Battle Commander

Brandy’s got some thoughts,wishes, and guesses.

Battle of the Books begins on Tuesday!!!! My anticipation level at this point is pretty high. I get ridiculously excited about this every year. Usually I have one book that I love and want to see win, and one that I want to see go down quick. That is not the case this year. While I do have a favorite, I also have several other books I love in the battle. And I didn’t loathe any of them. I sort of don’t know what to do with that.

The LibrariYAn appreciated our posts of the past week:

The start of School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids Books is just days away.  Before we get into the grueling face-offs, BoB is giving each book a chance to introduce itself.  And in the most adorable way possible: with introductory blurbs written by student readers, in the voice of the book. Holy wow!

I loved these books before.  And now they have personalities.  Written by witty teens and pre-teens.  Who is their English teacher? Give that (wo)man or those (wo)men a raise.  Pronto.  Seriously.  It’s a pretty serious writing task to personify a book.  And these are the bees knees.

The Card Catalog’s ruminations:

There are two months each year when I get overly obsessive about children’s literature (I know, my siblings and roommates would say “Only TWO?? Just who do you think you’re fooling?”). The ALA Media Awards …

» Continue Reading: Eve of the Battle Peanut Gallery

One title remains strong at 28% of all votes.  The close second has 16% and the 3rd has 12%.

Hi! My name is Temple Grandin.  I should win the Battle of the Kids’ Books because I am the story of a person who fights autism and loves animals. I work to give animals a calm and painless death. You might say I’m like the Greek Goddess Artemis of America.

–  mc, 6th grade

Hi! I’m Three Times Lucky, a touching story about a girl searching for her mother. I am humorous and adventurous, showing a hunt for a mother and a hunt for a murderer. You can totally relate to me and I’m fun for kids of varying ages to read. If you see a bottle floating in a river, don’t hesitate to pick it up. It’s probably a message from me, telling you to pick me for the Battle of the Kids’ Books.

– lk, 5th grade

Hi everyone! I am a sad but thrilling account of the whole story of the sinking of the Titanic. I combine a series of voices of survivors and images of the ship to give the entire account: not just that the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean over one hundred years ago at 2:20 in the morning. Plus you can see a passenger log and lifeboat launching information that was almost never seen before! So don’t wait, read me to find out more!

– lk, 5th grade

When people look at me they don’t exactly think, “average …

» Continue Reading: 2013 Contenders Speak: Day 4

Hello everybody and welcome to the Battle of the Kids’ Books. I am a gorilla and an artist.  I give things a lot of thought and I am very determined. I keep my promises and I do not waste words. Also, I am a kid’s book (unlike my first round competitor who features a GROWN-UP, Lewis Micheaux) and this is a competition for kid’s books only and NOT by any means a grown-up competition. But the real reason I should win is because I deliver a strong message about animal cruelty and I will touch the heart of every reader who reads me.

–  aj, 6th grade & gd, 5th grade

My name is Seraphina. I am a “fiery” (inside joke, read me)  and adventurous, but mysterious, book about a girl with a secret that should not be revealed in her world, or she will be in great danger. The secret? She is a half-dragon. I am a suspenseful book full of dragons, mistrust, an age-old prejudice, and a treaty between two sides in a long-lasting silent war, that’s in danger of being broken. Seraphina is a bridge between worlds, and she could be the only one who can save the people of Goredd from a dragon gone rogue, and the answer to a murder unsolved. Don’t judge me or my main character by our covers. Or our scales. Read me and make the judgement afterward!

– ks, 5th …

» Continue Reading: 2013 Contenders Speak: Day 3

Just because my main character is shorter in height doesn’t mean he’s short in bravery, courage, and kindness; or that he’s less intelligent, or less creative, or less of a human, even when people kidnap him and put him in cages.  He always knows what is right.  His name is Jepp and he defies the stars and comes out a winner!  Make it so, here at Battle of the Kids’ Books!

