Can I let you in on a secret? I don’t read many books during the year. BUT. I do read lots of articles and blog posts. About books. Every day. So when CYBILS Awards nomination time rolls around, I have a handy-dandy list of books that fit my one criterion: each title looks like a book I’d have loved as my younger reader self.
The books in this post are on my I-really-hope-they-get-nominated short list. I also included why they caught my eye and who introduced me to the book.
Introducing Terry Doherty
Terry loves literature for young people. Board books, picture books, YA novels — all of them. She has been part of the Cybils Awards for more years than she can remember, and she can’t remember a Fall season without them. Sharing her passion for books and discovering new ones to read are just two of the reasons why she loves the Cybils so much.
Terry’s Recommended Picks
The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win.
But it won’t be easy.
Not only does it include STEM subject, but also includes arts and sports. AND it's a team competition. AND he isn't in the superstar group. His teammates are the misfits no wants. He has one week to turn his team of outcasts into winners. Did we mention it won't be easy?
I learned about CONTROL FREAKS from Travis Jonkers (100 Scope Notes) and Colby Sharp. [Who, truth be told, I secretly think are one and the same person.] Why this one? Well, I heard about it from two people (theoretically). I also love underdog stories! Here’s Colby’s take; here’s what Travis said.
The government is pushing to bring electricity to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky and it's the only thing Cora thinks about. She dreams of radios with news from around the world, machines that keep food cold, lightbulbs by which to read at night!
Even though Cora supports the Rural Electrification Act, her neighbors - and more importantly her mother - do not. Her mother is a fierce opponent of electrification, saying it will harm the ecosystem. Cora loves her mom and her home town but just can’t let go of wanting more.
As a young reader, I loved historical fiction as much as I loved a good mystery! Our family moved to West Virginia when I was a teen. At the time I loathed leaving the “big, modern town” I was born in, but over time have come to truly appreciate all that Appalachia has to offer. Books like THE GLASS CASTLE and WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS immerse me in those country roads, and I think this one will, too.
Last but not least, one of the first books I bought for my daughter’s library was Toni Buzzeo’s TREASURE CHEST. I love her stories and expect this one to be as vivid and stellar, so I was thrilled when she recommended it us.
Aarav loves his grandfather very much, but they’re as different as water and molasses. Where Aarav runs and races, Thatha likes to saunter and stroll. Every day at five o’clock, Thatha makes masala chai for the family, and no matter how much Aarav urges him to hurry, Thatha insists on taking his time.
When Thatha has to rest due to a sprained ankle, Aarav decides to make him a cup of his favorite Masala Chai. In his hurry to make it, Aarav keeps forgetting one key ingredient. Can he slow down enough to perfect the recipe?
I discovered this lovely-sounding story when I was browsing Goodreads adding recommendations from the category chairs.
There’s never a good time to find a dead body, sure. But what about finding a dead body while you’re trying to kiss your crush? Kerry had different plans for her first high school party—like not going. All she wanted to do was stay home.
Instead, Annie, her fiercely outgoing mystery-fanatic BFF, roped her into going to the party to investigate who’s cyberbullying the most popular girl in school. Then there's the weird thing with two dead girls and feminine products. Now what?
MURDER ON A SCHOOL NIGHT had me at the title alone. Combine the cover with Tirzah Price’s summary and it sounded like a YA Nancy Drew novel. Then I read the Goodreads summary and it sounded like the start of many a TV police procedural that I was hooked. Mystery? I’m in.
The Manzanar is relocation center where Mari and her family have to live, is nothing like home. When Mari's brother Mak joins the army, Mari protests the war by keeping silent. She doesn't speak. Instead, she expresses herself through her drawings. While Mak's letters are reassuring, reality is far different.
I am not very good at reading graphic novels. They just aren’t my thing. But. MY NEST OF SILENCE combines prose and graphic novel style AND is one of my favorite genres (historical fiction). Sounds like a winner on many levels, including building my skills at reading graphics! How did I find it? Kristen Remenar recommended it.
Town eccentric Eudora "Kooky" Klinch left a 300-year-old piece tapestry for Grady and his dad. They are disappointed ... until they learn that it is a treasure map!Grady and his friends are determined to crack the clues and find the treasure.
Turns out, they aren't the only ones who know about the map. Someone wants what they've got and finding that treasure is turning out to be a little dangerous.
So I was wrong about MURDER ON A SCHOOL NIGHT, but not this one! THE MYSTERY OF RADCLIFFE RIDDLE sounds exactly like the kind of Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys book I would have loved as a kid. Oh! Where died I discover this book? At Ms. Yingling Reads, of course!
Kemi Carter (11) loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world, and bringing with it a 7% chance of colliding with earth in four days.
Now, even facts don’t feel true to Kemi anymore. The new town she moved to that was supposed to be “better for her family” isn’t very welcoming. Why is Kemi the only one who feels like the world is ending? She creates a time capsule for her family, but even that can't change the inevitable truth: in life there comes a time to say goodbye.
Colby Sharp strikes again. When I saw the cover on his Note (substack) pitching it for his newsletter, I headed over to Goodreads to learn more. Everyone is working really hard not to give anything away to potential readers which, of course, just makes me want to read it more.
Through strange coincidence, they meet a man who is eager to help them find a sailor who knows all about the buried history of Black New Yorkers and can tell them stories they need to hear. When a rival crew of skateboarders starts following them, Zane and his friends realize that treasure hunting is a serious - and dangerous - business.
Can I tell you a secret? I wasn’t a big TREASURE ISLAND fan growing up. Even though I loved mysteries and treasure. Even after I read it for a college class, I was still pretty “meh” about it. HOWEVER. Time passes and things just may change. This version of TREASURE ISLAND is set in my favorite city, I like modernized retellings, and the summary reads like it is a mystery akin to one of my favorite movies (National Treasure).Once again, I have (another) hat-tip to Colby Sharp for letting me know about this one!
Got Recommendations?
We’d love to know about them! We’re not using the padlet Idea Boards this year. Instead, we’re gathering readers’ recommendations and ideas via Goodreads. Here’s how you recommend a book. [desktop, IOS, Android]