We may be well past Halloween, but is there ever a bad time for a good ghost story? Nettle of the cleverly named The Muse, Amused–a Round I panelist for MG/YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi–reviews not only ghost stories but a whole array of YA books at her blog. The ghost story in question for today, though, is Cybils FSF nominee …
REVIEW
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Travis Jonker of the blog 100 Scope Notes is definitely a familiar face around the Cybils, and this year he's a Round I panelist for Fiction Picture Books. His blog covers news and reviews from the world of children's literature, from the perspective of an elementary school librarian. He also reviews for School Library Journal. There was just no way …
REVIEW
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians
Mama Librarian (aka Maggi Idzikowski), one of our Round I panelists for Graphic Novels this year, has a fun and unique ratings system for the books she reviews on her site. Not only does she look at Illustrations and Personages, but she moves beyond those to consider Wordsmithing, Mesmerizitude, and just plain Awesomeness. One of our Cybils-nominated titles that got …
REVIEW
Alice’s Shooting Star by Tim Kennemore
The Jean Little Library is the personal library of Jennifer Wharton, a youth services librarian at a small public library in Wisconsin. Jennifer is one of our panelists this year for Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books, and she blogs not only at Check It Out @MML but also provides insightful book reviews and other helpful resources via her blog …
REVIEW
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Woodard of Sarah's Random Musings is our featured blogger for today, and if you're a fan of YA book reviews and interviews with authors, you'll definitely want to cruise by her virtual home. Sarah is an aspiring writer and high school student in Washington State, and some of her favorite YA authors include John Green, Meg Cabot, and Melina …
REVIEW
Where Else in the Wild?
Jone MacCulloch is our Non-Fiction Picture Books category organizer this year, and at her blog Check It Out, she looks at books from the perspective of a K-5 school library media specialist and teacher. What's more, she's a regular participant in Poetry Friday. During Poetry Friday last week, Jone took a look at category-busting Cybils nominee Where Else in the …
REVIEW
Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School
Kelly Fineman, this year's (and last year's!) Poetry category organizer, brings us today's featured review on her blog Writing and Ruminating. Kelly herself is a poet, and you'll frequently see her participating in Poetry Friday as well as writing about children's poetry and other books. Over the summer, she reviewed a book by one of our 2008 poetry panelists (who's …
REVIEW
14 Cows for America
Franki Sibberson is a teacher, author, and co-blogger (with Mary Lee Hahn) at A Year of Reading. Franki and Mary Lee are both familiar faces at the Cybils, and this year Franki is part of our wonderfully experienced panel of Round I judges for Non-Fiction Picture Books. Recently, Franki reviewed Cybils nominee 14 Cows for America, written by Carmen Agra …
REVIEW
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews is no stranger to the Cybils, and this year she's a round I judge for the Middle Grade Fiction category. Her book review blog has been going for over three years, looking at children's, MG, YA, and adult books and hosting numerous fun reading challenges as well as author interviews. Becky reviewed one of …
REVIEW
The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa
Yeesh, it feels a little weird to be posting about one of my own reviews! I assure you, it really isn't shameless self-promotion; rather, I wanted to post about a graphic novel for teens, since I'm on the judging panel for this year's Graphic Novels category. We post about graphic novels as well as other fiction for YA and MG …