–  al, 6th grade & lk1, 5th grade 

You probably won’t believe me, I know. I am a liar and a spy, but honestly I am just like you. I like to play Scrabble and watch “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on TV. And it may sound crazy, but I do something else. I join a spy club.  There is a man who lives in my building, a killer. I know it. Here we go again. you think I’m lying.

In my story I show many themes. Take a deep breath: lies, truth, bullying, fears, family, courage, friendship, games, science, art and history. I should win this competition because I teach people about friendship, kindness, and I show them how to look at the big picture. You probably won’t believe me, I know. I am a liar and a spy and to you, that’s all that counts.

 – aj, 6th grade & gd, 5th grade

I am Moonbird. I am part of the …

» Continue Reading: 2013 Contenders Speak: Day 2

Pick me up and look at my cover. Read a bit of me. What am I? An historical fiction? An adventure? A mystery? All wrong! I am something that none of the other books are: a history. That’s right, I belong up there on the shelf among all the other great history textbooks. I am the best kind of textbook: very epic, awesome, courageous, cool, fun-loving, and modest. You can’t forget modest. (So, pick me?)

– mb, 6th grade

To whomever may read this, I reveal the cruelty of The Battle Commander in putting me in this war…who will most likely read these words. But please, God, let Maddie somehow find this. I have three weeks to complete my story to the most minute detail and win the Battle of the Kids Books. My work will end up being beautifully poetic yet very direct, and utterly engrossing. It will contain shades of horror and love, so wonderfully intertwined that it’s hard to distinguish your emotion, hard to know a thing at all.

– rgn, 8th grade

I am a grim reflection of human and animal mortality, survival, and love. Relating the dangers of poverty and war in developing countries, I enlighten readers about the horrors of life and survival more emotionally than most non-fiction books. In doing so, I tell a beautiful, personal story of Sophie and her family, which includes, of all things, cute, endangered bonobos!  Don’t let me …

» Continue Reading: 2013 Contenders Speak – Day 1

So glad to see that folks are busy reading our contenders!  As of February 9th Holly Mueller had read about half of the contenders. Bet she’s farther along now!  Leila over at Bookshelves of Doom‘s read four as of a few days ago.

Then there is Book Nut whose book pile here has her fretting:

My TBR pile was actually under control. And then the SLJ BoB crew announced their lineup and my pile exploded.

As for Katie over at Book Love, she’s catching up and thinking about the final three.

When I first saw the 2013 Contenders, I was dismayed to learn that I had only read ONE out of SIXTEEN. That is shameful, book lovers. But then I just hurried up and requested the rest from my lovely local library, and now I’ve got four down (with twelve to go… yikes!).

Mrs. F-B thinks that:

It’s gonna be a tough year, folks!  Several that I loved are on the list.  Now I NEED to finish Bomb right away and Titanic.  I’m enjoying it much more this second time around.  Glad my arm was twisted to try it again.

And here’s loyal BoB follower Liz Burns who will be posting about the daily battles and more. Yay!

I find it a lot of fun, both because of the randomness in which the books go up against each other, and also because of what the judges select and how they come to a determination of which book “wins”.

These days it seems much of the reaction is happening over at Twitter.

» Continue Reading: Post-Bracket and Judge Reveal Peanut Gallery

Worried that your favorite won’t make it to the finals?  Here’s your chance to make it happen.  Starting today you can vote in our Undead Poll for the contender you most want in the final round.

The previously-eliminated contender that receives the most votes will be pulled out of the grave and brought out to join the two other finalists for the final decision as rendered by Frank “Big Kahuna” Cottrell Boyce.

So vote for your favorite and then, by all means, scheme, lobby, tweet, rally the troops, and do whatever you can to get the vote out for your favorite. Just remember what happened in 2010 when a scientist did a post urging his readers to vote for The Frog Scientist and — guess what? — it won!  So you never know!

The poll will be open until March 10th and we will announce the winner on March 30th.  So think carefully. Who do YOU want in the final round?