Since we’re in the throes of winter (although “throes” may be debatable, depending on where you’re located), it seems fitting that today’s featured finalist review is the Fiction Picture Book title Blizzard, written and illustrated by John Rocco. Our blog review for this title was posted to Gathering Books, and was written by the blog’s founder Myra Garces-Bascal, who does …
Cybils at the ALA Youth Media Awards
I’m pretty sure you (like me) sat next to your computer (or maybe you were lucky and got to be at ALA Midwinter in Boston?) and eagerly listened to/watched the announcements of this year’s ALA Youth Media awards yesterday. It was exciting, and definitely full of surprises! As I watched the livestream, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of the books …
REVIEW: Castle Hangnail
Our featured blog review for this Monday is Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction finalist Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon, who is well known for her Dragonbreath series of graphic novels. This review from last spring comes from Stephanie Whelan, a New York Public Librarian who blogs at Views from the Tesseract. Stephanie, one of our Round 1 judges this year, has …
The 2015 Cybils Finalists: The Ones That Got Away
Perhaps the most difficult thing about being a Round 1 judge is letting go of your own personal favorites in order to create a finalist list. It’s a good thing: working with a panel means you get a variety of books for a diverse group of readers rather than, say, All The Books Blogger X Likes. But, there are just so many good …
The 2015 Finalists: What’s Being Said, Part 3
Over the past week, more love for the Cybils finalists have come in. Here’s a sampling of our favorites! https://t.co/DOu9IxYyDC CYBILS Finalist List. So thrilled to see Picture Perfect here. pic.twitter.com/CXuSlvA072 — Jacqueline Jules (@jacquelinejules) January 3, 2016 Hooray! So happy to see SOFIA on this list @Kimdraws. Also, RANGER! @KateMessner @literaticat https://t.co/ykqsb36s0z — Kelly Sonnack (@KSonnack) January 3, 2016 …
REVIEW: Guts and Glory: The Vikings
One of the coolest things about Roberta Gibson’s blog Wrapped in Foil is that she’s got a list of children’s books by state, from Alabama to Wyoming, along with brief descriptions of each book. Our featured review today–Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction finalist Guts & Glory: The Vikings by Ben Thompson—may not exactly fit on that list, but it did make the …
REVIEW: Dory and the Real True Friend
Today’s featured review of Early Chapter Books finalist Dory and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon–the sequel to 2014 Cybils finalist Dory Fantasmagory–comes from Round 2 judge Freya Hooper. Freya, a mom of 3 kids, blogs at One Great Book, where she reviews books for children and teens (and helpfully sorts them by grade level). About Dory and the …
REVIEW: Hilda Bewildered
Cool fact about Round 1 Book Apps judge Jill Goodman: as a faculty member at University of Central Florida Department of Education, she serves on the dissertation committees of students doing their theses on apps in early childhood education. She also reviews book apps at Participate Learning, which is where she reviewed Book Apps finalist Hilda Bewildered: “There are few …
The 2015 Finalists: What’s Being Said, Facebook Edition
And a few shout-outs on Facebook: Tundra Books Nova Ren Suma Laurie Ann Thompson Leah Bobet Jacqueline Jules
The 2015 Finalists: What’s Being Said, Part 2
@yainterrobang @cybils @courtney_s Aaahhhhhhhhh! So thrilled, and for ALL THE RAGE too! Thank you! — Nova Ren Suma (@novaren) January 1, 2016 @YAReviewNet @cybils @courtney_s @andimJULIE @thejuby @tamaraistone @ElanaKArnold Wow!! I'm so honored!! Thank youuu!! — Nicola Yoon (@NicolaYoon) January 1, 2016 Cuckoo Song is one of the finalists for the elementary/middle grade speculative fiction category of the #cybils! https://t.co/vICHpCFZqV …