Week two of The Battle of the Kids’ Books has come and gone. And even though I was gone on a mini-vacation with my girls for most of it, I can’t let the week go without putting in my two cents.

Match 6 The Ring of Solomon vs. Sugar Changed the World: Give it up for Adam Rex for 1) pointing out all the faults of The Ring of Solomon, 2) making me want to read the other book and 3) coming up with a decision that, while reading, I completely didn’t expect. Though I’m quite happy about it. (Go Bartimaeus!)

So, Solomon versus The Odyssey? I don’t know. Personally, I’m favoring Ring of Solomon, but the Odyssey sounds really, really good. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of that.

Match 7 A Tale Dark and Grimm vs. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: I’ve not read any of judge R. L. Stine’s books, but I knew enough to call this one. It helps that the winning books is quite fabulous. I’m not sure I’ll ever read K.K.K, though; it may be too much for me to manage.

Match 8 Trash vs. Will Grayson, Will Grayson: Again, we’re pairing a book I absolutely loved with one I hadn’t read. But after reading judge Mitali Perkin’s thoughts on it, I’m completely sold on Trash. (One of the wonderful side benefits of this is learning about less well-known books; how did Trash fly under the radar? It sounds wonderful!) I’ll forgive it for beating the Wills; any book about the “the love of power and the power of love” deserves to win.

Grimm versus Trash? I don’t know. I’ve only read one of them, and really, really liked it. But, from what Mitali Perkins said, Trash is a pretty powerful book. I’m going to go against my personal preference and say that Trash takes it. (I hope Grimm puts up a fight, though!)

Round Two, Match 1 The Cardturner vs. Countdown: I loved judge Laura Amy Schlitz’s introduction:

Let me make one thing clear: I’m not going to be dispassionate about
this. I agreed to be a judge, but I refuse to be judicious; I’m not going to nitpick and split hairs. If I had been given two mediocre books, I might have managed it: one can be beautifully dispassionate about mediocre books. But COUNTDOWN and THE CARDTURNER are remarkable books, and the proper response is not assessment, but appreciation. I’m going to fling objectivity out the window (let’s face it; it’s overrated) and have myself a good time.

So, so true! And her reason for picking Cardturner to move on? That it’s a true comedy; not a “funny book”, but something that “is a celebration of human resilience. At its best, [comedy] takes the tensions and failures and tragedies of life, and transmutes them. It pulls the threads taut, mending the rift in the cloth. It draws the toxins out. And of course this is tremendously refreshing, because we are surrounded by tensions and failures and tragedies.” I’d never thought of it that way. Fabulous.

Round 2, Match 2 The Good, The Bad, and the Barbie vs. Keeper: This is not a year for non-fiction. That’s okay, because I agree with judge Naomi Shihab Nye, that Keeper is a gift of a book. Beautiful and perfect. Even though I still want to read Barbie, you don’t see me shedding any tears that Keeper is moving on.

Keeper versus The Cardturner, though? That’s another tough one to call. I’ve read them both, so I can actually make a reasonable judgment call (ha!). While Keeper is just about perfect, I’m leaning toward Cardturner. I think it has a winning quality that wins over everyone who reads it. And I’m beginning to wonder if it just can’t take the whole thing.

We’ll just have to wait and see…