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Home Blog August Cybils on Substack

August Cybils on Substack

August 31, 2025

Check out what we’re reading and talking about in August on Substack!

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Gather ‘round, y’all. It’s time for the late

Gather ‘round, y’all. It’s time for the latest edition of the Cybils Scribbles.

If you’re not a regular reader of the Scribbles, it’s our official Substack newsletter dedicated to all things Cybils. It’s packed with news, book lists, and other features curated for readers like you.

Some highlights from this edition:

📚 Celebrating National Poetry Month
📚 A specially curated book list for Earth Day
📚 Wishbone is back (in a documentary)
📚 Other bookish news, recommendations, & more!

Check it out over at cybilsawards.substack.com/ (link also in bio).

Books featured in this post:

🌍 The Great Lakes by Barb Rosenstock & illustrated by Jamey Christoph

🌎 A Home Like This by Laura Purdie Salas & illustrated by Miriam Nerlove

🌏 I Am Wind by Rachel Poliquin & illustrated by Rachel Wada

🌍 Just One Oak by Maria Gianferrari & illustrated by Diana Sudyka

🌎 Odd Bugs by Laura Gehl & illustrated by Gareth Lucas

🌏 Poo Pile on the Prairie by Amy Hevron

🌍 This Land Is a Lullaby by Tonya Simpson & illustrated by Delreé Dumont

🌎 Stalactite & Stalagmite by Drew Beckmeyer

Sometimes you just need a good book that goes bump

Sometimes you just need a good book that goes bump in the night. Fortunately, @onedarkally has us covered with Down Came the Spiders.

Cybils team member @pluckedfromthestacks (Christopher) recently reviewed it:

🕷️🕷️🕷️

They may not be itsy. They may not be bitsy. But they are terrifying.

It’s Halloween, and the only thing sixth-grader Andi wants is to go trick-or-treating. The problem? Her two friends, Devon and Carly, snagged an invitation to cool-girl Clementine’s Halloween party, which’ll be filled with seventh and eighth graders. Reluctantly, and only with the promise that she can see Clementine’s science-teacher father’s spider collection, Andi agrees to go. After all, she likes spiders more than she likes most people.

And really, what’s the worst that could happen?

For Ally Russell’s most recent middle-grade outing, she expertly lays on the horror, turning creatures Andi loves into something unsettling. After sneaking into Clementine’s father’s office, the three friends stumble across a mysterious (and massive) spider labeled Specimen 17, which seems to have a telepathic pull on Andi. Soon after, Specimen 17 escapes, the adults at the party disappear, and a mass of spiders takes over. It’s a tightly paced nightmare packed with creepy crawlies, though Russell is careful to keep it more than manageable for young readers.

As the friends attempt to fix the situation, Russell balances their terror with Andi’s positive feelings toward arachnids. Rather than simply aiming to kill them, Andi speaks about them with a genuine affection that makes them a more complex obstacle rather than something to squash without another thought. Similarly, Andi must overcome feelings and anxieties about friends and loneliness that bubble throughout the book. These moments are expertly woven into the story, creating a web that traps a satisfying conclusion.

Ultimately, with Down Came the Spiders, you’re getting exactly what it says on the tin: spiders, spiders, spiders. But there’s also a lot of heart, and the result is something deliciously creepy.

📖Down Came the Spiders is out now from @scholastic.📖

I Don’t Wanna Hibernate! by @annaouchchy and ill

I Don’t Wanna Hibernate! by @annaouchchy and illustrated by @raahatkaduji is all about a groundhog who just isn’t quite ready for bed.

Cybils team member @pluckedfromthestacks (Christopher) recently reviewed it:

🍂🍂🍂

Snow has arrived and it’s time for a long winter’s nap, but one little groundhog absolutely does not want to hibernate.

In Anna Ouchchy’s debut picture book, little Tess’s bedtime avoidance tactics will be familiar to any parental figure who’s dealt with a fussy sleeper. Ouchchy, through tight, flowing rhyme, shows Tess’s parents attempting to soothe her into hibernation with all the typical sleep-bargaining tactics, from a lullaby to a warm drink. The result? Tess’s often hilarious (though in a gentle way) antics as she swears she doesn’t want to hibernate. She jumps on the bed, plays with toys, and even trots outside to build a snowman. Though her parents eventually give up on getting her to bed, if she stays up too late, she might just miss out on Groundhog Day (a playful twist that leads to a satisfying conclusion).

All of this is demonstrated by Raahat Kaduji’s cozy illustrations. Backgrounds are mostly simple, allowing the focus to instead be on the groundhogs themselves. The burrow feels warm and homey, but it’s the adorable expressions between Tess’s joy and her parents’ exhaustion that grab attention.

