Review: Shh! We Have a Plan

Travis Jonker, Cybils veteran and elementary school librarian, knows his way around picture books. Of nominated fiction picture book  Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton, Travis writes: Admission: I’ve edited books on the fly. In a school library setting, the clock is king, and I’ve had to trim a sentence or paragraph when running out of time with …

Review: Kinda Like Brothers

Mark, a sixth grade language arts teacher, first round Middle Grade Fiction panelist,  and one of the few male presences around the Cybils blogs at the wonderfully alliterative Buxton’s Blog O’ Books. He recently reviewed  Kinda Like Brothers, by Coe Booth, writing: Many books deal with stepfamilies, but foster children are kind of like temporary stepfamilies. Devon is treated like …

Review: Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle

New first round Middle Grade fiction panelist, Brenda, who blogs at Log Cabin Library. A speech pathologist by profession, she says has a weakness for middle grade fiction with pretty covers and fairy-tale retellings. She reviewed the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative fiction nominee Gabriel Finely and the Raven’s Riddle by George Hagen, saying: Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle is also about being …

Review: Cress

Today’s review comes from Round 2 Young Adult Fiction panelist (and 16-year-old) Summer, a Palestinian girl who loves all things books. (She’s also Harry Potter’s long-lost twin sister, so we love her for that already.) Summer blogs at MissFictional’s World of YA Books where she writes about all sorts of YA books, including Young Adult Speculative Fiction nominee Cress, by Marissa Meyer. …

Review: Always Emily

Today’s review of the day comes from long-time Cybils’ panelist and judge, Leila Roy. A librarian tucked away in Maine, Leila blogs at both Bookshelves of Doom and Kirkus, where she releases her enthusiastic love (and snark) on books. Of Young Adult Fiction nominee Always Emily by Michaela MacColl, Leila writes: As the cover art and the name “Brontë” suggest, the book features plenty …