March Madness Meets Picture Books: The Ultimate Classroom Tournament!

If you’re looking for a fun and engaging way to get your students excited about reading, look no further! This March Madness Picture Book Bundle is the perfect way to foster a love of reading while bringing some friendly competition into your classroom.

With 16 handpicked, high-interest picture books, this book tournament will have your students laughing, predicting, discussing, and cheering for their favorites all month long! Best of all, it’s designed specifically for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, making it accessible, engaging, and easy to implement.

Why a Picture Book Tournament?

March Madness isn’t just for basketball! Bringing the excitement of a bracket-style competition to the classroom makes reading feel like a game, which is a powerful way to engage young learners.

A book tournament: 

• Gets students excited about reading by turning it into an interactive challenge

• Encourages critical thinking as students compare and analyze books

• Fosters classroom discussions about characters, themes, and storytelling

• Builds reading comprehension skills through structured response activities

• Creates a positive reading culture where students cheer for books and share their opinions

If you’ve ever struggled to get your students enthusiastic about books, this March Madness Picture Book Bundle is the perfect solution!

What’s Included in This March Madness Picture Book Bundle?

This resource includes everything you need to set up and run a successful picture book tournament in your classroom. Whether you choose to use the 16 handpicked, high-interest books or swap in your own favorites, this bundle is 100% editable to fit your needs.

Here’s what’s inside:

• 16 popular picture book selections (most of which you probably already own!)

• Bulletin board setup materials – basketballs, letters, “Elite 8” and “Final 4” posters, and FREE book covers to create a visual bracket

• Blank brackets (color and black & white) so students can follow along and track winners

• Questions for each book – prediction, comprehension, and text connection questions to guide discussions

• Sticky note templates to make responses interactive and engaging

• Voting sheets for each round (editable to match the books your students choose)

• Prediction sheets so students can guess which book will win before the tournament begins

• March Madness packet – includes rating sheets, a graphing sheet to track votes, and 10 book response sheets

• A "This Book is a Slam Dunk" craft to celebrate the winning book!

• YouTube read-aloud links to make accessing books easy

This ready-to-use bundle makes it simple and stress-free to organize an exciting reading challenge that your students will remember for years to come!

How to Use This Book Tournament in Your Classroom

1. Set Up Your Bracket & Introduce the Tournament

Start by displaying the bulletin board materials to build excitement. Whether you choose my handpicked book selections or use your own, the visual bracket will help students see the competition unfold.

2. Read & Discuss the Books

Each matchup features two books going head-to-head! Read both books to your students and use the comprehension and discussion questions to guide meaningful conversations.

3. Vote & Move Books Through the Rounds

Students will use their voting sheets to choose which book moves to the next round. Keep the energy up by updating the bracket display as students narrow down the competition!

4. Make Predictions & Track Votes

Students can predict the winner before the tournament begins and use the graphing sheets to track votes along the way. This adds a math component to the activity, reinforcing data collection and analysis skills.

5. Celebrate the Winning Book!

At the end of the tournament, the winning book is crowned! Students can complete the "This Book is a Slam Dunk" craft to celebrate their favorite story.

Why Teachers Love This Book Tournament

Teachers love using this March Madness Picture Book Bundle because it’s:

• Engaging and interactive – Students stay actively involved in reading throughout the entire tournament.

• Easy to implement – Everything is included, so all you need to do is print and go!

• Customizable – Swap out books to fit your classroom library or student interests.

• Perfect for all reading levels – Whether students are emergent readers or more advanced, they’ll love participating.

• A great way to build a reading culture – encourages classroom conversations about books, characters, and storytelling.

Bring the Excitement of March Madness to Your Classroom!

March Madness isn’t just about basketball—it’s about excitement, competition, and cheering for a favorite team. By bringing that same energy and engagement into the classroom, a March Madness-style book tournament instantly captures students’ interest.

Kids love making predictions, voting, and seeing which books move forward, just like fans do with basketball brackets. The friendly competition keeps them invested in reading, while the structured format helps them think critically about stories and develop opinions about what makes a great book. When reading feels like a game, students are far more likely to participate—and have fun while doing it!

If you’re looking for a fun and effective way to get your K-2 students excited about reading, this March Madness Picture Book Bundle is the perfect solution! It’s an engaging, interactive, and completely editable resource that turns reading into an unforgettable experience.

Download the bundle HERE and get ready to host the ultimate picture book tournament in your classroom!

Happy Reading!