Jone MacCulloch is our category organizer for Nonfiction and Information Picture Books, so of course she reads a lot of great Cybils-worthy titles and blogs about them at Check It Out. She's a regular participant in Nonfiction Monday and Poetry Friday, and also blogs about life from the perspective of an elementary school librarian. One of her recent Nonfiction Monday …
REVIEW
Mercury by Hope Larson
I'm so happy to see this one as a finalist that I'm going to do something a little gauche and post a link to my own review on Finding Wonderland, the YA literature and writing blog I share with author and fellow Cybils judge Tanita S. Davis. (Bonus fact of the day: Hope Larson will be doing the graphic novel …
REVIEW
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
Tess Goldwasser, aka Ms. Tess, is a blogger at the Kid's Book Blog, which is a readers advisory blog updated and maintained by the children's staff of St. Mary's County Library in Maryland. She's a children's librarian, and she's also a Round II judge in Fiction Picture Books this year. Back in December, Tess reviewed what she deemed her favorite …
REVIEW
The Dark Game: True Spy Stories compiled by Paul Janeczko
The blog Mrs. B's Favorites is the online home of Karen Ball, who is so prolific at quick, informative reviews that we've decided to feature her again on the Cybils blog. Karen is a middle school teacher and a Round I judge for Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction. Back in November, she reviewed several Cybils finalists-to-be, including The Dark Game: True Spy …
REVIEW
Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman
Today's featured review comes courtesy of Wild Rose Reader's Elaine Magliaro, Round I Poetry panelist and children's poet in her own right. And the review is rather special, since the Cybils finalist author in question is Joyce Sidman–not only is she a past Cybils winner, she's got two–count 'em, TWO–titles on the finalist list this year. Way back in the …
REVIEW
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
A mom and a bookseller, Tanya Zavestoski Turek has been blogging since 2008 at Books 4 Your Kids, where she highlights amazing but possibly overlooked children's books, especially picture books and chapter books. This year she's a Round II judge for Elementary and Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction. Recently, Tanya reviewed SFF finalist Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes, …
REVIEW
Princess Posey and the First Grade Parade by Stephanie Greene
We featured a review by Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books Round I judge Jeff Barger reeeallly early on in this year's Cybils, but in case you've forgotten, Jeff is a kindergarten teacher in North Carolina who blogs in order to help fellow teachers find quality resources they can use in their classrooms, from math and science to reading and …
REVIEW
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Jill Foltz, one of our Round II judges for Middle Grade Fiction this year, blogs at The O.W.L.: Outrageously Wonderful Literature for the Middle Grades. More precisely, she blogs along with Team OWL, a group of students in her 7th grade English classes. They look at all sorts of books–MG and YA–that are great for 7th graders. One of those …
REVIEW
I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan
Michelle Franz of Galleysmith has been an active book blogger since mid-2009, and shares her love of books through in-depth, thoughtful reviews. She's also an instructional/educational technologist–i.e., she works on ways to use technology to assist in learning–and she's a Round II judge on our Young Adult Fiction panel. One of the books she read and reviewed last year was …
REVIEW
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is the largest children's literacy nonprofit organization in the country, so it's no wonder that RIF's CEO, Carol Rasco, is a book lover. What you might not know is that she's also a blogger at Rasco from RIF, and a Round II judge for Nonfiction and Information Picture Books. Carol reviews a lot of kids' books, …