Poetry is tiny but mighty in nominations. From words that rhyme, words that flow and shape emotions on all different topics to poetic forms, the Poetry Genre is home to a veritable stew of entries. These books will appeal to the very young, middle grade and/or young adults. What belongs in Poetry? Consider nominating anthologies and poetry collections written by …

Nonfiction is the perfect way to introduce elementary and middle grade kids to the amazing world around them from history and biography to art and nature. Science? Math? Animals? Sports? It's all here and more besides! We're looking for titles that are suitable for reading aloud or independently, including picture books, easy readers, and early chapters, text and illustrations or …

Everyone loves comics…and the graphic storytelling mode goes way beyond Superman! The graphic novels category covers a wide range of stories–everything from wordless picture books appealing to the very young to intense, issue-based young adult novels–all of which tell their stories through serial artwork. We give an award for both the younger graphics and for the young adult graphics. Since …

The category of Fiction Picture Books would appear clearcut: books that are fictional with pictures. Oh, but that simplicity is deceptive. The category contains titles for toddlers and third graders, funny stories and moving tales, history and fantasy, traditions and diversity, elegance and silliness, education and entertainment. An amazing conceptual range for books with typically 32 to 48 pages.   …

The young Speculative Fiction readers of today are lucky, with hundreds of great new books every year to pick from! Speculative Fiction encompasses everything that isn’t real. Along with wizards and aliens, it includes talking animals, time-travel, ghosts, and paranormal abilities, and all the other books that might not have obvious magic or travel to distant planets, but which push …

Speculative Fiction takes us to realms of the imagination: places and times and realities where the rules of life may be different than our own and where the impossible and improbable become real. But good science fiction and fantasy does more than that: it asks, "What if?" It makes us think. It holds up a mirror to our own society …

What can I say as a third-year chair that I didn’t say last year or the year before? But then again one of the secrets of creating a bookworm is repetition. We'll read books that are built around sight words to meatier, lightly illustrated chapter books. Yes, we have a very broad audience. Our readers … Like hearing stories over and over again. We want …

Look! In your lap! Is it an ebook? Is it a talking book? Is it a movie? No, it really isn’t any of those. You poke it! You shake it! You tilt it! What could this be? Ohhhhh, you say, this is a BOOK APP!   Book apps are stand-alone applications on a touchscreen device like the iPad that combine …

Round 1 Laura Given, LibLaura http://liblaura5.blogspot.com @liblaura5 Dawn Mooney, Five Minutes for Books http://books.5minutesformom.com @mteblogmama Carol Munro, Just Write Words http://carolmunrojustwritewords.wordpress.com Jodell Sadler, Picture Book Lunch http://www.scbwi-illinois.org @picturebklunch Caryn Schafer, Three Books a Night http://www.threebooksanight.com @smellingoranges Melissa Wiley, Here in the Bonny Glen http://melissawiley.com/blog/ @melissawiley Paula Wiley, Pink Me http://pinkme.typepad.com @pwbalto Round 2 Jane Breen, Piper Loves the Library http://piperlovesthelibrary.blogspot.com …

First Round Mark Buxton http://buxtolicious.blogspot.com Jennifer Donovan http://books.5minutesformom.com @5M4B Heidi Grange http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com @GeoLibrarian Deb Marshall http://mylibrarynotebook.blogspot.ca/ @debamarshall Jennifer Rumberger www.jenniferrumberger.com @j_rumberger Julie Williams http://readingbythepond.blogspot.com/ @JulieWilliams89 Karen Yingling http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com @msyingling Second Round Alex Baugh http://randomlyreading.blogspot.com @randomlyreading Kathy Burnette http://www.thebrainlair.com @thebrainlair Melissa Gaynor http://sweetonbooks.com @sweetonbooks Michael Gettel-Gilmartin http://middlegrademafioso.blogspot.com @MGMafioso Kyle Kimmal http://theboyreader.blogspot.com @theboyreader