Today’s review comes from Round 2 Young Adult Fiction panelist (and 16-year-old) Summer, a Palestinian girl who loves all things books. (She’s also Harry Potter’s long-lost twin sister, so we love her for that already.) Summer blogs at MissFictional’s World of YA Books where she writes about all sorts of YA books, including Young Adult Speculative Fiction nominee Cress, by Marissa Meyer. …
Review: Always Emily
Today’s review of the day comes from long-time Cybils’ panelist and judge, Leila Roy. A librarian tucked away in Maine, Leila blogs at both Bookshelves of Doom and Kirkus, where she releases her enthusiastic love (and snark) on books. Of Young Adult Fiction nominee Always Emily by Michaela MacColl, Leila writes: As the cover art and the name “Brontë” suggest, the book features plenty …
Review: Eerie Elementary #1: The School Is Alive!
Today’s featured review of Eerie Elementary #1: The School is Alive! by Jack Chabert comes from round one panelist, Katie Fitzgerald. A former children’s librarian in Washington D. C., Katie now blogs at Story Time Secrets. Of the Easy Reader/Chapter Book nominee, Katie writes: Kids who like scary adventures will feel that they have hit the jackpot with this new series. These plot-driven tales are …
Diverse Book Recommendations for #WeNeedDiverseBooks
If you’re not already aware, there’s a wonderful thing happening in the book world these past few days. A campaign called #WeNeedDiverseBooks (link is here) is trying to bring together likeminded folks to push for change in the publishing industry. We all envision lists that include more books for people of every color, ethnicity, faith, sexuality, and ability level. I …
REVIEW: Dragonbreath #9 by Ursula Vernon
Today's featured review comes from Laura Purdie Salas, a Round 1 judge for Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books. Besides being a past Cybil-ite, she's an author herself–and, in fact, a Cybils winner in 2012 for her poetry collection Bookspeak. So she knows whereof she speaks, when it comes to kids' books. Last week, Laura reviewed Early Chapter Books nominee …
REVIEW: Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
Sherry Early of the long-running Semicolon blog is today's featured reviewer. She's a longtime Cybils supporter and participant and writes excellent, in-depth reviews of titles ranging from picture books to adult fiction. This year she's a Round 1 judge for YA Nonfiction, but she reviews a wide variety of genres, as evidenced by today's review. Earlier this year Sherry reviewed …
REVIEW: Once Upon a Northern Night
Dawn Mooney of 5 Minutes for Books is a Cybils regular, and this year she brings us her expertise as a Round 1 panelist for Fiction Picture Books. Whether she's looking at books for older readers or younger ones, she brings her own voice to a wonderful group blog that reviews books for everyone from babies to adults. A couple …
REVIEW: How to Fake a Moon Landing
Not only is Lyn Miller-Lachman one of our Round 1 panelists this year for Graphic Novels, she's also a writer in her own right (author of Gringolandia) and blogger at The Pirate Tree, which is described as "a collective of children’s and young adult writers interested in children’s literature and social justice issues." They review and discuss books for kids …
REVIEW: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Babies, Burglars, and Other Bumps in the Night
Today's featured blog review comes from Geo Librarian–aka Heidi Grange, who is a Round 1 judge this year for Middle Grade Fiction and a regular participant in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. Her very active blog features giveaways, blog tours, and other fun stuff in addition to numerous book reviews. One of her reviews earlier this year covered MG Fiction Nominee …
REVIEW: Frog Song
Our Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction review of the day comes from panelist Carol Wilcox, who blogs at Carol's Corner and has been a Cybils regular for many years now. She's a mom and educator, and posts thoughtful reviews of picture books, chapter books, poetry, and more. Recently, she reviewed Cybils nominee Frog Song, written by Brenda Z. Guiberson and illustrated by …