Book Reviews: #CYBILS2023 Easy Reader Finalists

Today for your reading enjoyment we’ve got … 2023 WINNER Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends: Ready-to-Read Graphics Level 1 Kaz Windness, illustrated by Kaz Windness Simon Spotlight Nominated by: Kate Talbot Kirsten @ Goodreads – This is a wonderful story with colorful illustrations and panels that are sometimes put in the middle of another large panel, straying from the classic …

Book Reviews: #CYBILS2023 Elementary Nonfiction Finalists

As is our tradition, we held off sharing judges’ reviews of the #CYBILS2023 finalists until the winners were announced on February 14. With that behind us, we decided to start a new tradition: giving you, our readers, a chance to see all the amazingness in one blog post.  Read on to learn about the books themselves, as well as what …

Announcing the 2023 CYBILS Awards Winners

Before we say “congratulations,” we want to shout out a big thanks to everyone who helped make the 2023 CYBILS Awards another great year! 💞 THANK YOU 💞  We can’t say enough about our judges … who can’t say enough about the great books you sent us for consideration. We were thrilled to have many books with positive representation that …

#CYBILS2023 The Ones That Got Away – Poetry Edition

If you’re looking for books that evoke all the emotions, then you need to check out this list of poetry books that our judges loved, but which didn’t make the finalist lists. . If you are saying to yourself but I don’t like poetry, then read on. No, seriously. We think Sarah, Sheri, and Matt can change your mind. History. …

#CYBILS2023 The Ones That Got Away: Middle-Grade Edition

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. …

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 …

Perfect Pairings 2023: 10 Book + Gift Ideas

You love books. You love gifting books. You worry. What if [name] doesn’t like books? Our answer: They haven’t opened your gift! What makes yours so special? You chose the book because you know they like [pick subject].  Just in case you still want to add a little extra to your book gift, we have some curated pairings for you. We …

Dinos. And dragons. And monsters. OH MY!

Don’t be scared! This gathering of dinosaurs, dragons, and monsters are (for the most part) pretty harmless. In fact, they’re playful and funny and cute, too. From well-known fantasy writers to debut authors, there are lots of wonderful stories to share … and might we suggest reading aloud? Yes, we might. Summaries are from Goodreads. Click the book cover link …

Full STEAM Ahead: a #CYBILS2023 Book List

First things first: there is no such thing as “boy books” or “girl books.” Books are books. Kids are kids. And for young readers curiosity, fascinating stuff, and (possibly) great illustrations drive interest more than the identity of the main character. Space exploration, mythology, robotics, virtual reality … all equal-interest subjects. Now that we have that out of the way …

#CYBILS2023 Books by Previous Winners

Turning 18 has made us a bit nostalgic … and yet looking forward, too. That got us thinking … wouldn’t it be fun to see how many 2023 CYBILS Awards nominees are written by previous winners? So we dug into the archives to find which CYBILS Awards winners of yore who have new books being considered this year. Quite a …