The children's book community suffered a great loss this week with the passing of legendary editor and publisher Margaret K. McElderry. In her long career as a children's book editor, she edited Newbery and Caldecott winners and brought us such influential books as The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper and The Borrowers series by Mary Norton. She was …

Many thanks to Katie Davis, a judge in our Fiction Picture Book category, for mentioning us on her segment on Channel 8 in Connecticut. Katie's segment aired on Sunday and we gave her special permission to unveil the winner in her category early. I think this makes us officially famous, right? Anyway, here's the link to her piece. Oh, and …

We just announced our 2010 Winners. Check out the full list of finalists. More about us here.

We love to share the writing-related successes of our hardworking Cybils volunteers, and today we extend our hearty congratulations to Round 1 Poetry judge Bruce Black of Wordswimmer–this April, Rodmell Press is publishing his book Writing Yoga: A Guide to Keeping a Practice Journal. Described as "[p]art memoir, part writing guide," it sounds like the perfect book for writers who …

Yes, it's officially 2011 but we're still drooling over the best books of 2010. Check out our finalists. Winners to be announced on Valentine's Day. More about us here.

Dirt Road Home by Watt Key Farrar, Straus & Giroux Nominated by: Kate Coombs Fast paced, gripping, and heartfelt, Dirt Road Home was a book that we just couldn’t put down. The story follows Hal, who is looking for a clean slate inside the Hellenweiler Boys Home, a juvenile detention facility. What he finds is a jungle where the only …

Bones by Steve Jenkins Scholastic Nominated by: Mary Ann Scheuer Young explorers might come across skeleton remains, but in Bones, readers are reminded that skeletons are alive. Jenkins’ book delivers all sorts of bones, from snakes to humans to bats and everything else in between. His clever page titles such as “Arm Yourself,” “Big Foot,” or “Support Group” are engaging. …

Dark Game: True Spy Stories, The by Paul Janeczko Candlewick Press Nominated by: heather wilks-jones The Dark Game presents compelling accounts of global espionage from the American Revolution through present-day cyber spying. Chapters focus on old favorites such as Benedict Arnold and Mata Hari and less well-known figures, such as Civil War spy Elizabeth Van Lew and Juan Pujol, the …

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers Nominated by: David Richardson Rob Buyea, a teacher and first time author, has written Because of Mr. Terupt. It is a beautiful book about a class of fifth graders and their new teacher. The book is told by seven students. They write about their experiences with a …

Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel GRAPHIX Nominated by: D.M. Cunningham Garth Hale, a kid with a fatal disease, is accidentally zapped into the world of the dead before his time. With the aid of a skeletal horse and two star-crossed lovers (one living, one dead), he tries to find his way home to his grieving mother–discovering along the way that he …