A Different Kind of March Madness

The Caffeinated Librarian has her own March Madness bracket going on: Famous Children's Story Characters (I'm going to be honest, I voted for this!).

So, here are my picks, and the reasons why.

In the South Bracket,
Round 1
Harry Potter over the Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood because Harry can use magic and the wolf will only try to eat him (which Harry can easily avoid).
Cat in the Hat over Laura from the Little House books because, c'mon, he's the Cat.
Harriet the Spy over the Scarecrow, only because Scarecrow has less brains than Harriet.
Pippi Longstocking over Puss in Boots, mainly because I can't really remember either story, but Pippi seems pretty with it.

Round 2
Harry over the Cat, because his magic is more powerful than the Cat's magic.
Harriet over Pippi, because I can't remember that Pippi can do much other than lift really heavy things, and Harriet knows how to spy pretty well and would have picked up on this.

Round 3
Harry Potter over Harriet the Spy. Because no amount of spying can defeat a powerful wizard.

In the West Bracket,
Round 1
Cinderella over Sunny Baudelaire, because Cinderella's a princess and Sunny is a baby (albeit a very smart baby).
Peter Pan over Willy Wonka. This was a bit harder, because Peter's a boy, but Wonka, in all honesty, is a bit of a whiner and seemed boy-ish (at least to me). So, because Peter can fly, he gets the nod.
John Henry over Nancy Drew, because while I love and admire Nancy, John Henry just has the brute strength.
Charlotte from Charlotte's Web over the Little Prince because a) I didn't read The Little Prince and I know nothing about him and b) she's a talking spider. That's bonus points.

Round 2
Cinderella over Peter Pan. Now this was a tough one, but I figure princesses hold a lot of clout, and Peter really is just a boy, even if he is a flying boy. Plus, Cinderella has a fairy godmother and animal friends and Prince Charming. I don't know how that counts (at least in this competition) but it does.
Charlotte over John Henry, again because of the talking spider thing. Yes, John Henry could crush her, but she's wise enough to know how not to get crushed. I'm envisioning some sort of intricate web.

Round 3
Cinderella over Charlotte, because Charlotte would gladly give up the win for a girl who had such a hard childhood but still was able to overcome it.

In the East Bracket,
Round 1
Winnie-the-Pooh over Captain Underpants because I see Captain Underpants books and I still don't get it. Pooh's too lovable to lose to this crude character.
Mary Poppins over Ramona because, while I love Ramona, Mary Poppins would put her in her place.
Hardy Boys over Max from Where the Wild Things Are because, while Max did become King of the Wild Things, it was only because he knows how to throw a good temper tantrum. The Hardy Boys would see through that in an instant.
Long John Silver over Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time because he's a fearsome pirate and she's a typical teenage girl.

Round 2
Mary Poppins over Pooh, because Pooh would either be confused by her logic or agree with whatever she said, including that she should win.
Hardy Boys over Long John Silver because there's more of them and that's got to count for something.

Round 3
Mary Poppins over the Hardy Boys, because she's just that good. You can't argue with someone who's always right.

In the North Bracket,
Round 1
Robin Hood over the White Witch from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, because I can't imagine evil like that winning at anything.
Jo March from Little Women over Alice because all of Alice's adventures took place in her dreams, whereas Jo has real-world experience.
Huck Finn over the Velveteen Rabbit because Huck is craftier. And a real boy.
Bilbo Baggins over Peter Rabbit because Peter just likes to make mischief (and then go home to his mother) whereas Bilbo goes looking for it.

Round 2
Jo over Robin Hood because she's a lady. Robin is undoubtedly chivalrous.
Bilbo over Huck because while Huck has had a hard life, Bilbo has lived many more years and faced many more horrible things.

Round 3
Jo over Bilbo, because Bilbo is pretty old and he can't be expected to keep up in things like this.

So, since the South and the West duke it out, that puts Harry Potter vs. Cinderella, and while Cinderella does have a fairy godmother, I think we can all agree that Harry's wizarding skills probably go beyond a fairy godmother's realm.

Then in North vs. East, we have Jo March vs. Mary Poppins, and once again Ms. Poppins wins because her spoonful of sugar may have been just what the March family needed during Beth's troubled times.

So now we have the finalists, Harry Potter and Mary Poppins. I have to say, this is a hard one. Who should win? Well, I've decided. And the winner is......


HARRY POTTER! Because Mary Poppins could do no more than offer to be his surrogate family, and Harry already has that and more in the Weasleys. Plus, Harry is above anything Mary Poppins could do. He's drank (drunk?) Skele-Gro, without that spoonful of sugar, and, while Mary Poppins may be able to pop in and out of sidewalk pictures, Harry Potter constantly lives a life of magic, and in my book, that wins out over taking vacations through magical lands and returning to give kids their medicine.

Now go make your own picks! Or just agree with me. :-)