The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library THE ULTIMATE CHAMPION

And the Ultimate Champion, by a vote of 21-16, is...





Jellyfishing, meowing pet snail, friends galore, on-air longevity, employment...all reasons the kids used to decide that SpongeBob was their Ultimate Champion!

We had an amazing Showdown and an amazing summer! Thank you to everyone for participating. We can't wait to do it again next summer!!! We're dreaming of a bigger and better Ultimate Showdown! Get excited!

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library FINAL FOUR RESULTS

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Today was the finale of the FLYP summer program and it ended with so much fun! We had a No Contest Talent Contest and the performances were amazing! We also had two final rounds of The Ultimate Showdown...the Final Four and the Championship Round!

We decided to shake things up a bit for the final battles. We knew the voting would be tight, so we had volunteers stand up and advocate for their champions.

Final Four Battles...

Phineas & Ferb vs Curious George

"Phineas & Ferb use their imagination and they bother their sister."

"Phineas & Ferb build things."

"Phineas & Ferb have a pet platypus."

"Curious George visited the library and Phineas & Ferb didn't."

Phineas & Ferb move on! Sorry, George!

Aslan vs SpongeBob

"SpongeBob is friendly."

"SpongeBob lives in a pineapple."

"Aslan defeated the White Witch and rules Narnia."

"Aslan is very brave."

SpongeBob goes to the championship battle! Goodbye, Aslan!


As I said, WOW! There you have it! Your championship battle is decided...

PHINEAS & FERB VS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!

The Ultimate Showdown gets a visit from the press

Check out these photos from last week's Ultimate Showdown rounds! We had a visit from Carol Jones from the South Marion Citizen newspaper. She caught some of the excitement on film!



Kids voting for their favorite characters!



The Elite Eight characters. Who would get YOUR vote?



Your librarian, explaining the rules of the Showdown.

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round Three and Four *RESULTS*

I am so sorry for the delay in posting. I had to take a day off from the library so I could go see the new Harry Potter movie. Yes, I squee'd after the Ginny/Harry kiss and I cried at the end when everyone at Hogwarts raised their wands to the sky. Sniff, sniff, waaaaaahhh!

So Thursday was the day for Round Three - The Sweet Sixteen! I surprised everyone with a double battle day. We also battled Round Four - The Elite Eight.

We're now down to the Final Four, which will take place next Thursday at the FLYP Finale before the No Contest Talent Contest. What's your talent? I might read a poem.

We had some amazing surprises and upsets in the last two rounds!!!

Sweet Sixteen Battles:

Dorothy Gale in a surprise upset moved on past Spider Man!

Phineas & Ferb used their imaginations again to out-wizard Snape!

Much to the dismay of the tween girls, Aslan (loud cheers from the kids in the front) sent Edward home to Forks.

Hermione! Hermione! Hermione! Girls ruled and Bill Nye the Science Guy was out.

We had to count the vote twice, and though some wild fans screamed NO!, Pikachu cuted it up and Indiana Jones was done.

The Queen of the Library heavily campaigned for her, but Alice in Wonderland was no match for our friend and library-visitor, Curious George!

The vote was clear. The voices were heard. SpongeBob is king! Bella is sent following Edward back to Forks.

Again, there wasn't much of a fight for this battle. Harry Potter is really The Chosen One. Lyra got in Lee Scoresby's air ship and floated back to Oxford.

Elite Eight Battles:

We were amazed how far Dorothy went in the Showdown, but her battles are over. Phineas & Ferb are going to the Final Four!

This was a squeaker! We had to recount the votes a few times. Sadly, the smartest girl wizard is done. We love you, Hermione, but Aslan is an amazing character. He goes on!

Oh the mighty cute have fallen! The monkey wins the battle! Pikachu goes home to Ash. Curious George is a Final Four contender!

And this was one of the toughest-judged battles so far...Harry Potter vs SpongeBob. There was drama, there was yelling. We had to use the whistle to calm everyone down. And the decision? SpongeBob!!!

So there you go! Your Final Four in The Ultimate Showdown:

Phineas & Ferb vs Curious George
Aslan vs SpongeBob Squarepants

Could YOU have predicted this? I know I couldn't have!

See you next week when we reveal the ULTIMATE CHAMPION!!!

(Pic) Bumper Stickers For Shoes

(Pic) Bumper Stickers For Shoes

Shared via AddThis

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round Two, Part Two RESULTS!

Our program day was a huge hit as usual. We learning all about visual art today! Picasso, Matisse, Michelangelo, Disney, ice sculptures, finger painting, macaroni necklaces, and a special guest artist named Austin who taught us all about the art of Pokemon Sprites. We all learned something new today!

