Today's featured review comes from kidlitosphere fixture Travis Jonker: blogger at 100 Scope Notes, elementary school librarian, returning Cybils panelist, School Library Journal contributor and occasional cartoonist (here's a fun example featuring one of our other Cybils nominated titles). Travis reviewed Fiction Picture Books nominee Art & Max by David Wiesner earlier this year. Wiesner, who won a Caldecott medal …
Better Know a Panel #1: Nonfiction Picture Books
Remember those amazing panelist roundtables we posted to the blog a couple of years ago? Today, we’re kicking off a new set of Q&As with our panelists, complete with a fresh new title. Okay, well, it’s not new so much as “borrowed” from Stephen Colbert’s “Better Know a District” feature, but hey–immature artists copy, mature ones steal, right? Or something. …
REVIEW
The Shadow Hunt by Katherine Langrish
We've been giving Charlotte Taylor some love here on the blog thanks to her fab entry for the Cybils Challenge, so why stop the love now? At her blog Charlotte's Library, she takes an in-depth look at a range of sci-fi and fantasy books for children and teens, which makes her a perfect choice for our Fantasy and Sci-Fi Round …
Results of the Cybils Challenge, Part 3: 5 Minutes for Books
Last but most definitely not least, our third successful Cybils Challenger is Middle Grade Fiction Round 1 judge Jennifer Donovan of 5 Minutes for Books. On her personal blog, Snapshot, she not only gave a really nice plug for the Cybils (and the Cybils Challenge), she also wrote a very enjoyable post describing her reasons why she liked certain not-yet-nominated …
Errata — with apologies
It seems I made a dreadful mistake on this post here. The contest I mention is decidedly NOT free to enter — it's $15. Here's their fine print. It was free when I entered last year. I'm a little upset about this, as I normally never promote contests with fees. Not that they're bad — some, like those at Glimmer …
REVIEW
Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan
Today's featured blogger can truly be called a superwoman of children's literacy resources and a font of in-depth reviews for parents and teachers. Terry Doherty of Scrub-A-Dub Tub is a longtime Cybils advocate and a champion of kids' books for all ages. Her site includes literacy and reading news, literacy resources, and reviews categorized by format, audience and genre. Just …
The Cybils at KidLitCon 2010
Liz Burns, formal Cybil-ite and School Library Journal blogger at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy, gave the Cybils an awesome plug in her official SLJ overview of the Kidlitosphere Conference in Minneapolis this past weekend. KidLitCon 2010 was a blast–I can vouch for that personally–and Liz and I both participated in a panel on Cybils and the …
REVIEW
Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom
Middle Grade Fiction Round 1 judge Sandra Stiles is a familiar face around the Cybils. Her blog, The Musings of a Book Addict, includes book reviews ranging from children's books to adult books, as well as thoughts on writing from a middle school teacher and aspiring writer. Apparently Sandra found the title and cover of today's featured book just as …
Cybils International
The Cybils have always been an international award. From our first year, our criteria have specified that books published in English anywhere in the world during the eligibility year were eligible. We have had at least one finalist published outside the U.S. that I know of. In 2007 the UK edition of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher and published by Hodder …
Results of the Cybils Challenge, Part 2: Madigan Reads
Today's featured Cybils Challenger is Madigan McGillicuddy of Madigan Reads, who lists her own slate of Cybils nominees–definitely more than a few contenders on it, if we're to hazard a guess. She also provided an excellent eleventh-hour list of potential picture book nominees for anyone who was still trying to figure out who to nominate. Her kidlit blog faves include …