If you don’t laugh at this review, you need something stronger in your Starbucks today. What makes Deb Clark so funny? She taps into that Mommy fever dream of someday having an idle moment: Sometimes I find myself attracted to children’s entertainers. Not just any old birthday clown or balloon twister. It’s got to be someone who holds my kids …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Kat and Mouse: Teacher Torture
We’ve got TangognaT forwards and backwards, and she looks the same coming and going. She’s not just a palindrome, but a librarian with a yen for Japanese manga. She recently helped our own Susan sort out what’s what. Here’s her short take on Kat and Mouse: Teacher Torture, by Alex de Campi and Federica Manfredi drawn from that post: Kat …
*Important*
You only have until Monday at midnight (Eastern time) to post your nominations! Not that we’re pressuring you or anything. But stick around afterward. We’ll be posting the full lists of nominees, and we’ll still be featuring a book and a blogger every day in our Reviews of the Day.
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Jazz
Today is Poetry Friday across the kidlitosphere, and what better way to jazz up the day than with a collection on that very subject? Kelly R. Fineman celebrates this uniquely American music in her blog, and her review is short and sweet: I read much of Walter Dean Myers’s book, Jazz, while I was in the bookstore, and I simply …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Escape: The Story of the Great Houdini
We have several Jennifers among our volunteers, and this one’s a SAHM who blogs at Snapshot about her love of books and sharing that love with her two kids (among other things). She says she’s enjoyed the middle grade and young adult non-fiction nominees that she has read in anticipation of the short judging season. Even if the ones she’s …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Duck, Duck, Goose
Betsy Bird, alias "Fuse #8" occupies a singular place in the kidlitosphere. From her "hot men of children’s literature" to her reportage from publishers’ PR extravaganzas, her blog has become the Grand Central Terminal of our burgeoning online community. It’s a starting point for those first venturing into our happy realm, but also an absorbing destination for the well-seasoned traveler, …
My, what nice potatoes you have
Many thanks to The Idaho Statesman for their news item about our contest. We appreciate the boost, and hope it brings in a few more nominations. The Statesman suggested using our nominations as a reading list. Excellent idea. Just browse the categories. Once nominations close Nov. 20, we’ll be posting the complete lists here at Cybils. Stop by anytime for …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Rules
Hot off the presses — this review of Cynthia Lord’s Rules is so fresh, it’s still steaming. Stephanie Ford just posted it yesterday at her blog. Rules deals with one of the more sensitive topics of our day — autism — from the perspective of the older sister. Ford’s a panelist for Middle Grade Fiction, and you can see from …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Hattie Big Sky
Today is YA day here at the Cybils, and who better to feature than our YA coordinator, Jen Robinson. While all our organizers are an enthusiastic, knowledgeable bunch, Jen’s business acumen and laser-beam focus has helped make the Cybils a professional, quality venture from the get-go. Plus, she’s an impassioned writer, and you quickly get sucked in by her direct, …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow
Like many of our panelists and judges, Elaine Magliaro is a relative newcomer to blogging, having joined The Blue Rose Girls a few weeks ago. Just in time to help us out at Cybils! Elaine’s been known to write a verse or two of her own, so she’s a natural for reviewing poetry: In Butterfly Eyes, Joyce Sidman displays her …