions of literary magic for the fourth time each since the start of the bracket.

Every first and second grader got their scrap of paper on which they were to vote and – ahem – legibly support their choice with examples and evidence from their chosen text.

Everybody voted.

Even the teachers.

But, guess what?

WE NEVER COUNTED THE VOTES BEFORE GOING OFF TO SPRING BREAK.

😲

Sure, that choice could have totally been an oops on my part. Sure, we could have just run out of time at the end of a crazy Friday at the end of a heinous last week of school before this much-needed break. Sure, it could have been all we could do to lovingly pack up and shovel those glove-shedding, hat-discarding, paper-cootie-catcher-missing darlings out the front door and onto the bus and into the cars and off off and away.

Sure.

That could have been the way it went down.

But…

I’d like to think that it was an intentional and brilliant decision by an evil genius of a teacher who now has set up her 31 students with an ingrained sense of urgency to wonder and think about BOOKS for the next ten days before they come back and count the votes to find out who actually won.

Muah-hah-hah-hah-hah.

😈📙📗