Ultimately, Ouchchy has written a book that already feels classic. Relatable with delightful rhyme, it’s a book built for bedtime, but fun enough for repeat readings anytime. Add in Kaduji’s adorable, soft illustrations, and I Don’t Wanna Hibernate is an easy addition to any collection.

📖 I Don’t Wanna Hibernate! is out now from @mackidsbooks. 📖

It’s spring break somewhere, and you know what t

It’s spring break somewhere, and you know what that means … ROAD TRIP!

Buckle up and check out these nine YA novels with road trip backdrops. Some roads lead to romance, some roads lead to healing, and some lead to seemingly nowhere. Wherever these characters have their GPSes set for, we can promise you it’s going to be a trip.

Just make sure, you know, you’re parked before attempting to read any of these. Or maybe try the audiobook.

Either way, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

Books featured:

🗺️ All the Way Around the Sun by XiXi Tian

🚗 Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

🗺️ Better Catch Up by, Krishna Kumar by Anahita Karthik

🚗 Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris

🗺️ Finding Normal by Jen Doktorski

🚗 Get Real, Chloe Torres by Crystal Maldonado

🗺️ Plan A by Deb Caletti

🚗 Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker

🗺️ Run Away With Me by J.L. Simmonds

Firefly Song by @colleenpaeff and illustrated by @

Firefly Song by @colleenpaeff and illustrated by @ji_hyukkim tells the story of a citizen scientist who sought to better understand the fireflies of her childhood.

Cybils team member @pluckedfromthestacks (Christopher) recently reviewed it (even though he grew up calling them lightning bugs):

🍃🍃🍃

As a child, Lynn Frierson Faust spent summers enchanted by the annual light show provided by fireflies at her family’s cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains. Unlike others, these fireflies appeared to flash synchronously. Later, as she researched this phenomenon, she realized there was very little information to reinforce what she had seen with her own eyes. Synchronous fireflies do exist, but scientists had only observed them in Asia (a far cry from Tennessee).

With this backdrop, Colleen Paeff has crafted a compelling picture book that traces Faust’s evolution into a citizen scientist. Through research, persistence, and a healthy dose of creativity, Faust ultimately proved her claim and became a respected expert in her field. Paeff has carefully pared that down into a tightly-written narrative that could inspire young readers to observe and reconsider the natural world around them.

All of this is aided by Ji-Hyuk Kim’s lush watercolor-and-digital illustrations. Heavy green backdrops evocative of the rich forest setting are peppered with equally gorgeous features like water, rocks, and the cabin. But of course, it’s the fireflies that are the star, and their glow beautifully lights up the pages.

Altogether, there’s perhaps no better inspiration for budding scientists than Firefly Song.

📖 Firefly Song is out now from @simonkids. 📖

Some books are funny; Some books are not. These bo

Some books are funny;
Some books are not.
These books have poems;
You’ll like them a lot.

April is National Poetry Month, and what better way to celebrate than with a good book? From poetry collections to novels in verse and picture books, we’ve got you covered with some recommendations that’ll make this month a poetic celebration.

Books featured:

📖 Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen & illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
📖 Celebrate We Gullah Geechee by Yvette R. Murray & illustrated by Tonya Engel
📖 Dinos That Drive by Suzy Levinson & illustrated by Dustin Harbin
📖 The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez by Jasminne Paulino
📖 For the Win edited by Irene Lathan and Charles Waters
📖 Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
📖 Limelight by Renée M. LaTulippe & illustrated by Chuck Gonzales
📖 Torrible Puns by Tricia Torrible & illustrated by Robert Dunn
📖 A Universe of Rainbows by Matt Forrest Esenwine & illustrated by Jamey Christoph
📖 Zarina Divided by Reem Faruqi

Our friend @imtanner320 (Debbie) recently reviewed

Our friend @imtanner320 (Debbie) recently reviewed Some of Us Are Brave by @saadiafaruqi, a story told from the perspective of three kids who are forced to come together in Houston during Hurricane Harvey.

Here’s an edited excerpt from her blog, The Book Search:

⛈️⛈️⛈️

… Families are separated for a variety of reasons, but the kids manage to find each other and work together to stay safe.

The story is as much about personal demons as physical ones, and the kids learn lessons in compassion, trust, friendship, and coping with trauma. There is also a very interesting thread of myths and folk tales about big floods covering the earth that could be a compelling rabbit hole to fall into. I thought this was a terrific story and I think kids are going to love it too.

📖 Find the full review on Debbie’s blog, The Book Search (www.imtanner.blogspot.com/). 📖

And check out Some of Us Are Brave, out now from @quilltreebooks.

We’d like to wish our school librarian friends a

We’d like to wish our school librarian friends a very happy National School Librarian Day. We could not be more grateful for all the work you do, including (but certainly not limited to!) your dedication to promoting curiosity and creating lifelong readers.

May your checkouts be bountiful, and may your book cart never have a squeaky wheel.

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