"Fiction Madness" Tips Off In Cleveland Heights

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH - Basketball is in the air. February is a good prologue for the most exciting time of the year for hoop heads...March Madness. Soon upsets will abound and the sports world will collectively freak out as we march toward the Final Four.

In Cleveland Heights, madness of a different kind is descending on the city. Fiction madness.

The Heights Libraries system is unfurling its Fiction Madness tournament. The goal of the tournament is to determine Cleveland Heights' all-time favorite book. Winners are determined by voting.

The system's idea for a March Madness-style tournament started at the Noble Branch. Previously, the system has done Picture Book Madness. Last year, each of the branches focused on a different time period and winnings books were placed in a centennial time capsule. The libraries have also done Movie Madness tournaments.

"Since we have done picture books for the last three years, we are taking a little break this year and moving over to Fiction titles," Chris Fries, Youth Services Associate at the library told Patch in an email. "Since the juvenile fiction section runs the gamut from first readers all the way to middle schoolers, we have separated the levels into different regions. This way, Dr. Seuss will not have to go against A Wrinkle in Time, or Holes won’t face off with Dinosaurs Before Dark, until the finals."

The bracket is divided into four regions: First Reader, Beginning Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction, and Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The tournament start Feb. 22 and will run for two months. The final day of the tournament is April 22, for the Lee Road Branch. The Noble Neighborhood Library will be conducting their own Fiction Madness tournament as well. The Coventry Branch will be looking for their area's favorite First Readers and Beginning Chapter Books.

Photo from Heights Libraries