In honor of the Oscars, for their late March and early April decorations, the Papio South library decorated its entrance with an Oscars theme and held a vote among the student body for best book. The vote was sent out via email and had 12 different categories with three book options that students could choose from.

Chosen to compete for the category of best cover art were “The Kingdom of Back” by Marie Lu, “Gilded” by Marissa Meyer, and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurtson. “The Kingdom of Back” claimed the crown with its elegantly done cover depicting a luminous blue tree. 

Competing in the category of best picture book were “The Cat in The Hat” by Dr. Seuss, “Corduroy” by Don Freeman, and “Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst. With its irresistible charm and sense of nostalgia, “The Cat in The Hat” won this category by a landslide.

For best film adaptation, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by JK Rowling, “The Shining” by Steven King, and “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly were pitted up against each other. While each option firmly held its ground, “Hidden Figures” ended up on top.

In the thrilling category of mysteries, “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, “The Inheritance Games” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and “Naturals” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes competed head to head. Despite having two books as options, Barnes was still beaten by “And Then There Were None.”

The category for best horror contained the chilling books “It” by Stephen King, “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson, and “You Will Be Mine” by Natasha Preston. Stephen King’s “It” easily took the crown with its notoriously creepy tale.

Stepping away from traditional novels, the best Graphic Story section had “Heart Stopper” by Alice Osman, “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, and “Diary of A Wimpy Kid – Roderick Rules” by Jeff Kinney. “Diary of A Wimpy Kid” easily won with its timeless comical tale of middle school awkwardness.

Shining a light on the past, “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls, “Educated” by Tara Westover, and “Night” by Elie Wiesel competed in the best memoir section. “The Glass Castle” held on to its lead and won this section.

In the nonfiction section, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, “Night” by Elie Wiesel, and “The Joy of Cooking” by Irma Ss Rombauer were the three contenders chosen. “Night,” a required read for sophomores about a Holocaust survivor, won this section.

Focusing more on the characters, the Darkling from “Shadow and Bone,” Ursula from “The Little Mermaid,” and Voldemort from the Harry Potter series went head to head for the title of best villain. Ursula from the childhood classic “The Little Mermaid” easily claimed that title for herself.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Triss from “Divergent,” Star Carter from “The Hate U Give,” and Percy Jackson from “Percy Jackson and The Olympians” competed for best hero/heroine. In the end, Percy Jackson was chosen as the best hero of the bunch.

In the section of best main character, Percy Jackson from “Percy Jackson and The Olympians”; Huckleberry Finn from “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”; and Dobby, A Free Elf from “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2″ competed for the title. Percy Jackson managed to take his second book Oscar in this section.

In the Lifetime Achievement section recognizing the authors for their feats, Stan Lee, Stephen King, and William Shakespeare fought for the crown. With his beloved stories that have captivated generations of superhero lovers, Stan Lee took the victory.

For the overall winner, the best books from each category were pitted against each other. In the end, “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly was voted as the ultimate winner for Papio South’s first ever library book Oscars. 

When asked about the event, library para Mrs. Lydia Kahn said, “I would love for this to become an annual event! I know that a lot of people had fun with it this year, and I think we can reach an even wider audience next year.”