And Bartimaeus Takes The Prize

Well, my time following the Battle of the Kids' Books was well spent because my pick, The Ring of Solomon, won. Now I must struggle with the question of how old my niece needs to be before she can appreciate the first in the original Bartimaeus trilogy, The Amulet of Samrkand. I made a fan of my nephew, but he was in college. Rebecca is only twelve.

Bartimaeus Moves On

I'm having a really hard time keeping up with all the action on the Battle of the Kids' Books. How do those people who follow whatever sport it is that March Madness is all about do it? Is it easier when you can go to bars and watch the action on television?

Anyway, I'm happy to say that The Ring of Solomon has won its third match, thus making the finals.

More On The Battle Of The Books

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch lost in the first round of Battle of the Books, but I happen to have just finished reading it, and it's definitely not a loser.

Hereville is a quirky little graphic novel that began life as a web comic. It bills itself as being about "Yet Another Troll-Fighting 11-Year-Old Orthodox Jewish Girl." It seems to take place in a fairy tale type world, though the kids go to a school that's contemporary enough to have a cafeteria.

One of the things that I'm not fond of in traditional fantasy is that the world building often becomes very over the top, as if the author has to go further than the last author to publish a fantasy novel. What I really liked about Hereville is that the world building seems to be all about Orthodox Judaism. (I say "seems" because that's how ignorant I am about Orthodox Judaism.) I like my fantasy with a contemporary, real world edge. This book had that for me, it was just a contemporary, real world that I don't know.

The stepmother--not a stereotypical, fantasy stepmother.

The pig--well, not a stereotypical, fantasy pig mainly because I'm not aware of any other pigs in fantasy.

Mirka--could easily have been a stereotypical, fiesty fantasy girl but the bit about being an Orthodox Jew took care of that!

A quick and clever read with an ending that suggests that Mirka might be back to do something with that sword. I hope the Battle of the Books brings more attention to this title.

Other Battle Of The Book News

I have read neither of the books that went head-to-head in Round 1, Match 2, though I did read the three books that came before A Conspiracy of Kings. I am commenting on what happened here, because the judge gave the decision to Kings' opponent, Countdown, in part because "I haven’t read any of the other titles in Turner’s series. Though I have heard many reviewers posit that A Conspiracy of Kings can stand alone, I would argue that it does so on wobbly legs. While I have no doubt that everything one wishes for in an engrossing read is right here in these pages, I couldn’t help but feel that I’d arrived too late to the party. I didn’t even know that Sophos had been missing! For two whole books!"

Serial books are a risk. Just saying. And, you know, I've said that before.

Round 1, Match 3: Haven't read either of the books and have no thoughts on this one.

Round 1, Match 4: I happen to be reading one of the books, so I'll wait until I finish to read the judge's comments, though I do know her decision.

I Know A Judge!

The judges for The Battle of the Kids' Books have been announced, and I actually know one. And I don't mean I actually know her in the sense that we have commented on each other's blogs or Facebook walls. No, I mean I've actually been in the same room with her. And I don't mean I've actually been in the same room with her the way I've actually been in the same room with Richard Peck, who is also a judge this year. No, I mean we were actually in the same room, and we actually spoke to each other. I was in the same room with Richard Peck, but he did all the speaking from the stage.

Okay. This Year They Got Me.

I'm not that keen on competitions because, you know, we should all be in the moment, work for the sake of the work, take what we can from any experience without thoughts of winners and losers. Yes, I am like that.

But this year, The Ring of Solomon is a contender, and I'd like to see it do well. I also appreciate the fact that both As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth and The Cardturner are included because they are both unusual, nontrendy, even mature reads, in a nonsexual, nondeath and dying sort of way. (The organizers must have thought they were similar in some way, too, since they will be competing against each other.)

So I'll be paying attention this year, at least so long as my favorites are still in the running.

Liz B.'s post won me over.