The rules about who can or can't judge for Cybils are designed to be flexible. Some people can maintain their blogging schedule the way marathon runners keep to a tight workout routine. We love those people, but we're not all marathoners.
So Cybils isn't fussy about when you started your site. We're happy to make space for a blogger like Katie Ahearn, whose Secrets and Sharing Soda began in January 2011. Katie's on our Easy Readers/Early Chapter Books panel and says she reads kids' books for fun and not just for her job as a children's librarian.
Invisible Inkling
by Emily Jenkins
Balzer + Bray
In reviewing Emily Jenkin's "Invisible Inkling" (a book Katie nominated) she weaves together what she loves or loathes about the book right in with the plot summary. It's a more professional approach to reviewing, but without losing the personal touch that makes blogging so much more immediate and individual than professional book reviews.
The premise of this book is bizarre, and that’s not something I ordinarily consider a strength. This is an exception, however. Hank, whose best friend has recently moved away, has a new, invisible best friend. But unlike other invisible friends, Inkling, a bandapat who has come to New York in search of the squash he needs to survive (see? bizarre) is not imaginary. He’s quite real, and he’s Hank’s only defense against the school bully, who continually steals Hank’s lunch and charges him a daily “sprinkle tax.”
Read the rest here.