You have a PhD in biology, correct? How did you end up writing a children’s picture book biography? PV: My PhD is in Molecular and Cell Biology with a focus on Immunology. My day job is at the National Institutes of Health. When my children were younger I would tell them stories about the tiny armies in their bodies that …
Interview with YA Speculative Fiction Winner Rachel Hartman
What was your inspiration for this book, both Tess in particular and the world her story is set in? My very first inspiration was an article I read lamenting the lack of female road-trip stories. I was feeling burned out after writing Shadow Scale, and a road trip sounded like an easy, merry jaunt. A title came to me, Tess in Boots, which …
Interview with YA Graphic Novel Winner Jarrett Krosoczka
How does your family feel about their portrayal in the book? As I was writing HEY, KIDDO, I had my family read early drafts to ensure that my memories were in line with their understanding of how events unfolded. So, nobody was surprised on publication day. Have you come to understand how your mother ended up an addict? My mother …
Interview with Beginning Chapter Winners Debbi Michiko Florence and Elizabet Vukovic
Debbi, can you tell us a little about how you came up with Jasmine Toguchi and her stories? How did you develop Jasmine as a character? Why did you choose to focus on taiko drumming? DMF: I first came up with Jasmine after I read an article about a multi-generational Japanese American family that got together every year at New Years …
Interview with YA Fiction Winner Courtney Summers
What was the inspiration for Sadie? I’m very interested in our collective engagement with and response to true crime narratives, particularly as the category has expanded (and proven deeply popular) in the podcast medium. I love that it’s a category largely committed to the search for truth and justice, but I also wonder how well we’re serving the narratives of …
Interview with Middle Grade Nonfiction Winner Kelly Milner Halls
We love the name of your website: Wonders of the Weird. How long have you been interested in the “weird” things in nature? My mother used to call me her “little alien,” because I was so “different.” I loved being outside and exploring every inch of my natural world. Things weird but wonderful were always on the top of my …
2018 Cybils Winners!
As always, many many thanks to our round 2 judges and our category chairs as they read and discussed and worked to decide this year’s winners. Without further ado, here they are: Board Books Llamaphones by Janik Coat Harry N Abrams Nominated by: ChristaS This is an ingenious tactile and visual board book, that utilizes bold colors, simple shapes, and …
CYBILS Winners Announced Tomorrow!
Just a reminder that you have ANOTHER reason to be excited about children’s literature: At 9:30 a.m. PST we’ll announce this year’s CYBILS winners!! You’ll want to come back for that; the winners this year are FANTASTIC! While you’re waiting for the winners to be announced, please consider making a donation to support the Cybils mission. Your donation will help …
REVIEW: H Is For Haiku
Welcome to our last featured blog review of the Finalist judging period! Today’s featured review comes from longtime Cybil-ite, former category organizer, and Round 2 judge Jone MacCulloch, who blogs at Check It Out. A few months ago, she reviewed Poetry finalist H Is For Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z, written by Sydell Rosenberg and illustrated …
REVIEW: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Happy Friday! The featured finalist review for today on the Cybils blog is a book from the Middle Grade Fiction category: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty. Round 2 judge Jaymie Dieterle, a former elementary school librarian who blogs at The Neverending TBR, reviewed this book last year: Crummy things happen at school. People don’t understand Lucy’s compulsions …