Remember when we said our judges read more than 1,240 books for the 2023 CYBILS Awards? Well, more than 350 of those books were written for the middle-grade audience. As you might expect, there were some books that judges crossed their fingers and toes for in hopes *that book* making the finalist list – that weren’t on those lists. HOWEVER. …
Fri-YA | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 01.12.24
If it’s Friday, it’s time for YA. We love all the books, so it just makes sense that we go into the weekend with some ooh-I-want-to-read-that titles for our weekend entertainment. Let’s go! The weekend is calling! PS – It’s not all fiction, either!! We’ve got some high school nonfiction for you, too. Summaries via Goodreads. Click book covers to …
The IN be-TWEEN | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 01.10.24
Wednesday. That day in the middle between weekends!! See where we’re going here? The perfect day to share books for tweens, aka the middle-grade audience. The weekly collection will include selections from the Middle-Grade Fiction, Middle-Grade Nonfiction, Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novel, and Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction, and Poetry categories. Book summaries from Goodreads. Click the book cover to view the full summary …
Monday Books | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 1.8.24
It’s time to get back to the books … the #CYBILS2023 books, that is. We’ve introduced the finalists for each of the categories. Truth is, they are a small portion of the books that readers nominated and believe are CYBILS worthy. So we’re going to keep going. If a reader nominated it and a (round 1) judge wrote a review, …
CYBILS 2023 Young Adult Fiction Finalists
Ander & Santi Were Here: A NovelJonny Garza VillaWednesday BooksNominated by: Linh Ander Martínez’s life is in a time of transition. They grew up embracing the seamless mixture of language, food, and people in their San Antonio neighborhood. Their family has a successful taqueria which gave Ander both their foundation and their inspiration as a muralist. Ander & Santi Were …
Announcing the 2023 CYBILS Awards Finalists
We may not be the first to wish you a Happy New Year, but we are very excited to be the first to tell you about the 2023 CYBILS Awards finalists! Our judges read more than 1,240 books across nine categories and three audiences. In some categories – like Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, and Poetry – judges were reading all the …
CYBILS 2023 Middle-Grade Fiction Finalists
Farther Than the MoonLindsay LackeyRoaring Brook PressNominated by: Anne-Marie Strohman Lindsay Lackey’s Farther Than the Moon is the story of Houston and Robbie, brothers who dream of going to space. When Houston is accepted to a month-long astronaut camp, he’s over the moon. But Robbie’s cerebral palsy and epilepsy mean he must stay home. As Houston struggles with the program’s …
CYBILS 2023 Poetry Finalists
Animals in PantsSuzy Levinson, illustrated by Kevin Howdeshell and Kristen HowdeshellHarry N AbramsNominated by: Becky L. Animals in Pants by Suzy Levinson is a fun and playful collection full of poems about, well, animals in pants. It’s this premise—coupled with colorful, saucy illustrations—that will capture the attention of toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary kids, but they’ll stay for the amusing …
CYBILS 2023 Speculative Fiction Finalists
ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE GRADE FINALISTS Conjure IslandEden RoyceWalden Pond PressNominated by: Amber Delphinia Baker is happy with her life, living with her grandmother and her dad who is deployed, moving often from military base to military base, but when her grandmother falls ill, Del finds herself in a place she never thought she’d be – at a magic school run by her …
CYBILS 2023 Graphic Novel Finalists
ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE-GRADE A First Time for EverythingDan SantatFirst Second BooksNominated by: Maria Marshall In this humorous and heart-warming middle-grade graphic memoir, Dan Santat recounts the life-changing “firsts” of his middle school life: first time being ridiculed, first party, first school trip to Europe, first Fanta, and of course, first love. It is impossible not to get swept into Dan’s story, and …