I meant, last week, to put up a post with my predictions for the School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books. But, it was C’s birthday, and I spent my morning decorating a cake and doing birthday stuff, and predictions — which I’m horrible at, anyway — took a back seat.

But I can’t pass up the opportunity to comment on the matches so far.

Match 1 As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth vs. The Cardturner: As Liz B. points out the best thing about this match was the way Francisco X. Stork wrote the decision. Brilliant bit of blog writing/reviewing. But then, that’s why he’s the writer and I’m the reader. Right? I haven’t read Lynne Rae Perkins’ book (I may, though, after reading something about it), but I’m not quibbling with the result of the match: I loved The Cardturner.

Match 2 A Conspiracy of Kings vs. Countdown: I adored one, got annoyed with the other. And being solidly on Team Gen (though I’m also on Team Bartimaeus), I really wanted Kings to move on. But judge Dana Reinhardt doesn’t do fantasy though I thought this was telling:

while the journey one takes reading Megan Whalen Turner’s A Conspiracy of Kings is to a world of the writer’s ingenious imagination that feels so real I’m embarrassed to admit I began to question my own knowledge of ancient history. I found myself dusting off the cobwebs, trying to remember if I’d ever studied Sounis, Eddis and Attolia in school.

Truly, the Thief novels are fantasy books for non-fantasy people. She does have another valid point: while it can stand alone, it really does help if you’ve read the other books in the series. And given that, the true historical fiction moves on.

Shall I put in a hope here? I do hope that The Cardturner wins the next round; I found Countdown to be that annoying, and am still scratching my head as to why everyone else seems to like it. But a book that makes bridge sound interesting? That’s worth rooting for.

Match 3 The Dreamer vs. The Good, The Bad, The Barbie: I haven’t read Barbie, though I’ve been curious about it for a while. (It’s on my list.) Anyway, judge Barry Lyga’s decision is a blast to read (being one who often has conversations with myself), and I liked his reasoning throughout. Granted, I was predisposed to Barbie, having read The Dreamer and thinking, while beautiful and lyrical it really wasn’t very interesting. So, no complaints from me.

Match 4 Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword vs. Keeper: This one, if you knew anything about the judge Susan Patron, was a no brainer. No matter how fun and clever and interesting Mirka is, the lyricalness (and it was a good story) of Keeper was going to pull the judge. As commentator Jonathan Hunt said, “Hey, wait! Didn’t this happen before: where an author tried to judge her own book? Oh, yeah. Kristin Cashore wrote Graceling—not Tamora Pierce. And Susan didn’t write Keeper; Kathi Appelt did.” Still, this one was obvious.

I do wonder how Keeper will fare against Barbie? I might have to go with Keeper here, if only because it’s the one I’ve read, though Barbie does sound intriguing.

Match 5 The Odyssey vs. One Crazy Summer: Just when I was thinking graphic novels weren’t going very far this year, judge Karen Hesse goes and pulls an upset on me. The question is, though: is One Crazy Summer the likely candidate for the undead poll winner? (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for my vote: A Conspiracy of Kings.)

As for this week’s battles? I’m crossing my fingers for Bartimaeus, Will Grayson and the Grimm book (which I just finished; it’s quite fabulous). But we’ll see how they fare against the judges’ opinions. (Ah, that’s half the fun, isn’t it?)