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Home Blog July Cybils on Substack

July Cybils on Substack

July 19, 2026

We’re talking about the World Cup (just in time for the final!), moths, and the American Semiquincentennial. Join us over on Substack!

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Summer is slowly winding down and autumn is right

Summer is slowly winding down and autumn is right around the corner, but for now, we’re stuck between them. No worries! @maggie.made.this has the a picture book for that: Little Ghost’s Summerween.

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

🎃🦩🎃🦩

In author-illustrator Maggie Edkins Willis’s second outing with Little Ghost, the adorable specter has a problem. After attending a friend’s birthday party, he decides he’d like to throw one for himself. However, he’s worried the sunny poolside days of summer will clash with the Halloween aesthetics he loves. Pumpkins and candy corn simply don’t mix with summer, right? Fortunately, with a lot of help from his friend Anya, Little Ghost soon realizes that sometimes traditions have to be made, and Summerween might just be the perfect way to celebrate a birthday.

With rich, whimsical digital illustrations and charming, well-paced text, Willis has delivered a fun story that will delight any reader who feels their interests don’t perfectly align with the world around them. Little Ghost’s antics are genuinely amusing as he attempts to plan a party, and his worries that touch on individualism versus fitting will be relatable to young readers. Best of all, though, Willis shows the world that can open when you lean into your distinctive interests, and kids will revel in thinking up unique traditions and celebrations that are all their own.

📖Little Ghost’s Summerween is out now from @simonkids.📖

#picturebook #summerween #summerreads #fallreads #spookykidlit

Have you checked out your local library lately? I

Have you checked out your local library lately?

If you're looking for a ride, we'd suggest taking the carrot car.

Like so many others, we are saddened to hear about

Like so many others, we are saddened to hear about the death of Dolly Parton.

While certainly a titan of the entertainment industry (and beyond!), we’d like to highlight part of her work as a champion for children’s literacy.

Inspired by her father who never formally learned to read or write, Dolly created Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library so that every child has the chance to grow up in a home with books. Since 1995, @imaginationlibrary has delivered titles monthly to kids between birth and the age of five, meaning children immediately enrolled in the program have the chance to amass their own personal library of sixty titles. Recently, the Imagination Library announced they’ve given away over 330 million books.

Dolly made the world a better place, and she’s leaving a lot of bookshelves a little fuller.

August is winding down, so you know what that mean

August is winding down, so you know what that means: school's back! This month, the CYBILS Scribbles is celebrating buses, backpacks, and back-to-school season.

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.

Highlights from this month's edition:

🏫 A 'handmade' book list for crafty readers
📚 Watch a meeting between Eric Carle and everyone's favorite neighbor
🏫 Other bookish news, recommendations, & more!

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

Reading even just twenty minutes a day with a chil

Reading even just twenty minutes a day with a child can help solidify in them a love of good stories all while expanding their vocabulary, building their literacy skills, and shaping their view of the world. While a lot of families implement reading in their bedtime routines, any time of day works just as well. Before school, after dinner—whenever fits their schedules.

But if your reading routine runs a few minutes over because of one more page (or five)? Just remember: good stories don’t have a bedtime.

Still, we certainly would never encourage staying up late to finish just one more chapter. Nope. We’d never do that. 👀

Dear Friends, This is a letter we haven’t wanted

Dear Friends,

This is a letter we haven’t wanted to write, but it’s past time. The Board of the CYBILS Awards has decided that we are ending the award for good.

The reasons are myriad and complex, but largely come down to the greatly increased difficulty in accessing judging copies of books, retaining people with the interest, time, ability, and availability to do the work, and fewer schools, libraries, and librarians with the budget, time, and ability to enthusiastically advocate for books for young readers in this way.

The Board has realized that our goal right now must be less to encourage readers towards a “best” book in a given category, but to simply point readers back to reading—reigniting a resurgence of book joy as a whole. In the fall, we’ll be discussing this publicly with interested members of our CYBILS book community. Please stay tuned for an RSVP to that—if you’re interested, we’d love to hear from you.

And so, at last, we close the book on this award. In the love story that this era has been, you have been our finest chapter.

Thank you for being here.

💛

Be sure to keep up with us on our socials, website, and Substack for more information on what comes next. Things might be different, but we'll never stop talking about amazing books.

May is winding down, so that must mean it’s time f

May is winding down, so that must mean 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 AAPI Heritage Month
📖 Specially curated book lists
📖 How to watch a Broadway musical from your couch
📖 Other bookish news, recommendations, & more!

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

Books featured in this post:

📚 Any Way You Look by Maleeha Siddiqui

📚 A Dozen Delicious Donuts by Chanda Ouk Wolf & illustrated by Juliet Yenglin

📚 Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay

📚 Gracie Under the Waves by Linda Sue Park

📚 Home, Home by Sibu T. P.

📚 The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser

📚 This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed

📚 Unhappy Camper by Lily LaMotte & illustrated by Ann Xu & Sunmi

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

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

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