The brand new site is here: http://battleofthebooks.slj.com/

And Monica and I have been asking a couple of our students to be official kid commentators who will read pairs of books and express their opinions after they see the judges’ decisions. I wonder if teachers and librarians in other schools/libraries will do the same. It’s a great way to get kids excited about reading and they can read as few as two books (from the first round) to feel very involved. Or they can read (like some of our students did last year) the whole slate of books and have a real sense of pride as being so informed!

These are solid titles – we have graphic novels, non-fiction, fantasy, books for 8-10 year olds, books for young adults, books from the U.S. and outside of the U.S. And wait until you see this year’s judges!!! So, stay tuned, follow the matches, and weigh in on these 16 very very fine 2011 titles!!

Watch them

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406796/january-24-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt–1

and

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406902/january-25-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt–2

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/16/ya-novel-readers-publishing-establishment?newsfeed=true

How does an author touch one’s heart so profoundly? What did she do that’s just right? The pacing is perfect – without much battle or fight scenes. I knew the general direction that the story must follow and felt rewarded, rather than bored, when the story arc falls neatly where I anticipated — but, also surprised along the way with many little bits and pieces that Cashore masterfully inserted into the story to make it even more intriguing and the world even more realized.

The book is, though, filled with so much sorrow that one can almost not bear reading through. I hope young people (14 and up?) will not be as horrified as us older readers by Leck’s astrocity on his victims and his forced accomplices. I am amazed at the sympathy I felt toward him — the pure evil embodiment through the 3 books — and how damaged a mind and what a torture chamber that mind is for himself.

Glad to see the other beloved characters from Graceling and Fire and can’t wait to see what the next, culminating kind of story Cashore will bring us.

And — Kristin, please don’t worry about publishing the next book right away. We can wait. And if you are having trouble telling the next story, go do something else. Go write something else. Go present your insights on Fantasy world building, on character development, on capturing emotional truths, etc. to the world. Thank you so much for a most affecting story!