The Best of the Best: A Cybils List-tacular

During the nominations reading period, hundreds of books were devoured and discussed by our faithful panels of Round I judges, so that we could bring you the fabulous list of Cybils finalists. In the process, a lot of our panelists generated their own lists of favorite books from 2009–not predictions, DEFINITELY not hints, and probably not prophecies, but certainly a …

REVIEW
Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger

Amanda Snow of A Patchwork of Books is a repeat Cybils panelist, and this year she's a Round I judge for the Young Adult Fiction category. Amanda is a children's librarian in Virginia who reviews all genres of children's books (and even some adult books) on her blog. Cybils YA nominee Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger was featured on …

REVIEW
1000 Times No by Tom Warburton

I can hardly believe that we haven't yet featured our tireless Fiction Picture Books category organizer yet, in our series of reviews by Cybils bloggers, but evidently it's true. Pam Coughlan, aka Mother Reader, is hilarious, energetic, and well-known around the kidlitosphere for her fun recurring blog features like the 48-Hour Book Challenge and Bloggers Against Celebrity Authors. Earlier this …

REVIEW
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

A very merry Cybils Christmas and…er…Writerly Winter Solstice to you all! We've queued up this appropriately seasonal post for you and scheduled it to go up; meanwhile, we're probably still nestled all snug in our beds (at least, those of us on the West Coast), visions of tasty holiday treats and a lazy day on the couch dancing in our …

REVIEW: Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles

The Miss Rumphius Effect is a fixture of the kidlitosphere. It's where Tricia Stohr-Hunt blogs about poetry and non-fiction for young readers and maintains an impressive array of thematic book lists–check out her list of books about snow and snowflakes for some wintry (but heartwarming) seasonal reads. Tricia, a round I panelist for Poetry, reviewed Cybils nominee Spot the Plot: …

REVIEW
Sacred Mountain: Everest by Christine Taylor-Butler

Biblio File is the blog of Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction panelist Jennie Rothschild, a children's librarian at a public library who loves to read and review both children's and YA books. On her post entitled "Why I Blog," she noted that she values the conversation and sense of community in the kidlitosphere–something I think we can all relate to. In a …

REVIEW
What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?

Susan Thomsen, our category organizer for MG/YA Non-Fiction, posts about a dizzying array of book-related topics on her blog, Chicken Spaghetti, where she's been posting since 2005. Recently, she reviewed a Non-Fiction/Information Picture Book nominee that's bound to come in handy during these wintry holiday days when kids are on vacation from school and looking for something to do. What …

REVIEW
Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder

Fantasy and Science Fiction Round I panelist Eva Mitnick is a Senior Children's Librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library and, as she describes herself, a "crazed reader of books for kids, teens, and adults." She blogs about books as well as children's library issues at Eva's Book Addiction. Eva also reviews books for School Library Journal, where she wrote …

REVIEW
Hatter M. Vol. 2: Mad with Wonder

Kim Baccellia is a familiar face on the Cybils Graphic Novels panel and an avid blogger who posts about graphic novels, YA fiction, and the YA writing life at Si, se puede! Yes we can. She is the author of the YA fantasy Earrings of Ixtumea and the upcoming novel Crossed Out. Kim also reviews books for Young Adult Books …

REVIEW
Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up

Sweet on Books is a virtual book community and "a place to help adults match young readers with books at just the right reading level and interest." The site was founded by two book-loving Melissas, one of whom (Melissa Young) is one of our Round I judges for Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books. She and her co-Melissa blog about …