Sunday Salon - Battle of the Kid's Books - My Picks

This week kicks off School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids' Books. Here are my first round picks and the reasons, so to speak, why I made these choices.

1. Charles and Emma vs. Claudette Colvin
Now, I know Claudette already won an award but I have to hand her this match, too. Although both books introduced me to new information in different ways, I was more than captivated by the story of Claudette. Having Claudette's version of events interspersed with the history we all "know" gave it the extra edge. It made the history seem more present. So for this round, I choose Claudette Colvin.

2. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate vs. Fire
I had the opportunity to Skype with Jacqueline Kelly and she answered quite a few questions for us, the most important being why the name Calpurnia. My predictions were wrong and it wasn't based on To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course this in no way turned me off to Calpurnia, I was an immediate lover of Fire and it still holds a place in my heart. Fire had romance and war and beauty and power. It was better than Graceling. Fire is my book of choice for this match.

3. The Frog Scientist vs. The Last Olympian
This one is a no-brainer: The Last Olympian. Cuz, I didn't read The Frog Scientist. I loved the action and adventure in TLO and thought it a fitting end to the series. I remember moving my name up on the hold list, er..I mean...um, never mind. I really loved it. That is all.

4. Lips Touch Three Times vs. The Lost Conspiracy
Again, I only read one of these books but, in this case, I didn't like it. So, Lips Touch wins this round. The Lost Conspiracy started out strong but quickly became tedious and predictable. I couldn't wait for it to end. My student reader felt the same way. Lips Touch to Round 2.

5. Marcelo in the Real World vs. Marching for Freedom
Marcelo wins hands down. I didn't read Marching for Freedom. Now, I enjoyed Marcelo but I didn't think it deserved all the pub it got. I thought it was predictable and the part with the secretary unnecessary. Anything But Typical was a much better book. Still, Marcelo wins this particular match-up.

6. Peace, Locomotion vs. A Season of Gifts
A Season of Gifts had it's moments. Some scenes were described so vividly I could see them, especially the young girl with the apron who was like Grandma Dowdel and when the boy was being bullied. Other than that I thought it was pretty out of touch. I also thought Locomotion was a far better book than Peace. I thought the emotions were more present in Locomotion and the writing more beautiful. That said, Peace wins the match because it was better than Season.

7. Sweethearts of Rhythm vs. The Storm in the Barn
Hmm, this one is tough. I haven't read either book in this match-up. This will not stop me from choosing. The Storm is my choice because it's so pretty. I have this one at school and the drawings were amazing. It advances in my poll.

8. Tales from Outer Suburbia vs. When You Reach Me
Ok, I'm back. I just finished reading TFOS. On the one hand, this book should be against The Storm in the Barn, since it's a graphic novel, or Lips Touch, since it's short stories. It's a beautiful book. Shaun Tan is an amazing illustrationist, er illustrationer, er illustrator. I mean the detail is amazing. The table of contents consists of small stamps with page numbers instead of prices and a small picture representing the story. The stories are simple on the service but as you read, you fall deeper into them. I loved Distant Rain, the story of unread poems. Words gathering in secret places and coming together only to be separated by storms and put together in new ways to be discovered by others. Beautiful. And Stick Figures: Who are You, WhyAre You Here, What Do You Want? These questions surround a brutality only seen on the school yard. Haunting. I loved this book. I want to own it. I like to look at it. I like re-reading it. Ah-May-Zing (did I use that word enough?). On the other hand, I have been an evangelist for When You Reach Me since I read it this past summer. I mean, seriously, I carried it around standing on corners (in the library) pointing at people and quoting lines from it. I called it for the Newbery without hesitation and everything else I read paled in comparison. I forced teachers and students and my own child to read it. None of them loved it like me. Crazies. This one is truly hard to call. But, despite everything, I have to give it to Tales. I have to. It's the better kid's book. Really.

