Today’s book review features a nominee in the Easy Readers category, Written and Drawn by Henrietta: TOON Level 3 by Liniers. This TOON Books title was nominated by Fiction Picture Books category chair Terry Doherty and reviewed by Easy Readers/Early Chapter Books chair (and Round 1 judge) Katie Fitzgerald–so naturally I was intrigued. Katie, a former children’s librarian near Washington, …
REVIEW: Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly
Today’s review comes from Sonderbooks, the online home of Sondra Eklund, one of our Round 1 judges this year for Fiction Picture Books and longtime Cybils participant. She posts a wide range of reviews from picture books to books for grown-ups, and one of her reviews earlier this year described Easy Readers nominee Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly by …
Easy Reader/Early Chapter Books Category Description
The Easy Reader / Early Chapter Book category of the Cybils covers the whole spectrum of titles for early elementary kids who are learning to read, from the very basic books for emergent readers to longer, illustrated titles for kids who are not quite ready for novels. What we’re looking for in easy reader nominations are leveled readers with controlled …
2015 Easy Reader/Early Chapter Judges
Round 1 Katie Fitzgerald @mrskatiefitz Story Time Secret Juliana Lee @JulianaLeeWrite Juliana Lee, Crafting Stories Susan Murray @semurray From Tots to Teens Mia Wenjen @PragmaticMom Pragmatic Mom Jennifer Wharton Jean Little Library Round 2 Emily Andrus @literaryhoots Literary Hoots Freya Hooper @onegreatbook One Great Book Amy Johnson @sunlitpages Sunlit Pages …
List Fun: Dynamic Duos in Books for Beginning Readers
When Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends was first published, it introduced easy-going Frog and gruff, curmudgeonly Toad to a generation of beginning readers, who readily devoured the antics of this mismatched pair of friends. The tradition Lobel started back in 1970 continues today. Many easy reader series feature characters (mostly animals) with opposing personalities who must figure out …
List Fun: Easy Readers for Toddlers
Contrary to popular belief, easy readers are not just for emerging readers. Easy readers are a great source of fun characters, simple storylines and engaging illustrations for toddlers as well. Many early level easy reader books feature the same enlarged font and simple sentence structures as picture books. The difference with easy readers is that most follow a slightly …
Interview with Maxwell Eaton III
First off, congratulations! Okay, Andy! is an adorable book. How did you come up with the idea for it? ME: Thanks so much! About four years ago I sketched a 32 page picture book about a slightly menacing curmudgeon of an alligator named Andy and an irrepressible raccoon of the same name. I loved the characters but the book was …
Review: Extraordinary Warren: A Super Chicken
Today’s review of Easy Reader finalist Extraordinary Warren: A Super Chicken, by Sarah Dillard comes from panelist Kimberley at Books First in Maine. She writes: The illustrations in this book are picture book-like and the book also has chapters which are appropriately short enough for a young reader. There was so much to look at and think about as I …
Review: The Chicken Squad
You’ve missed the reviews, haven’t you? Well, for the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting books from the finalists. Today’s review of Easy Reader/Beginning Chapter Book finalist The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure, by Doreen Cronin and Kevin Cornell comes from panelist Maggi, who has blogged at Mama Librarian. She writes: This early chapter book has perfect tone for a mystery, …
Review: Fly Away
Today’s review comes from first-round panelist Kimberley, who blogs at Books First in Maine. A teacher, parent, and avid reader, Kimberly recently read Easy Reader/Beginning chapter book nominee, Fly Away, by Patricia MacLachlan. She wrote: Patricia MacLachlan has the ability to really move me. She does it so subtly, you almost feel duped. “Hey!” you think, “Why am I crying?” Then …