We have a winner: it’s us!

What’s it like waking up and discovering you’re a Cybils finalist? Sarah Beth Durst had trouble waiting until 6 a.m. yesterday, when the lists began posting:

My husband admitted later that he’d actually woken up earlier and had been lying in bed thinking, "I want to check. I don’t want to check. I want to check. I don’t want to check." (He is, in my humble opinion, the Cutest Husband Ever.) After an hour of this, Cute Husband woke me up and brought the laptop into bed.

Kerry Madden congratulates the other finalists in MG and relates how she bottomed out in 2002 before a surprise gift got her writing career restarted. She says:

I am stunned to be part of the group of finalists. What wonderful
readers…I’m so grateful, (I’ll say it again and again) to this
incredible community of children’s book bloggers. What a lovely way to
begin 2008.

We also got some linky love from Sarah Miller and Linda Urban, among our earlier reactions.

Of course, many other people are blogging about us, and none more surprisingly than this terrific site in England. Writer Kevin Parker devotes a whole page to us here, including links to some of our panelists. A big thanks, Kevin!

Among our fans, The Reading Zone is pleased to see she’s already read a number of short listed titles:

…the quality of books I am reading has really risen to new heights, and
that is proven again when I compare my list of books in 2007 to the
awards’ short lists.

And a librarian in New York City discovers us and feels a little left out:

Hmm. I think of myself as a “Children’s and YA Blogger,” but I knew
nothing about these awards. Normally, I’d be sad nobody told me about
them, but oh, well. I’ve been mostly avoiding those children’s lit
spots in my effort to attract a different niche of blog-readers. Sniff.
That’s it.

Aw, it’s never too late to join the fun.

Any other authors have posts up? Leave an URL in the comments.

UPDATE: Mo Willems notices "those wacky bloggers" are up to something, while the Books Together Blog’s Anamaria puts together a new reading list for herself.

Hat tips: Sheila Ruth, Little Willow

Thanks!