Cybils

REVIEW My Dead Girlfriend

For Halloween, what could be better than a spooky book by a "ghost artist"? Our own Jackie Parker has the details at her blog.

For a brief time last summer, Finney was able to forget about his doomed future. See, "for a member of the Bleak family the true measure of success is not what is accomplished in LIFE, but in how preposterously they achieve their DEATH." But when he met Jenny at the carnival, it was instant love, and for the first time, Finney wasn't just waiting to die.

There are a lot of great lines in this, especially at the beginning as Finneyhee tells us of the family curse. Here's one from later on: "True, everyone dies -- some from natural causes, others from falling into a wood chipper while trying to outrun a stampede of wild antelope."

Read the rest here.

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REVIEW In Search of Mockingbird

Many thanks to Cheryl Rainfield, one of our panelists, who's the first to buy a classified ad here at Cybils. We hope you all clicked on it and visited one of her blogs. She actually has two; the second reviews "Teen books that have something to say", where she has many thoughtful things to say of her own.

In today's featured reviewed, Cheryl takes on In Search of Mockingbird, by Loretta Ellsworth, which is indeed about the Mockingbird -- as in the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Its teen protagonist, Erin, runs off to seek author Harper Lee and her connection to Erin's dead mother.

Rainfield isn't afraid to give a mixed review, which may not please authors but can be a huge boon to potential readers. Of Ellsworth's Mockingbird, Cheryl writes:

Erin does not just passively accept help; she herself helps the key people who help her, helping them resolve their own emotional issues in a satisfying, real way. This serves to balance Erin and her situation out, and to make her more likable. However, Erin's own resolution of her emotional issues did not feel believable to me, and this was a little disappointing.

Read the rest here.

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REVIEW Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns

Today we bring you a review of a title nominated in this year's middle grade and young adult nonfiction category: Tracking Trash, by Loree Griffin Burns (Amazon link, BookSense link), reviewed by Mindy from Propernoun.net. Mindy was the administrator for this category last year, and is on this year's nominating committee. She is a Collection Development Librarian at a book distributor, and was previously a young adult librarian. She's been blogging since 2003 (an eternity in the kidlitosphere), and says on her blog: "I try to blog each and every book I read, which results in an odd mix of children’s, teen, and adult books. Occasionally I post book lists or other book related tidbits I found interesting." Her blog is professional, varied in content, and frequently updated: a must-visit among children's book blogs.

Mindy reviewed Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion back in March, after working with author Loree Griffin Burns on the 2006 Cybils (Loree was a volunteer on the MG/YA nonfiction committee). Although Mindy acknowledged her potential bias in having worked with Loree, she said: "I didn't want to let that deter me from reviewing the title because it really deserves the attention. Particularly with all the attention on the environment with the popularity of the global warming message, Tracking Trash is not to be missed." Here's more from the review:

A behind-the-scenes look at the nominating panels

Fifty-some bloggers on eight committees are busy finding, reading, and evaluating the hundreds of titles nominated for the 2007 Cybils. What will they be doing and thinking about when choosing the best children's and YA books of 2007?

I. Organizers

Each panel organizer supervises the full list of nominations, which includes:

• Making sure a book has been nominated in the correct category. If not, she must forward the nomination to the appropriate committee organizer;
• Setting up a discussion group (on Yahoo!groups, for example) for the nominating committee. The organizer will remain on the discussion board to present lists or discuss review copies until Nov. 21. After that, the organizer will exit the discussion board if she isn't a member;
• Presenting the list to panelists to find out who has read which books;
• Asking that each book be read by at least two panelists.
• There's a 50-page rule in place: Each book will be read by at least two members of each panel up to page 51 (and, of course, to the end if it's a contender);
• The nominating committee will begin its work on Nov. 21. Panelists may, of course, begin reading before then, but there are no discussions beforehand.

REVIEW Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

As someone who blogs primarily about fantasy and science fiction, it's not often that I review books outside my genre. So I wanted to take this opportunity to share my review of a book that is nominated in the Young Adult category. Song of the Sparrow is based on the Arthurian legends, which would seem to make it fantasy, but it's actually grounded in reality, at least as much as it can be when writing about a legend. In my original review, I said:

Song of the Sparrow is a beautiful novel in verse which tells the story of Elaine, the Lady of Shalott. Author Lisa Ann Sandell attempts to paint a realistic picture of the time in which Arthur might really have lived. All the familiar aspects of the Arthurian stories are here, but portrayed in a way that they might really have happened. The sword in the stone, for example, is a symbolic gesture: Merlin thrusts the sword in the earth for Arthur to draw forth as a symbol of his role as protector of the land.

Sandell's rich imagery brings to life the world that Elaine lives in, from the beauty of nature to the horrors of war. The verse form works well with the realism of the story; it creates a vivid sense of place. There's plenty of excitement, too, as this Elaine is not the type to stay at home while the men go off to war.

Read the entire review here.

I also interviewed author Lisa Ann Sandell at Book Expo America.

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REVIEW Leaves by David Ezra Stein

Today's review of another picture book comes from Jules of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. It's called Leaves, by David Ezra Stein:

This is a lovely little poem of a picture book (or, as the Publishers Weekly review put it in their starred review, more like a "haiku-like shape," praising Stein for his willingness to let the story assume that form) all about the wonder of the ever-changing seasons and nature as viewed by an innocent, rather new-to-this-world bear.

