Perhaps because of the release of the movie, we had not one, but TWO graphic novel retellings of Beowulf nominated for a Cybil Award this year: Beowulf: Monster Slayer by Paul D. Storrie and Ron Randall (Graphic Universe/Lerner Publishing) and Beowulf by Gareth Hinds (Candlewick Press). In her comparison review of the two titles, Mary Lee Hahn of A Year …

Writer J.L. Bell is a true fan of fantasy, and not just L. Frank Baum. Though he’s the editor of Oziana, creative magazine of the International Wizard of Oz Club, he’s also an Assistant Regional Advisor in the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators–and he’s a blogger to boot, taking part in this year’s judging panel for Graphic Novels. …

Mary Lee has featured some great Cybils-nominated titles on her blog A Year of Reading–for many of them, such as Graphic Novel nominee Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, she provides a teacher’s perspective on a book that could well spark newfound interest in a tried-and-true classic. "It is what the title says it is: Romeo and Juliet in manga. The …

Former teacher, radio DJ, theatre manager, and general jack-of-all-trades David Elzey (maybe that should be "David-of-all-trades") describes his blog, the excelsior file, as "children’s literature, reviews, thoughts, commentary, and whatever else fits the bill." His blog is definitely eclectic. You’ll find contributions to Poetry Friday, comments on picture books, interviews, and sneak peeks at graphic novels, such as his recent …

Known for some killer Poetry Friday posts over at her blog, Writing and Ruminating, Kelly Fineman is a children’s writer and poet, as well as a Nerdfighter Extraordinaire, as she was recently dubbed by John Green. In addition to interviewing authors and posting a whole array of info and resources about poetry, Kelly also reviews children’s books, from the classic …

Mary Lee Hahn is one talented lady–not only does she teach fourth and fifth grades, she’s also the author of a book on classroom read-aloud techniques and, along with her colleague Franki Sibberson, she blogs regularly about books for children and young adults at A Year of Reading. Mary Lee wrote a recent overview of Graphic Novels nominee The Plain …

Over at ReadingYA: Readers’ Rants, my co-blogger TadMack and I write about young adult books that have caught our eye–whether we feel like a formal critique or an informal discussion. It’s the sister site of Finding Wonderland, our writing and literary news blog, and we started both blogs to share our observations and discoveries with our writing group and anyone …