I look forward to this post every year about as much as I await the next 40-something birthday. I grit my teeth and suffer through it. I remind myself it could be worse — I could be getting another C-section. So *holds breath* here goes … Truthfully, Cybils has very few financial needs. For the last two years, we've bought …
REVIEW
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Travis Jonker of the blog 100 Scope Notes is definitely a familiar face around the Cybils, and this year he's a Round I panelist for Fiction Picture Books. His blog covers news and reviews from the world of children's literature, from the perspective of an elementary school librarian. He also reviews for School Library Journal. There was just no way …
REVIEW
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians
Mama Librarian (aka Maggi Idzikowski), one of our Round I panelists for Graphic Novels this year, has a fun and unique ratings system for the books she reviews on her site. Not only does she look at Illustrations and Personages, but she moves beyond those to consider Wordsmithing, Mesmerizitude, and just plain Awesomeness. One of our Cybils-nominated titles that got …
The widgets are here! Look in sidebar —->
Look in the sidebar right next to this column. Scroll down just below the ads and genre list. What do you see? Our new widget! Yes, you too can have this glamorous widget for your website or blog. It shows off a different nominated title whenever you refresh the page — though you can customize it to show just your …
REVIEW
Alice’s Shooting Star by Tim Kennemore
The Jean Little Library is the personal library of Jennifer Wharton, a youth services librarian at a small public library in Wisconsin. Jennifer is one of our panelists this year for Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books, and she blogs not only at Check It Out @MML but also provides insightful book reviews and other helpful resources via her blog …
This Just In! Cybils Nominee Wins National Book Award
The National Book Award winners were announced tonight, and we were proud as could be to see that one of our Cybils nominees for MG/YA Non-Fiction, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose, was the winner for Young People's Literature. Colvin herself–who was jailed as a teenager in 1955 for not giving up her seat to a white woman …
REVIEW
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Woodard of Sarah's Random Musings is our featured blogger for today, and if you're a fan of YA book reviews and interviews with authors, you'll definitely want to cruise by her virtual home. Sarah is an aspiring writer and high school student in Washington State, and some of her favorite YA authors include John Green, Meg Cabot, and Melina …
REVIEW
Where Else in the Wild?
Jone MacCulloch is our Non-Fiction Picture Books category organizer this year, and at her blog Check It Out, she looks at books from the perspective of a K-5 school library media specialist and teacher. What's more, she's a regular participant in Poetry Friday. During Poetry Friday last week, Jone took a look at category-busting Cybils nominee Where Else in the …
REVIEW
Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School
Kelly Fineman, this year's (and last year's!) Poetry category organizer, brings us today's featured review on her blog Writing and Ruminating. Kelly herself is a poet, and you'll frequently see her participating in Poetry Friday as well as writing about children's poetry and other books. Over the summer, she reviewed a book by one of our 2008 poetry panelists (who's …
NaNoWriMo
More blurby goodness
Folks, give a nice shout-out or two for our next NaNoWriMo blurber: The Beast by Samantha Wheat For a hundred years Daniel has searched for a dream seer that will allow him to find the soul of his beloved. When Daniel finds a dream seer in the form of a teenage girl he believes his searching is over, until he …