SLJ's BoB Round 2 predictions

We're now in the Elite Eight of School Library Journal's Battle of the Books.  My prediction success for the first round is rather poor, 3 out of 8.  I abstained the first round, correctly predicted rounds 2-4, and was wrong for rounds 5-8.  Since I've shared my thoughts on every book, I'm going to do one post for Round 2 with new predictions, which may very well be all wrong.  My predictions are below the brackets.

Match 1:  The Animal Book vs. Boxers & Saints judged by Tonya Bolden - As wonderful as the The Animal Book is, I really want to champion a graphic novel, especially one as well done as Boxers & Saints.

Match 2:  Eleanor & Park vs Far, Far Away judged by Rae Carson - What a nightmare of a choice! Both of these books are wonderful and deserve to go on, but Eleanor & Park still resounds with me even though I read it 6+ months ago, so I hope it wins.  The best scenario would be for one of these to win the Undead Poll so both can have a well-deserved spot in the final round.

Match 3:  Hokey Pokey vs. P.S. Be Eleven judged by Joseph Bruchac - I still find Hokey Pokey to be an odd book that doesn't match its audience so P.S. Be Eleven all the way.

Match 4:  The Thing About Luck vs. The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp judged by Katherine Marsh - Gotta go with The Thing About Luck because Kadohata can make harvesting wheat sound interesting to me.  Her writing is nothing short of amazing and her National Book Award was well-deserved.

Don't forget to check out the results each day at http://blogs.slj.com/battleofthebooks/

I'll follow up next week with the final four!