01 February 2012

Get ready for the 2012 SLJ Battle of the Kids Books!

Who says February is a bummer? Imagine my joy this morning when my sleepy eyes spied the announcement in my Twitter feed that the 2012 BoB contenders had been announced! I adore the Bob's (also known more formally as the School Library Journal Battle of the Kids Books.) I love the guest judges. I love the monkey wrench of the Undead contender. I love the debate and conversation and second-guessing. I love that the BoBs is the metaphorical kick in the rear to my To Be Read pile. It's one final attempt to get to grips with the gems of the previous year before turning my attention to all the great new stuff ahead. I am particularly pleased to see that this year I have read no less than eight of the sixteen nominated titles (which, after the ignominy of a mere one last year, is heartening.) This is the first year where I will have already read at least one book in each of the brackets. And I still have at least a month to tackle the rest.

In terms of predictions.......going by the books I have read, I'm pulling for A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, based on an idea by the late Siobhan Dowd, which is hands down the finest book I've read in the last twelve months.


4 comments:

Playing by the book said...

I'm with you on a Monster Calls - just brilliant - but I'm worried as it could be up against Wonderstruck in round 2, and that's some quite tough competition quite early on...

Kara Schaff Dean said...

Well, Wonderstruck has to get past Okay for Now first, and Monster Calls has to best Life: a Diagram Exploded before they can go head to head. Tough competition, for sure!

Yellow Brick Reads said...

I still have to read Wonderstruck but I thought A Monster Calls was phenomenal. The illustrations added to it hugely also.

Kara Schaff Dean said...

It's been a great competition so far. The judges' commentary has been top-notch, and every book is so worthy, it's tough to be disappointed when one loses.

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