Book Characters Generate Buzz At Harbor Elementary School

Press release from the Seaford School District:

April 20, 2022

The pigeon is the most beloved book character at Seaford Harbor Elementary School, according to a competition that featured 16 fictitious animals and humans.

The Favorite Character Tournament, which was set up like a March Madness bracket, began with 16 well-known picture book characters. Students voted using Google Forms until it was down to eight, then four and then two. They could follow the progression on a bulletin board outside of the library. The final round featured the pigeon, from the Mo Willems series, and Pete the Cat, from the book collection of the same name by James Dean and Eric Litwin.

Library media specialist Jennifer Rosenberg said that the pigeon, which has adventures such as going to school, driving a bus and finding a hot dog, won in a landslide. She organized the tournament and said that she picked picture book characters so it would be relatable to readers from kindergarten to fifth grade. Although the older students have moved beyond picture books, they still have fond memories of these characters from their formative reading days, she explained.

Fifth graders embraced the book character competition by writing persuasive essays. Teacher Antonella Denk said her students read “The Pigeon Has to Go to School” and “Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes,” then had to pick which one was their favorite character. In their writing, they had to cite examples from the book about why they preferred either the pigeon or Pete the Cat.

This press release was produced by the Seaford School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.