SWISH! Books for Basketball Fans #CYBILS2024

basketball books 2024

No matter what level you play, basketball season is underway. And these books? Well, they’re a slam dunk for fans of the game and those who are fascinated by the history of the sport.  *There are superstars kids know … and stats they don’t. * Meet trailblazers in the women’s and men’s games, whose stories are told vividly in picture …

Play Ball! 3 Books @ Women in Baseball

baseball history books

 “There’s no crying in baseball!” Did you say that in your head (or outloud voice) when you saw the post title? That line from A League of Their Own has to be one of the most quoted sports movie references around.  [If we’re off base, let us know!] So what does that famous line have to do with this trio …

Indigenous Voices Book List #CYBILS2024

native voices books kids

November is National American Indian Heritage Month, a time to “celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities.”  As we have done in the past, we are celebrating the histories, rich cultures, and vast contributions of Native peoples in books for children and teens. This list includes books written and illustrated …

Read widely. Here’s why. | #fREADom guest post by Melissa Fox

We are concluding our series about the power of fREADom and the importance of book choice with a post from Melissa Fox. Her essay touches on each of the key elements of the fREADom concept. Melissa Fox has been part of the CYBILS Awards since its early days. In addition to being the Elementary/Middle-Grade Fiction chair, she is the Board …

D is for DISCOVERY | #fREADom guest post by Terry Doherty

freadom discover grow bipoc

Terry Doherty wears a few hats for the CYBILS Awards. She is the social media coordinator, she is the ‘librarian’ for our Goodreads shelves, and she is also the incoming president of our Board of Directors. Before volunteering more actively with the CYBILS, she was the creator and Executive Director of the Reading Tub, a nonprofit for family literacy. Some …

A is for AFFIRMATION | #fREADom guest post by Gary Anderson

gary anderson affirmation bipoc

Prior to joining the CYBILS Awards Board in 2023, Gary Anderson served as the YA Fiction chair, and was a judge in multiple categories [Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, YA Speculative Fiction, High School Nonfiction, and YA Fiction]. He is a retired high school English teacher, published author, and one-time “substitute librarian” at the high school where he once taught. …

E is for EMPATHY | #fREADom guest post by Tanita S. Davis

empathy read widely

Tanita Davis is an award-winning author. She has written 8 novels for young readers, and her short fiction can be found in Hunger Mountain and Cicada magazines. She is currently the CYBILS Awards Board Vice President.  When my book HAPPY FAMILIES was among the hundreds banned in 2023 by the Katy ISD, a public school district based in Katy, Texas, I wasn’t shocked. …

R is for RECOGNITION | #fREADom guest post by Charlotte Taylor

freadom recognition bipoc sci fi

Charlotte Taylor is a CYBILS Awards board member, having recently served as Board President. She served as the Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction chair from 2009-2023, and this year is the chair for the High School Nonfiction category. Charlotte takes comfort in placing as many library holds as she can realistically read. If only her day job as a professional archaeologist, and …

What is fREADom?

windows mirrors doors freadom

fREADom is the belief that readers should have the opportunity to choose the books they read. It recognizes that a parent has the right to set boundaries for their own children, but not the youth population at large. The CYBILS Awards believes in the power of books, and we affirm the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, whose research showed how …

Reflections on Turning 18

Thank you.  We wouldn’t be the Children’s and Young Adult Book Lovers’ Awards without you. You are what brings us to this, our eighteenth year. The CYBILS began in 2005 with an idea held in common by a small group of bloggers: Why couldn’t children’s book awards be more inclusive, more broadly representative, and thus more meaningful? Why couldn’t readers …