Let me tell you a secret: I love making bulletin board displays. It's a combination of arts, crafts, and creativity that I thrive on and I consider myself very lucky to have a job where I get paid to do this (among other library-related tasks).
I put up the Vote for Books display in mid-October. Kids could pick up a ballot at the front desk and vote for one character from each category, or write in their own. Voting was limited to once per day and completed ballots were kept in an ultra secure shoebox that I repurposed as a fancy ballot box. On Wednesday, the election judges (me) tallied up the votes.
We had a total of 128 ballot submissions, which is a pretty great turnout for a small community. From what I observed, the kids enjoyed it--there were many earnest discussions about which characters were most deserving (one girl made a campaign button for her favorite character) and what winning the Vote for Books election actually meant (short answer: it's just for fun).
And in case you were curious, here are the candidates and the results (and a more detailed look at the display):
My reactions:
--I expected Picture Books to be a race between Fancy Nancy and The Pigeon, but Scaredy Squirrel trounced them both and actually got the highest number of votes in the entire election.
--The thought of Amelia Bedelia in any position of authority frankly terrifies me. I loved those books as a child, but she made me so nervous because I knew that she was going to mess up.
--I knew Fiction would be a close race between Harry Potter and Greg Heffley, but I expected a little more of a turnout for Judy Moody and Babymouse.
Overall, a fun and fairly easy display to create. Even if you are not an arts and craftsy type, you can do a modified version of this without much hassle.
Did anyone else do a similar display this past week? I'd love to hear about it!
