It’s back! School Library Journal’s Battle of the (Kids’) Books–aka BoB–gets underway on Monday, March 15. Sixteen of the best books published in 2009 will go head-to-head, being read and judged by celebrities of KidLit. There will be a match every weekday until one book stands alone on April 5.

I’m going to pay close attention this year because next year, I think we should have a Battle of the Bookmarks–maybe simultaneously. (Are you listening, Alan?)

The Opening Ceremony is on now. I recommend using the weekend to get the lay of the land before the battle starts.

There are a couple of ways you can participate. First, vote in the Undead Poll. This poll will enable one book that gets eliminated to return in the final round. So, if you have a favorite, vote for it here in case it gets eliminated by some misguided judge. I really hope my pick doesn’t need to be Undead.

Next, make your predictions and fill out a bracket. I’ll post mine here on Sunday. Anyone want to make it interesting? Say…winner gets some sort of stash surprise?

Here’s the deal: Fill out the entire bracket. We’re not re-setting rounds once we know winners; we’re picking them all up front. If all your first-round picks go down, well, we’ll call your score “love,” how’s that? You get one point for each correct pick in Round 1, two points for each correct pick in Round 2, three points for each correct pick in Round 3, and four points for a correct pick in Round 4. Yes, you should pick an Undead Book for round 4. Your Undead Book pick is worth three points if you get it right.

Post your picks in the comments on Sunday.

If one of you wins, I’ll send you a stash surprise, but not until the end of April. If I win, all players will have to PAY…me a compliment. In the event of a tie, we’ll turn to the handy random number generator.

What? You haven’t read all those books? Gasp!

So? Me neither. Not yet, anyway. While I anticipate reading them all, I don’t think having them read by Monday provides that much advantage. It’s more useful to be a mind-reader or maybe to think about the judges’ own books to get a sense of their tastes. Or pick the books with the longest titles, or the most vowels, or best covers.

Uh-oh. Am I giving away my March Madness secrets?