List Fun: Cybils Books with Latino Flair

I’m very passionate about diversity in YA and children’s literature. As a former bilingual teacher, I found a huge discrepancy on what was out there during the 1990s/2000s especially stories with Latin@ protagonists. This was the driving force behind me writing Earrings of Ixtumea which has a Latina protagonist being thrust into a parallel world where she has to confront the …

Interview with Carrie Alexander (from Rocketwagon)

First off: congratulations!! Can you tell us what inspired you to tackle the app as a medium, rather than, say, a traditional book form? CA: My husband, Jon, is a freelance creative who has a background in graphic design, video game development, writing, and video editing. He had no app development experience, but because of these other pursuits was aware of …

List Fun: I Like a Few Facts With My Poetry

Don Graves, father of the modern writing process, used to always say, “Poets are a lot like scientists. They both observe the world very, very closely.” Each of the books celebrates the merge of poetry with nonfiction. Perfect for science or social studies, as mentor texts for quick reports, or just plain old enjoyable reads for those of us who …

Interview with Paul Durham

First off, congrats!! We all really enjoyed The Luck Uglies. Could you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for it? PD:  Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a complete surprise and a total delight to learn that I had received the Cybils Award for MG Speculative Fiction. The Luck Uglies …

List Fun: Readable Nonfiction

As a teen/tween public librarian, I specialize in students from third grade through high school. My colleagues often will pull me in to help a teen or tween reader find books that will help them survive their school assignments. Usually without fail the one assignment I am called in to help with more times than not is when we have …

Interview with Dean Pitchford

First off, congrats! Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for Nickel Bay Nick? DP: Thanks for your kind words of congratulations! My inspiration for NICKEL BAY NICK was actually two-fold: First — the protagonist in my story, Sam Brattle, is 11-years old, but at the age of four, he’d had a heart transplant. For years I had been …

List Fun: Young Adult High Fantasy

Game of Thrones returns to television this week, and in celebration, here’s a list for those who can’t get enough high fantasy. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997) defines high fantasy as “Fantasies set in Otherworlds, specifically Secondary Worlds, and which deal with matters affecting the destiny of those worlds.” In essence, high fantasy stories are set in fully imaginary worlds …

Interview with J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon

First off, congrats! Voices from the March on Washington is fantastic! Can you tell us how you got the idea for this book? JPL: All credit goes to George Ella. When we first met at the Redlands (CA) conference a couple of years ago, I suggested to her that we might do a book together. She sweetly agreed and suggested the theme of …

Featured Blogger: Lee Wind

This month’s featured blogger is Lee Wind, who blogs over at I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?. Lee’s a long-time active member of the Kidlitosphere, and we were happy he took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with us! Tell us a bit about your blog. LW: The idea behind “I’m Here. I’m Queer. …

List Fun: Ten Cybils Poetry Books That I Love

It’s always a challenge to select just one CYBILS Poetry book as the winner. Here are ten CYBILS finalists I love. Check them out for National Poetry Month. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, written and illustrated by Adam Rex (finalist 2006): This was one hilarious poetry book for the first year of the CYBILS. The kids at my school check this book out …