Doret Canton of the Happy Nappy Bookseller blog is one of our Round I judges for Nonfiction/Information Picture Books this year. As you might have guessed, Doret's a bookseller, and she contributes as well to the blog Color Online, which highlights work by women writers of color. Doret is also a baseball fan, and one of the Cybils nominees she …
REVIEW
Brain Camp by Susan Kim
Kim Baccellia is not just a Round I judge for the Graphic Novels category, she's been a Cybils panelist since our very first year, 2006. She's also the author of two novels (Earrings of Ixtumea and Crossed Out) and a blogger at the excellent website Young Adult Books Central, where she reviews a range of MG and YA books. One …
REVIEW
Borrowed Names by Jeannine Atkins
Laura Purdie Salas, one of our Round I Poetry judges, is a familiar face at the Cybils and well-known around the Kidlitosphere. An accomplished writer in her own right (and author of 2009 Cybils Poetry nominee Stampede), she also posts prompts for 15 Words or Less Poetry and is a frequent participant in Poetry Friday. One of the poetry nominees …
REVIEW
Review Haiku from Emily Reads
If you've never visited Emily Mitchell's blog Emily Reads, you're in for a treat (and may, quite possibly, lose several minutes of productivity in your day). Emily's a Round II judge for Elementary/MG Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and she specializes in amusing and pithy review haiku. Her blog features review haiku for a range of books from children's to adult books, …
REVIEW
Art & Max by David Wiesner
Today's featured review comes from kidlitosphere fixture Travis Jonker: blogger at 100 Scope Notes, elementary school librarian, returning Cybils panelist, School Library Journal contributor and occasional cartoonist (here's a fun example featuring one of our other Cybils nominated titles). Travis reviewed Fiction Picture Books nominee Art & Max by David Wiesner earlier this year. Wiesner, who won a Caldecott medal …
Better Know a Panel #1: Nonfiction Picture Books
Remember those amazing panelist roundtables we posted to the blog a couple of years ago? Today, we’re kicking off a new set of Q&As with our panelists, complete with a fresh new title. Okay, well, it’s not new so much as “borrowed” from Stephen Colbert’s “Better Know a District” feature, but hey–immature artists copy, mature ones steal, right? Or something. …
REVIEW
The Shadow Hunt by Katherine Langrish
We've been giving Charlotte Taylor some love here on the blog thanks to her fab entry for the Cybils Challenge, so why stop the love now? At her blog Charlotte's Library, she takes an in-depth look at a range of sci-fi and fantasy books for children and teens, which makes her a perfect choice for our Fantasy and Sci-Fi Round …
Results of the Cybils Challenge, Part 3: 5 Minutes for Books
Last but most definitely not least, our third successful Cybils Challenger is Middle Grade Fiction Round 1 judge Jennifer Donovan of 5 Minutes for Books. On her personal blog, Snapshot, she not only gave a really nice plug for the Cybils (and the Cybils Challenge), she also wrote a very enjoyable post describing her reasons why she liked certain not-yet-nominated …
Errata — with apologies
It seems I made a dreadful mistake on this post here. The contest I mention is decidedly NOT free to enter — it's $15. Here's their fine print. It was free when I entered last year. I'm a little upset about this, as I normally never promote contests with fees. Not that they're bad — some, like those at Glimmer …
REVIEW
Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan
Today's featured blogger can truly be called a superwoman of children's literacy resources and a font of in-depth reviews for parents and teachers. Terry Doherty of Scrub-A-Dub Tub is a longtime Cybils advocate and a champion of kids' books for all ages. Her site includes literacy and reading news, literacy resources, and reviews categorized by format, audience and genre. Just …