Like many of our volunteers, Andi at A Wrung Sponge is a children’s librarian, and the name of her thoughtful blog is meant to suggest how she soaks up all she reads: So here I am, wringing it out. Just wanted a place to reflect … and see if anyone else is reading the same things. In this review of …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
Just in Case
Today is Young Adult Fiction day at Cybils, and we highlight TadMack, a member of our YA Nominating Committee. TadMack is "Another random over-educated Californian… MFA English & Creative Writing", with a tentative release date for her first YA novel set for next winter. TadMack blogs with a team of other writers at Finding Wonderland: The Writing YA Weblog and …
The Nominations
Non-fiction (Middle Grade and YA)
In the time of awards season, some of you may be wondering, why another children’s book award? We’ve already mentioned that we seek to strike a balance with our awards, by finding the best in kid-friendly, entertaining, and worthy books for the youngsters. But, there’s another reason behind The Cybils. Many genres are overlooked during awards season, most notably Poetry, …
The Nominations
Young Adult Fiction
I (Jen Robinson) was privileged to be the coordinator for this year’s Young Adult Fiction category. After reshuffling nominations better suited to the Middle Grade or Fantasy/Science Fiction categories, and dropping a few nominations that were not eligible for this year’s awards, we’re left with a marvelous list of 80 titles. Many thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions for this …
The Nominations
Poetry
Susan, of Chicken Spaghetti, coordinated nominations for the Poetry category. Twenty-six books made the long list, featuring verse on everything from Blackbeard to Jazz. Here are the nominated titles:
The Nominations
Non-fiction Picture Books
It’s Nov 21 and nominations for The Cybils are now officially closed. Longlists of nominated titles are trickling in and we’ll be posting them all by the week’s end. First up–Non-fiction Picture Books. Chris Barton of Bartography has coordinated the Non-fiction Picture Books category, a job much more complicated than it first appeared. Think about it: What is Non-Fiction, especially …
Nominations are now closed
Thanks to the many hundreds of people who stopped by to list a favorite book in any of our eight categories. You can look forward to reading the full lists over the course of the coming days–just in time to start your holiday shopping! All the book titles will be linked to Amazon, and we earn a microscopic commission from …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
The Softwire
In March 2002, while much of the rest of the world was still on dial-up, author Gail Gauthier was starting her blog, one of the very first on children’s literature. She’s been posting her penetrating essays and reviews ever since, becoming one of the most influential bloggers in our sunlit corner of Internet. Why she isn’t as big by now …
REVIEW OF THE DAY
John, Paul, George and Ben
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 …