Ok, that was tough. So, here are the books that I will send to the second round:

• Claudette Colvin
• Fire
• The Last Olympian
• Lips Touch Three Times
• Marcelo in the Real World
• Peace, Locomotion
• The Storm in the Barn
• Tales from Outer Suburbia

I'll be watching The Battle closely to see what the judges say. I'll pick my second round winners next week. I've gotta go read Lips Touch and Storm...
While you are waiting, check out the Peanut Gallery and, if you read this before midnight, go vote in the Undead round!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

John Green and David Levithan

Dutton Children’s Books

April 2010

304 pgs.

Summary

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Woods Runner

Gary Paulsen

Wendy Lamb Books

January 2010

164 pgs.

Summary

From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. Includes historical notes.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Some Girls Are

Courtney Summers

St. Martin’s Press

January 2010

245 pgs.

Summary

Regina, a high school senior in the popular--and feared--crowd, suddenly falls out of favor and becomes the object of the same sort of vicious bullying that she used to inflict on others, until she finds solace with one of her former victims.

Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams

Bullet Point

Peter Abrahams

HarperTeen

April 2010

304 pgs.

Summary

Wyatt never really thought much about his dad—a hardened criminal, a lifer in a prison somewhere on the other side of the state. But then the economy had to go and tank, and the community had to go and cut the baseball program from Wyatt's high school. And then the coach had to go and show Wyatt a photograph of his dad at sixteen, looking very much like Wyatt himself. Through a series of unfortunate—or perhaps they were fortunate—events, Wyatt meets a crazy-hot girl named Greer with a criminal dad of her own. A criminal dad who is, in fact, in jail with Wyatt's own criminal dad. Greer arranges a meeting, and Wyatt's dad is nothing like the guy he's imagined—he's suave, and smart, and funny, and cool, and—Wyatt's pretty sure—innocent. So Wyatt decides to help him out. A decision that may possibly be the worst he's ever made in his life.

Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray

Ostrich Boys (Definitions)

Keith Gray

Random House

March 2010

304 pgs.

Summary

Ross is dead, and Blake, Sim, and Kenny are furious. To make it right, they steal Ross’s ashes and set out from their home on the English coast for the tiny village of Ross in southern Scotland, a place their friend had always wanted to go. What follows is an unforgettable journey with illegal train rides, bungee jumping, girls, and high-speed police chases—all with Ross’s ashes along for the ride. As events spin wildly out of control, the three friends must take their heads out of the sand long enough to answer the question: What really happened to Ross?

Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

Last Summer of the Death Warriors

Francisco X. Stork

Arthur A. Levine

March 2010

344 pgs.

Summary

Seventeen-year-old Pancho is bent on avenging the senseless death of his sister, but after he meets D.Q, who is dying of cancer, and Marisol, one of D.Q.'s caregivers, both boys find their lives changed by their interactions.

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Finnikin of the Rock

Melina Marchetta

Candlewick Press

February 2010

399 pgs.

Summary

Now on the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, who was a child when the royal family of Lumatere was brutally murdered and replaced by an imposter, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere.

Sweet, Hereafter by Angela Johnson

  Sweet, Hereafter

Angela Johnson

Simon and Schuster

January 2010

118 pgs.

Summary

Sweet leaves her family and goes to live in a cabin in the woods with the quiet but understanding Curtis, to whom she feels intensely connected, just as he is called back to serve again in Iraq.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron

Catherine Fisher

Dial Books

February 2010

442 pg.

Summary

To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

Thoughts
Incarceron opens with a view of Finn, another major player in the saga. Finn is imprisoned but he is sure that he wasn't always inside Incarceron. He has visions of the outside.

The story then switches to Claudia. She is Outside, where Protocol rules. It's been declared that it's been for everyone if we return to a simpler time. No progress, no electronics, no strife, no hunger...HA! As if! How can you live and not learn and grow? Is that really living?

Somehow these two lives are intertwined. As Finn and Claudia fight their own personal battles they are drawn closer and closer together.

I loved how Catherine Fisher led me to make predictions that didn't turn out quite how I guessed. So I alternated between slaps on the back and groans of frustration, but I couldn't stop reading.

Favorite thing about the book: Attia. She's my hands down favorite character this year.