One week, friends! Just one more week until the 2023 CYBILS Awards winners are announced. You probably already added the finalists and winners to your TBR, and that’s cool, but our judges read A LOT of great books that, while not award winners, will definitely be winners with young readers. Yes, even picky tween readers. x See for yourself. Book …
Monday Books | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 2.5.2024
Lions and tigers and cats, oh my. Sorry, we couldn’t resist. But it’s true. Today’s roundup has those three creatures. But there’s more! This list of 2023-nominated books includes include stories of family, friendship, feelings, and, well … see for yourself. And have a FANTASTIC Monday. Book cover and summary excerpt from Goodreads. Click to see more details and reviews. …
#CYBILS2023 The Ones That Got Away – a FRI-YA Edition
Surprise! We’re changing up our FRI-YA review collection with one of our fan favorites: The Ones That Got Away! Laura Fineberg Cooper, who blogs at Writers’ Rumpus was a Round 1 judge in the YA Fiction category; and Sarah Miller, who writes the Can We Read? newsletter at Substack, was a Round 1 judge in Poetry. Summaries excerpted from Goodreads. …
The IN be-TWEEN | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 01.30.2024
ttttt Summaries excerpted from Goodreads. Click the cover to read the full summary, other reviews, and add these books to your TBR. FICTION Jessica @ Cracking the Cover – You might know Chad Morris and Shelly Brown from their previous collaborations. All are strong middle grade novels. I enjoyed them all. But The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry is my favorite. …
Monday Books | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 01.29.2024
This week? Books for all your senses. With a nod to nature: a textured board book (watch out for the cactus) to things we cannot see (hold onto your hat, there’s a breeze today) to where colors come from! And a nod to creativity, ingenuity, and family: There are makers and artists, a party planner, birthdays to celebrate, and some …
#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. …
The IN be-TWEEN | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 01.17.24
We won’t keep you … there are a lot of fascinating, I-want-to-read-that books on the list. Including a novel in verse!! One thing we will also want to point out is that several reviewers recommended listening to the audio editions … and not just fiction! Summaries excerpted from Goodreads. Click the book cover to go to see more details. Middle-Grade …
Monday Books | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 01.15.2024
Without really intending to, we’re shooting for the stars with today’s selection of featured reviews. From the literal making of stars to wishing upon a star to (kidlit) star power, we explore the concept in all its brilliance! Summaries excerpted from Goodreads. Click the cover to see full descriptions. EARLY CHAPTER BOOK The Mountain Bookie @ Goodreads – This book …
#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. …
Monday Books | #CYBILS2023 Reviews 1.8.24
It’s time to get back to the books … the #CYBILS2023 books, that is. We’ve introduced the finalists for each of the categories. Truth is, they are a small portion of the books that readers nominated and believe are CYBILS worthy. So we’re going to keep going. If a reader nominated it and a (round 1) judge wrote a review, …