Louise Capizzo of The Nonfiction Detectives is one of our YA Nonfiction judges this year. She’s not only a Cybils returnee, but also a youth services manager in a public library in Maine and a tireless enthusiast for nonfiction books written for young readers. She reviewed YA Nonfiction nominee Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone by Rebecca L. Johnson …
REVIEW: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Many of us know and love Cybils veteran Leila Roy from her long-running blog Bookshelves of Doom, or from her reviews as a columnist for Kirkus. This year she’s lending her expertise as a Round 1 judge for YA Fiction, and back in February she reviewed YA Fiction nominee Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda for her Kirkus column. This …
REVIEW: The Death of the Hat
Today’s book review comes to us from YA Nonfiction Round 2 judge Adrienne Gillespie of the blog Books and Bassets (don’t miss the cute photos!). A 4th grade teacher and former librarian from Portland, OR, Adrienne reviewed Poetry nominee The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris …
Indie Next Revisit & Rediscover and the Cybils
I was going through my feed reader the other day, and I noticed a press release from the American Bookseller’s Association announcing their new Revisit & Rediscover initiative, highlighting older (called backlist in the industry) titles. They describe it as this: Each quarter, the Kids’ Indie Next List will highlight three backlist titles each, plus bookseller blurbs, for picture book, middle …
Review: Mr. Pants: Trick or Feet!
Tomorrow’s Halloween, so you kind of knew today’s review would be Halloween-themed, right? The one that jumped out at us was Graphic Novels nominee Mr. Pants: Trick or Feet!, by Scott McCormick, reviewed by Gary, a first round Graphics judge who blogs at What’s Not Wrong?. He writes: Mr. Pants: Trick or Feet! is a wacky Halloween-themed adventure featuring the cockeyed cat Mr. …
REVIEW: Another Kind of Hurricane
The recent news about Hurricane Patricia has got me thinking about the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Ten years out, there were several good books published about that event this year including Middle Grade Fiction nominee Another Kind of Hurricane by Tamara Ellis Smith. Our review comes from first round Middle Grade Fiction judge Debbie, who blogs as The Booksearch. She …
REVIEW: Leo: A Ghost Story
With Halloween coming up fast, today’s book review features another ghost story–this one for younger readers, as a nominee in the Fiction Picture Books category. The review of Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Christian Robinson comes to us from Benji Martin, a round 2 Fiction Picture Books judge hailing from Alabama and blogging at Tales …
REVIEW: Took: A Ghost Story
As we creep closer to Halloween, it seems only fitting that we take a look at a ghost story from the Elementary and Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction category. (And isn’t that cover art SUPER creepy? Yipes.) Today’s review of Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn is brought to you by Round 1 judge Mark Buxton, aka sixth-grade language arts …
REVIEW: Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France
Roberta Gibson, Round 1 judge for Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction, brings us our review of the day, from her children’s lit blog Wrapped in Foil. She focuses primarily on children’s and YA nonfiction, and has an interest in both biographies and STEM titles–both of which could describe EMNF nominee Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France …
REVIEW: Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly
Today’s review comes from Sonderbooks, the online home of Sondra Eklund, one of our Round 1 judges this year for Fiction Picture Books and longtime Cybils participant. She posts a wide range of reviews from picture books to books for grown-ups, and one of her reviews earlier this year described Easy Readers nominee Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly by …