And now, the final match for Round One: No Crystal Stair v The One and Only Ivan, judged by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

My prediction: “The One and Only Ivan, because Mr. Schu likes Ivan so much and that’s as good a reason as any.”

John. John, John, John.

It is all John’s fault, then, that my prediction was wrong.

Oh, yes — the winner here was No Crystal Stair.

Why? Well, obviously “what Mr. Schu says” is not something the SLJ BoB judges use as a factor. Instead, Murdock looks at both books, and looks with a critical eye. As I read it, I thought, “oh, if she says such and such about a book, it won’t win” but such and such was said about both books. It was an even handed critique. Ultimately, though, what trumped was not what book delighted her more, and that book was No Crystal Stair.

It is sad that my run of selecting titles is over. It is even sadder that this is not the first title that I was wrong about.