Twice-Told Tales: Retellings & Remixes a #CYBILS2023 Book List

Classics. The stories that are timeless and have been read and re-read for generations. Reading of Romeo and Juliet for ninth grade English doesn’t count, but what about Pride and Prejudice? Or Beowulf? Or children’s stories like the Three Little Pigs and nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty? Well, in 2023 those stories – and more – have been refreshed and …

Game On! a #CYBILS2023 Book List

This week, the name of the *game* is book lists. Each day we will have a list, built around a theme. These are books our judges are reading, as they were nominated or submitted for the 2023 CYBILS Awards.   From the sweet science to the beautiful game and Olympic sports to chess and robotics, these books will inspire and engage …

Middle-Grade Monday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.20.2023

Consider yourself warned: we are going back to ancient times with this week’s featured books. Well, at least to life in the world before the Internet. Mexikid is a graphic novel memoir that is a nostalgic road trip through the 1970s. Simon Sort of Says is set in a time where the internet exists, but Simon and his family move …

Fri-YA | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.17.23

Fiction with all the feels? It must be Fri-YA! Let’s go! Book summaries come from Goodreads. Click the book cover image to add it to your own TBR. YOUNG ADULT FICTION Gina @ G’s Reading Spree – You think the book can’t make you cry until you get to the author’s note 😭The things Heera sees and experiences are things …

Middle-Grade Monday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.13.2023

Book summaries come from Goodreads. Clicking the book cover will take you there, should you want to add the book to your TBR. Now that we have “all the books,” these lists will include nominees and submissions. If you’re looking for Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction, check out last Saturday’s post. ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE-GRADE GRAPHIC NOVEL Rachael @ Goodreads – Dan Santat is a …

Middle-Grade Monday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.6.23

Welcome to our first Middle-Grade Monday! Each Monday we plan to feature reviews from two books for tweens that our judges are reading. This week, we have nominees in the Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novels and Middle-Grade Fiction categories. Book summaries come from Goodreads. Clicking the book cover will take you there, should you want to add the book to your TBR. …

Fiction Friday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.3.23

Welcome to the first Friday in November and our very first Fri-YA. Sorry, we couldn’t resist. Two things to know about our Friday review posts. First, Fiction Fridays will be sharing space with Poetry Friday. Each edition of Fri-YA will include a young adult fiction title and a YA graphic novel. Second, we’ll showcase a YA Speculative Fiction book every …

The Big Book (List) of 20 Questions: #CYBILS2023

What do you do when you have nominated books whose titles are questions? You make a list! This collection of “20 questions” explore some of kids’ favorite things (like weird animals and aliens); answer questions they ask themselves, help them process growing up and emotions, and, yes, a few talk about poo!  (eww!) This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com …

Backlist Book List: Back to School

Or should we say “Backpack Book List?” Back-to-school season is in full swing! Some students are already back in school, others are heading into their new classrooms in the coming days.  Some kids eased right back into the routine, others are still navigating their way. With that in mind, we dug into the CYBILS archive to find some books that …

#CYBILS2023 Recommendations from Terry Doherty

Can I let you in on a secret? I don’t read many books during the year. BUT. I do read lots of articles and blog posts. About books. Every day. So when CYBILS Awards nomination time rolls around, I have a handy-dandy list of books that fit my one criterion: each title looks like a book I’d have loved as …