The School Library Journal is talking up sixteen of last year’s best juvenile books in a type of book-on-book row, judged by fifteen authors of such books. I assume all conflicts of interest have been mitigated. Two of the matches have been judged so far. The Journal copied their idea from The Morning News, which has done a book battle for a few years.

Author and book battle judge Roger Sutton notes, “Much as we might wish it, books ain’t basketball. The thing about March Madness, which I only dimly comprehend after watching the last ten minutes of Michigan State over Connecticut, is that everybody is playing the same game. So not so with books, but given that proviso, let’s begin.”

Fair enough.