It’s that time of year again: in which I try to figure out a way to get to Kidlit Con. I’ve gone to the past two, and have had a fun and rewarding time connecting with blogging friends and learning how to do this whole thing better. The full information is up at Chasing Ray, but the basics are these:

DATE: September 16 – 17 (the 16th is a “pre conference”, registration for that is $30)

PLACE: Hotel Monaco, Seattle

Before July 1, the registration is $95, after July 1 it’s $100.

Can I tell you that I’m really excited for this, mostly because it’s on my birthday? I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday this year than with like-minded bookish people! I’d love to see you there!

On a completely unrelated note, Weekly Geeks this week is about our favorite bookish quotes. I try to change mine over there on the sidebar monthly (sometimes I forget), but I do have a couple of absolute favorites:

“A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.” — Mark Twain

“May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books.” — Thomas Carlyle

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” — Oscar Wilde

“When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day.” — Jean Fritz

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” — Jane Austen

Also: I’ve been trying to remember/find a quote from John Green’s story in Let It Snow, I think. The one about the happy middles instead of happy endings. Anyone know it?

I could go through the nitty gritty of this week’s competition, but it all comes down to this:

Keeper

vs.

Ring of Solomon

vs.

Conspiracy of Kings

I’ve never read ALL the books in the SLJ’s Battle of the Kids’ Books before, and so I’m actually quite giddy about this. And I’m going to try my hand at predicting. All three books have their strengths: Keeper is deliciously understated, Kings is full of twists and turns and is like reading historical fiction, and Ring of Solomon is, well, Bartimaeus. All are engaging and amazing and unputdownable. But which one will Richard Peck choose?

Keeper has the whole middle grade thing going for it. The writing is gorgeous, the story compelling and moving. It’s subtle and magical, without really being an outright fantasy book.

Which is also something you can say about Conspiracy: it reads like historical fiction. No matter that these places don’t really exist. And while Gen isn’t really a major presence in the book, Sophos is an absolutely winning main character. And the twists and turns; Turner knows about plotting. The real problem here is whether or not this book can stand on its own. (Full disclaimer: I voted for it in the Undead Poll.)

Ring of Solomon is really the only true fantasy book: djinns, magic, unbelievable circumstances. And Bartimaeus. Snarky, fun, endearing Bartimaeus. He’s knocking down his competition right and left, and everyone who previously hasn’t read or even heard of him is falling over in total adoration. He totally deserves every bit of it, too.

So, which one will take it?

I have suspicions that Peck will choose Keeper, but I’m going to go with Ring of Solomon. (Go Bartimaeus!) We’ll find out tomorrow!

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…

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?)