LONG WAY DOWN by Jason Reynolds a #CYBILS πŸ“šπŸŽΆΒ 

LONG WAY DOWN By Jason Reynolds Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books Poetry young adult, family, ghost stories, realistic fiction CW: violence Winner – Poetry 2018 CYBILS Awards The Book Long Way Down is a tour de force work of poetry. The entire novel in verse takes place on an elevator ride as a young man whose brother has been shot and killed …

Book Reviews: #CYBILS2023 Finalists Poetry Collections

Roses are red. Violets are blue. If you don’t like college basketball. This list is for you. Happy #PoetryFriday to you. For some of us, basketball is a kind of poetry in motion. For others, well, it just isn’t. Thankfully, this roundup of poetry books can help. Moving, funny, imaginative, jarring … all found in the pages of these poetry …

Book Reviews: #CYBILS2023 Poetry Novel In Verse Finalists

Can a middle-grade verse novel about table tennis bring adults to tears? Yes. [Did you notice we said “adults” – plural.] If you are looking for fresh, captivating, thought-provoking, laugh-out-loud books, look no further than this year’s list of Poetry Novel in Verse finalists. While the books themselves are labeled for “middle grade” and “young adult” audiences, it is pretty …

Announcing the 2023 CYBILS Awards Winners

Before we say “congratulations,” we want to shout out a big thanks to everyone who helped make the 2023 CYBILS Awards another great year! πŸ’ž THANK YOU πŸ’žΒ  We can’t say enough about our judges … who can’t say enough about the great books you sent us for consideration. We were thrilled to have many books with positive representation that …

#CYBILS2023 The Ones That Got Away – Poetry Edition

If you’re looking for books that evoke all the emotions, then you need to check out this list of poetry books that our judges loved, but which didn’t make the finalist lists. . If you are saying to yourself but I don’t like poetry, then read on. No, seriously. We think Sarah, Sheri, and Matt can change your mind. History. …

CYBILS 2023 Poetry Finalists

Animals in PantsSuzy Levinson, illustrated by Kevin Howdeshell and Kristen HowdeshellHarry N AbramsNominated by: Becky L. Animals in Pants by Suzy Levinson is a fun and playful collection full of poems about, well, animals in pants. It’s this premiseβ€”coupled with colorful, saucy illustrationsβ€”that will capture the attention of toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary kids, but they’ll stay for the amusing …

Announcing the 2023 CYBILS Awards Finalists

We may not be the first to wish you a Happy New Year, but we are very excited to be the first to tell you about the 2023 CYBILS Awards finalists! Our judges read more than 1,240 books across nine categories and three audiences. In some categories – like Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, and Poetry – judges were reading all the …

#CYBILS2023 Books by Previous Winners

Turning 18 has made us a bit nostalgic … and yet looking forward, too. That got us thinking … wouldn’t it be fun to see how many 2023 CYBILS Awards nominees are written by previous winners? So we dug into the archives to find which CYBILS Awards winners of yore who have new books being considered this year. Quite a …

2023 CYBILS Judges: Poetry Panels

Poetry category considers verse written for toddlers through young adult audience. It can be illustrated, but may not, just as it can rhyme, or not. Poetry includes anthologies or collections written by multiple authors or a single author, as well as novels and nonfiction in verse. Be sure to click the links to see where our judges post their reviews! …

EVERYWHERE BLUE by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz #CYBILS πŸ“šπŸŽΆ

ya verse novel fritz

Right after we launched our book playlist feature, Joanne Rossmassler Fritz contacted us to share the Spotify playlist her son created for her book EVERYWHERE BLUE. Riya describes it as “stunning.”Β Β  EVERYWHERE BLUE By Joanne Rossmassler Fritz Holiday House Winner – Poetry 2021 CYBILS Awards The Book Young Adult Climate Change, Family, Growing Up, Mental Health, Music, Mystery, Realistic Fiction …