BoB Rages on

I'm enthralled by School Library Journal's Battle of the Books.

The all in fun competition has its critics. Some wish SLJ hadn't selected a battle between books that have already been knighted the "best." While others don't see the point in pitting books against one another.

Can't we all just get along and read ALL of them?

But critics are missing the point.

Unless you live under a rock or in Montana (sorry, Montana) you can't get away from talk of the lastest movie, TV show or what songs are rocking the Pop charts. But where can you find, honest and true, comprehensive insight into books, much less children's books?

No, don't answer that. Because you can find this information, but you must search for it. Always searching.

You won't find a slew of pop-up ads heralding most books, unless they've already been designated bestseller babies. You won't hear the radio DJ rhapsodizing about how she can't wait for the sequel to [insert the name of any book here].

And, nine and a half times out of ten, if you hear a book mentioned on the radio or within a television "all access" show, it's because it's been made into a movie. Books are the bastard child of the entertainment industry. Some are loathe to consider them entertainment at all.

So for SLJ to create a new avenue for people to get excited about books, yes even books that many people have already been excited about, is a good thing. Because it will likely produce copy cats who just may focus on the lesser-known books.

For those who don't know me, that's called foreshadowing because I'm already so on a mission to do a similiar book tourney for brown YA books. You heard it here first.

Hey, SLJ, imitation is the best form of flattery.

For now, let the battle continue.

Hooray for Kadir Nelson, making it to the next round!