From the Reading Is Fundamental website: Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) announced it has joined forces with Macy’s and D.C. Public Schools to combat the summer learning slide among through reading high-quality books and enrichment activities. The pilot reading program is based on Read for Success, an innovative literacy model developed by RIF and proven to help improve reading proficiency among …
KidlitCon Registration is OPEN
From our friends over at Kidlitosphere Central: We are thrilled to announce that registration for KidLitCon 2015 is now open. We have been working on superior content for our two days of discussion and networking. We are expecting topics like: Why do kids read horror: are they freaks or something? How can I get paid to write about what I love? What really goes …
List Fun: Cybils STEM Books
Samuel Beckett said “Try again, fail again. Fail Better”. Not only did Swiss #2 tennis champ Stan Wawrinka have these words imprinted on his forearm, but this has become a mantra in education all over the country. Silicon Valley culture embraces the culture behind failing fast and it seems to be paying off. So with STEM (short for Science, Technology, …
Call for Blog Submissions
Last year, we created a spreadsheet to connect publishers and publicists with bloggers who are active in the Cybils community. (If you’re a blogger and you’re reading this, that means you!) The spreadsheet was successful, and feedback we received on it was very positive. A year has passed, and the information is becoming outdated, as information does. It’s time to update! If …
List Fun: Great Graphic Novels that started as Webcomics
I love graphic novels! When I found out that many of the Cybils books I loved started out as webcomics, I was thrilled. “You mean I can read some of the best sequential art out there for free on the internet? And it’s legal?!” What is a webcomic? It is a comic that is posted online as it is made. …
Featured Blogger: Maureen Kearney
Since the date and place for the 2015 KidlitCon has been announced and the call for proposals is out, we thought it’d be fun to highlight the one person (that we know of; there may be others) that has been to every single KidlitCon since it started back in 2007. Maureen was more than happy to take a moment out …
List Fun: Dynamic Duos in Books for Beginning Readers
When Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends was first published, it introduced easy-going Frog and gruff, curmudgeonly Toad to a generation of beginning readers, who readily devoured the antics of this mismatched pair of friends. The tradition Lobel started back in 1970 continues today. Many easy reader series feature characters (mostly animals) with opposing personalities who must figure out …
List Fun: Listening to the Cybils
School is almost out – time to make your summer reading lists. Whether you have a preference for audio books or you want to see what all the fuss is about I’ve got you covered! When I was a round one judge for the 2013 Cybils I was thankful that audio books were an acceptable way to “read” the nominees, …
Interview with Matt de la Peña
First off, congrats!! We are all thrilled The Living won! Could you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for this book? MdlP: I’m so honored that The Living won! Thank you, thank you, thank you! The book was a bit of an experiment for me. First of all, I was coming off four much quieter novels, …
List Fun: Easy Readers for Toddlers
Contrary to popular belief, easy readers are not just for emerging readers. Easy readers are a great source of fun characters, simple storylines and engaging illustrations for toddlers as well. Many early level easy reader books feature the same enlarged font and simple sentence structures as picture books. The difference with easy readers is that most follow a slightly …