What’s your favorite book? What are your top 5 books for [insert year]? Who is your favorite [genre] author? As a reader, you already know how hard it is to answer these questions. Now, imagine being in a group with six avid readers like yourself, having to lift up 5-7 books from hundreds of titles each of you just finished …
#CYBILS2024 Finalists for Nonfiction
ELEMENTARY NONFICTION | MIDDLE-GRADE NONFICTION | HIGH SCHOOL NONFICTION ELEMENTARY NONFICTION A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen Erin Frankel, illustrated by Paola Escobar Random House Studio Nominated by: Sarah Polumsky This starts with Jose’s passion for cooking as a young boy. We see his love and bonding with his …
#CYBILS2024 Finalists for Young Adult Fiction
Everything We Never Had Randy Ribay Kokila Nominated by: Richetta Enzo describes his anxiety as “murder hornets” when the news of the world and doom-scrolling overwhelm him. As he tries to learn how to process his emotions healthily, the COVID-19 pandemic forces his unlikeable grandfather, Emil, out of his retirement community and into Enzo’s room, displacing him and his …
#CYBILS2024 Finalists for Speculative Fiction
Elementary/Middle-Grade | Young Adult Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction Accidental Demons Clare Edge HarperCollins Nominated by: Joy McCullough Bernadette Crowley – Ber for short – has grown up a proud member of a family of blood witches who trace their roots back to Ireland. Ber’s extra strong magic was always an asset until her recent …
#CYBILS2024 Finalists for Graphic Novels
Elementary/Middle Grade | Young Adult ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE-GRADE GRAPHIC NOVELS Anzu and the Realm of Darkness: A Graphic Novel Mai K. Nguyen, illustrated by Mai K. Nguyen Viking Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Gary Anderson Anzu and the Realm of Darkness takes readers into the mythological Japanese underworld called Yomi. Anzu inadvertantly finds herself there after following …
#CYBILS2024 Finalists for Poetry
Poetry Collections | Novels in Verse POETRY COLLECTION A Planet Is a Poem Amanda West Lewis, illustrated by Oliver Averill Kids Can Press, Ltd Nominated by: Katy K. Come take a tour of our solar system where you’ll encounter familiar favorites (like Mercury, Venus, and Mars) and meet some less popular members too (like Arrokoth, the …
Future Tense
With the dawn of a new year upon us, what better time to introduce a collection of books that explore the future. These books are about the future. And some of them are tense (read: big, heavy subjects). True stories and (science) fictional tales. Subjects rooted in the last century, and some in dimensions beyond ours. Good guys and bad …
A Pirate’s Life for Thee | #CYBILS2024 Book List
Did we go a little overboard with this collection of book choices? Yes. Yes we did. But look at these treasures! Landlubbers and seafarers alike are sure to find something in this xx of seaworthy tales from nonfiction board books to mythical serpents of Filipino folklore (YA Speculative). Perfect your pirate voice! Nod off to sleep with narwhals and guillemots, …
A Tapestry of Tales: Folklore from Around the World #CYBILS2024 Book List
What we love about this year’s collection of nominated and submitted folklore is the rich diversity of the cultures represented. [See list below]. Readers are immersed in Legends that are centuries old but freshly told. Tales with magic to capture the imagination. Stories where natural and unexplained worlds collide. through stories told visually in graphic novels and picture books, …
SWISH! Books for Basketball Fans #CYBILS2024
No matter what level you play, basketball season is underway. And these books? Well, they’re a slam dunk for fans of the game and those who are fascinated by the history of the sport. *There are superstars kids know … and stats they don’t. * Meet trailblazers in the women’s and men’s games, whose stories are told vividly in picture …