And when we announced it was time for today's round of The Ultimate Showdown, a loud cry of YES! was heard from the audience! They were SO EXCITED for Round Two!!!

So here's how it all went down...

There was really no contest and nearly naked Captain Underpants fell to the cutest ever Pikachu!

Even though we tried to argue for his win, Winnie the Pooh's heart and sweetness was not enough to match the popularity of Mr. Indiana Jones.

And even though it was a very close vote, the Pigeon who drives the bus drove it off into the sunset because Alice in Wonderland is moving on to the Sweet Sixteen!

Even though a few LOUD fans were CHANTING for Charlotte the Spider, she was not as favored as Curious George and so the monkey moves on!

Again, the fans were chanting RAMONA! RAMONA! RAMONA! but the vote was called for SpongeBob Squarepants. He is so fashionable.

In a close vote of 14-13, Bella Swan vamped by Jedi Luke Skywalker.

We had a great discussion about the next battle, but Lyra and her alethiometer were championed over Frodo and his ring.

And finally, it was his week. There was no arguement. Harry Potter took down Spock.

SO THERE IT IS! The next round is the Sweet Sixteen!!! We are already down to the wire.

Here's who is left in the Showdown:

Spider Man, Hermione Granger, Dorothy Gale, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Phineas & Ferb, Aslan, Snape, Edward Cullen, Pikachu, Harry Potter, Lyra Belacqua, Indiana Jones, Alice in Wonderland, Bella Swan, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Curious George!

Who will be the Ultimate Champion? You decide!

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round Two, Part Two!

Aaaaaaand we're back! We are so lucky that this summer's program theme is Be Creative because we have been so creative with these battles. Our thinking caps are screwed on tight!

Tomorrow's battles are the last of Round Two! Can you believe it? We will be entering the Sweet Sixteen by Saturday. It is getting intense!

Here are tomorrow's battles:

Captain Underpants vs Pikachu
Winnie the Pooh vs Indiana Jones
The Pigeon vs Alice in Wonderland
Curious George vs Charlotte the Spider
SpongeBob SquarePants vs Ramona Quimby
Luke Skywalker vs Bella Swan
Frodo Baggins vs Lyra Belacqua
Spock vs Harry Potter

Tomorrow's theme is Now You See It. We'll be learning about all sorts of visual artists...painters, sculptors, cartoonists, computer animators, you name it. We hope to SEE some amazing battles!

SEE YOU next time with the RESULTS! Yay!!!

The Boy Who Rocked

The Boy Who Rocked

I saw a Harry and the Potters show at a teeny rock club in Arlington, Virginia with one of my librarian friends. They were totally awesome!

Voldemort can't stop the rock, indeed.

Go check out this video: WROCK!

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round Two, Part One RESULTS!

We had a bit of a subdued crowd of Showdown fans today, but Round Two began anyway. The battles were judged very closely with some battles having to go to recounts to declare winners. We are Florida voters, after all.

So without further political delay, here are the RESULTS!

Spider Man weaved a web of Ultimate around saucy Jack Sparrow.

Kansan runaway Dorothy Gale tornado'd her way past sweet Amelia Bedelia.

Phineas and Ferb used their amazing imagination to out sleuth Nancy Drew.

Edward Cullen sparkled his charming self over happiest of happy Mickey Mouse.

Aslan the Lion roared and that was it for dreamer Gemma Doyle.

Bill Nye the Science Guy concocted an experiment that stumped Alaska Young. (Though this was a squeaker! We had to vote about four times before declaring a winner!)

And finally, Hermione Granger cast a spell and Optimus Prime left planet Earth.


Amazing! Just amazing! What an opening for Round Two! We can't hardly wait for next Thursday to find out who else moves on to the Sweet Sixteen battles. Can you???

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round One, Part Four RESULTS!

We had over 80 kids and teens and adults who participated in judging today's battles! We had another round heated debate and a few surprises!

And now the results...

In the Epic Battle of the Cute, Spongebob Squarepants out-cuted fuzzy Elmo!

Ramona Quimby, age 8, was too awesome for Percy Jackson and his Grecian powers.

In the Battle of the 1970s Hairstyles, Luke Skywalker used the Force to outlast Troy Bolton. We had to vote on this one three times before we had a winner!

And to stress out all you Twilight fans, Bella was voted in over Jacob!

In a shocker, Frodo Baggins of the Shire epic-journeyed past Ron Weasley!

