Back, by popular demand — book reviews by our volunteers. Cybils is the place to discover great books and great bloggers, and we’re rounding up a sample of both starting today. As the contest progresses, you can check out which books our panelists are reading and what they think. For now, our organizers have chimed in with their takes on …

A big shout-out to one of our panelists, Loree Griffin Burns, whose Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field) was named a nonfiction honor book in the 2007 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature. Go see for yourself and then stop by and congratulate her.

Our apologies to Kris Bordessa, who conducted this interview with Sylvia Long several weeks ago. It fell through the cracks, for which we’re mortally ashamed. An Egg is Quiet, written by Dianna Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long took top honors for the children’s non-fiction book. The Cybil judges showered praise ("lovely!" "breathtaking!") on this title. With gentle text that …

Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese has taken the world of Graphic Novels by storm.  A finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of the Printz award, American Born Chinese emerged triumphant as the winner of the 2006 Cybil for Graphic Novels (ages 13 and up) as well.  Laura Atkins, of Tockla’s World of Children’s Literature, interviewed Gene Yang …

Russell Freedman received the first ever Cybils Award in nonfiction for Freedom Walkers (Holiday House), an account of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott of 1955. What impressed the judges was the way Freedman told the story through the lives of the ordinary men and women, teens and adults who participated. Even the icons of the Civil Rights Movement are portrayed …

The Middle Grade Fiction category of the Cybils Award didn’t exactly lack for nominations.  So how do you go about selecting the best of the best?  Well sometimes a book rises above and beyond the literary pack.  In A Drowned Maiden’s Hair, author Laura Amy Schlitz manages to combine great writing and an atmospheric text with situations and characters that …

Out of over 100 nominated picture book titles, Scaredy Squirrel rose to the top to collect the Cybils Award. The book stars a squirrel who’s afraid of everything and won’t leave his comfort zone, until one day…well, you should really read the book. What sets this book apart from the pack is its kid appeal. Kids of all ages–including grown-up …

Our own Sheila Ruth contributes today’s review, a fantasy about children defending their planet. Sheila writes Wands and Worlds, perhaps one of the best-known blogs for fans of science fiction and fantasy, and was the first volunteer to sign up for Cybils duty. We’ve all been awed by her keen insight, publishing acumen and organizational wizardry. She prompted us to …

Today we bring you a review of a Young Adult Fiction title by our own Graphic Novels coordinator, Liz B. Liz reviews books for a wide range of age levels at her wonderfully named blog, A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy. She’s always up on the kidlitosphere’s news and hot topics, and also features a Buffy Quote of …

What do you do when one of your favorite movies comes out in a comic-book sequel? A. Fortis at the group blog ReadingYA: Reader’s Rants approached Return to Labyrinth with some trepidation: Sorry if it sounds a little harsh, but the movie was one of those cherished pre-teen experiences that I didn’t want marred by some inferior fan-fic crapfest. At …