"It was his first year," the book opens, the only text on our first double-page spread, showing us a bear on his little island of the forest with its dominant grassy greens and browns and a bit of yellow from the sun. In this first spread, we see two of Stein's watercolor images bordered in a loose, relaxed black line (created with bamboo pen), as most of the images in the book are presented (Publishers Weekly wrote further, and I love this: "the joyously colored panels . . . hang on the pages like paintings—more intimate, somehow, than double-page spreads").

And there, on that first spread, is bear, simply taking in the wonder of a butterfly. "Everything was going well until the first leaf fell." (This is a spare text: That "Everything" gets its own, entire page, and there's a line break there after "was going well"). Bear doesn't understand and worries about the leaves, as even more fall over his island, Stein giving an entire wordless spread to the newly-emerging Fall while the bear watches.

Read the rest here.

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REVIEW 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter

As Cybils editor, I see a lot of great book blogs, so I feel a bit self-conscious introducing my own. Book Buds is where I react to children's books in the form of short- to medium-length reviews. With just enough art history learnin' in me to cause trouble, I critique both words and pictures.

It's not enough to say "this is cute" or "I loved the art." What does that mean? What are we looking at? And could the text succeed as well with any other artist, or none at all?

One of the most successful marriages of art and text this year is the highly conceptual, highly hilarious "17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore," about a naughty girl with a wild imagination:

The girl on the cover is the kind of willful, recidivist imp whose imaginary friends must all be nervous around her.  We start with her stapling her brother's hair to the pillow, and it goes downhill from there. She walks backwards to school--stopping traffic--and flashes her panties and, oh dear, just about everything awful. And awfully funny.

Each page repeats,  "I had an idea to do X ... I'm not allowed to do X anymore," which gets more brazen and amusing as her calculated terrors add up. The pen-and-ink characters are fully realized, including our mussy-haired protagonist, drawn with a minimalist's attention to each stroke of the pen. They inhabit a digitally remade world of "real" artifacts refitted to the page, even down to their plastic desks or the crossing guard's vest.

Read the rest here.

--Anne Levy, Cybils editor

We're a "classie" group

Hey all, don't forget we're selling classified ads for $10. The money will go toward buying an award (likely a fountain pen) for our winning authors and illustrators.

Follow this link to buy a classified on our BlogAds page. Check "Classie" and fill out all the other stuff. 

Your ad'll appear about halfway down the center column. Send a shout out to friends, or encouragement to your favorite author, or tell someone you love them.

Yeah, I hate scrounging for money. But wouldn't it be nice to send our winners something other than our humble thanks?

REVIEW Here's a Little Poem

Just in time for Poetry Friday, today's review comes from Kelly Fineman, our Poetry organizer: 

Earlier this year, I purchased one of my favorite anthologies of children's poetry — a Very Big Book called Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar. If you have a toddler or preschooler who needs a poetry book, this is the one to buy. It is a beautiful book in all the right ways, and it's perfect for adults to share with kids. 

And yes, it requires adult assistance — the front cover is 10-1/2" wide and nearly 12" tall, making it over 20" wide when open. And it weighs over two pounds, since it easily maxed out my little postal scale.   

The book includes selections from famous poets like Jane Yolen (natch), Marily Singer, A.A. Milne, Nikki Grimes, Tony Mitton, Myra Cohn Livingston, Langston Hughes and more, plus poems from sone folks I hadn't heard of before.  There's a short note near the front matter that reads as follows:

"Here's A Little Poem gathers poems from various parts of the English-speaking world, including Great Britain, the Caribbean, Australia, and the U.S. Regional spellins and usage have been retained in order to preserve the integrity of the originals."  This means, for example, that some poems say "Mum" instead of "Mom," as in "Mum Is Having a Baby" by Colin McNaughton:

Mum is having a baby!
I'm shocked! I'm all at sea!
What's she want another one for:
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH ME!?

Read the rest at Kelly Fineman's blog.

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REVIEW Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Hi, Liz B. here. My blog is "A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy," where I blog about, well, just about everything related to story. This year, I'm involved with both Middle Grade and YA for the Cybils, but I read and discuss other books, as well as TV and movies. I started the blog so I could have a place to talk about books.

I reviewed Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith as soon as it was available (it was published in February 2007).

A quick look at my blog will tell you that I adore the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So when I heard that Cynthia Leitich Smith had a vampire book coming out, I knew I had to read it.

Tantalize is set in a world where vampires are real; and is about Quincie Morris, 17, and what happens when her uncle decides to turn the family restaurant into a "themed" restaurant where the theme is -- wait for it -- vampires.

Here's what I said when I originally reviewed the book:

A dark fantasy with plenty of humor that will also make you very hungry. Quincie is constantly trying out new Italian dishes for the restaurant; and CLS includes the menu for the finished restaurant. Are you a predator? Or prey? CLS also arranges the book as if it were a menu: sections are labeled antipasto, primo, secondo, dolce, conforno. (I swear, between all the food mentioned in CLS's blog and now this book, I've gained two pounds just from reading.)

Enjoy equal doses of horror and humor? Romance and adventure? And books with food? Try Tantalize.

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