Debbi, can you tell us a little about how you came up with Jasmine Toguchi and her stories? How did you develop Jasmine as a character? Why did you choose to focus on taiko drumming? DMF: I first came up with Jasmine after I read an article about a multi-generational Japanese American family that got together every year at New Years …
Interview with YA Fiction Winner Courtney Summers
What was the inspiration for Sadie? I’m very interested in our collective engagement with and response to true crime narratives, particularly as the category has expanded (and proven deeply popular) in the podcast medium. I love that it’s a category largely committed to the search for truth and justice, but I also wonder how well we’re serving the narratives of …
Interview with Middle Grade Nonfiction Winner Kelly Milner Halls
We love the name of your website: Wonders of the Weird. How long have you been interested in the “weird” things in nature? My mother used to call me her “little alien,” because I was so “different.” I loved being outside and exploring every inch of my natural world. Things weird but wonderful were always on the top of my …
2018 Cybils Winners!
As always, many many thanks to our round 2 judges and our category chairs as they read and discussed and worked to decide this year’s winners. Without further ado, here they are: Board Books Llamaphones by Janik Coat Harry N Abrams Nominated by: ChristaS This is an ingenious tactile and visual board book, that utilizes bold colors, simple shapes, and …
CYBILS Winners Announced Tomorrow!
Just a reminder that you have ANOTHER reason to be excited about children’s literature: At 9:30 a.m. PST we’ll announce this year’s CYBILS winners!! You’ll want to come back for that; the winners this year are FANTASTIC! While you’re waiting for the winners to be announced, please consider making a donation to support the Cybils mission. Your donation will help …
Regarding Baby Monkey
It has been brought to our attention that one of our finalists, Baby Monkey, Private Eye, has racial representation issues. Significantly, anthropomorphized monkeys have been used throughout United States history as a tool of white supremacy, to demean and dehumanize African-Americans and justify slavery, Jim Crow, and continued racial injustices. While we are sure that Baby Monkey, Private Eye was …
2018 Finalists Reactions!
One of the things we like best about releasing our shortlists is all the social media love we get! We thought we’d share a bit with you: Whenever young teachers ask me for reading lists, I point them toward the CYBILS! The finalists are always terrific! https://t.co/VPQvBHw29R — Carol Wilcox (@carwilc) January 1, 2019 Congrats to all the 2018 NF …
The 2018 Cybils Finalists!
It’s January 1st, our favorite day of the year: The day in which all round one panelists breathe a huge sigh of relief (and we express our heartfelt thanks!), and which everyone (from the authors and illustrators to the fans to the round two judges) eagerly watches to see what’s made the cut. First off — because we know you’re …
The Gift of Giving
We are constantly amazed at our Cybils judges. They spend personal time reading books and thinking and discussing about them, and championing kids books all over the internet. But, sometimes, they do things that go above and beyond, and we sit back in amazement and feel a need to share. Our Fiction Picture Book/Board Book Chair, Deb Nance, sent us …
The Armchair Cybils Shortlist Contest
The Round One panelists are in the last stages of creating the short-lists for each of the Cybils categories. While they are hard at work, we thought it would be fun to get YOUR guess on what those finalist lists will look like! So we’re hosting a #CybilsShortlist contest! The Contest: Predict the Finalists List for a single category. Grand …