The younger crowd was a bit unsure about our next battle. Your librarian hopes they will read these great books in the future. Lyra was chosen over Arnold Spirit. She's friends with armored bears, is all I'm sayin'.

Spock was a clear winner over Laura Ingalls, who went back to the prairie.

And sorry to Anne of Green Gables, but Harry Potter ruled over the Muggle in this battle round!


So there we go! Round One is OVER! Tune in on Saturday for the beginning of Round Two! ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN WOO!

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round One, Part Four

Here we are, Showdown Maniacs. It's time for Part Four of Round One! We're down to the last battles of the first battles. Next week we go head to head in Round Two. Get excited!

Here's a rundown of today's battles:

Look out for the battle of the cuteness! Spongebob Squarepants vs Elmo!

Ramona Quimby, Age Awesome vs son of Greek god Poseidon, Percy Jackson!

Master of the Force, Luke Skywalker vs East High dreamboat, Troy Bolton! Do they have the same haircut?

BELLA VS JACOB! I can't make this stuff up. I promise the battles are randomly matched!

Frodo Baggins of the Shire vs Ron Weasley of the Burrow. It's magical!

Two characters on the verge of YA greatness, Lyra from The Golden Compass vs Arnold Spirit from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

It's prairies vs protons as we battle Laura Ingalls vs Spock!

Battle of the orphans! With magic and without! Harry Potter vs Anne of Green Gables.


Ohhhh, I can feel it! Today's battles are going to be goooooood! Check in later for the results.

Time Warp Chucks

So whenever I go back to my parents' house, my Mom asks me to take another box or bag of stuff out of my old bedroom. A few weeks ago, I took a box of old artwork, cassette tapes, (oh Joni Mitchell, Nirvana, Ani DiFranco, and Jane's Addiction, etc) prom photos (yes, I married my prom date) and other random stuff from my teen years.

But the best things in the back of my closet?

My original Chucks from 7th grade. They are awesome and I will NEVER THROW THEM OUT! They are mine forever.



Cool beans is right.

The Great Debate on VH1

You should be watching The Great Debate on VH1.

It's sort of like our Ultimate Showdown, but for young adults and grown ups.

For example: Who was a meaner school principal?

Mr. Vernon from The Breakfast Club or Mr. Rooney from Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

I'm not telling who won, but I'd vote for Mr. Vernon. I mean, look at him! He scares me! I would never want to be in detention with him in charge!

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round One, Part Three RESULTS

Holy rusted metal, Batman! Round One, Part Three was AMAZING!

(I'll tell ya, Showdown fans, this was the best and most exciting group of battles yet! It was the kind of program day that made your librarians' hearts burst with glee! The kids were SCREAMING with delight and everyone participated and loved the game. Everyone should have an Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library!)

So without any more stalling...hey is that a pigeon driving a bus...oh...nevermind...the results are in!


Captain Underpants's powers were too much for the indie cred and love of Nick and Norah!

Pikachu out-cuted super criminal Artemis Fowl!

It came down to a narrow vote, but Winnie the Pooh moves on over the Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Indiana Jones whipped his way past poor Mary Lennox.

Everyone's favorite Pigeon (yep, we let him drive the bus) didn't stop the bus for Frankie Landau-Banks.

Alice in Wonderland used her imagination to outlast Princess Mia.

And, are you ready for this one? In a classic upset, Curious George knocked out the Jonas Brothers!!!! And some tween girls weeped. (No, not really.)

Charlotte the Spider weaved her web around Nobody Owens, who didn't spook very well today.

So there you have it, Showdown fans! We're taking a holiday break, but the next Showdown day is July 9. As always, stay tuned to this blog for updates!

The Ultimate Showdown @ Your Library Round One, Part Three!

Heyyyyyyy Showdown Fans! It's time for Round One, Part Three!
And do we have some top-choice battles for you today!


Hipster teenagers Nick & Norah vs
Captain Underpants (super fashionable)

Teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl vs
Ridiculously cute Pikachu

Hunny-eater Winnie the Pooh vs
Leaf and stem-eater the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Petulant gardener Mary Lennox vs
Nazi punisher and archaelogist Indiana Jones

That Pigeon who drives the bus vs
Secret society crusher Frankie Landau-Banks

OMG she's a Princess Mia vs
Tea-drinking, drama-causing Alice in Wonderland

Curious George (friend of the library) vs
SQUEEEEJONASBROTHERSSQUEEEE!

Graveyard-dwelling Nobody Owens vs
Farm-dwelling, pig-loving Charlotte the Spider


We can't wait to see who goes down today. It should be a great round!