Today’s featured reviewer is Round 1 Graphic Novels judge and first-time Cybils participant Benedict Hutchinson, who blogs at A Goblin Reviews Graphic Novels. (Plus–PSST!–he is the son of our very own EMSF category organizer!) As a Round 2 judge in Graphic Novels, I’m looking forward to seeing what he and the rest of the panel pick for us. One of …
REVIEW: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day
Our featured review for this first Wednesday in November is a nominee for Middle Grade Fiction, reviewed by Round 2 judge Greg Pattridge. Greg is a teacher, mentor, and writer who blogs about MG books at (what else) Always in the Middle. Over the summer, he reviewed Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson, the author of Sidekicked and …
REVIEW: The Bronze Key [Audiobook]
We are so excited to kick off our new Audiobooks category this year, and what better way to start up this season’s blogger reviews? Our very first review is from Round 1 Audiobooks panelist Jeanene Johnson, who blogs about audiobooks at Got My Book. She has all of her audiobook reviews sorted into lists by title, author, narrator, rating, and …
Cybils 2016: Middle Grade/Young Adult Non-Fiction Judges
Round 1 Jennie Rothschild Biblio File @kidsilkhaze Karen Ball Mrs. B’s Favorites @batgirl_books Kelly Jensen Stacked @veronikellymars Jen Naughton Viking Academy @Viking_Academy Julie Williams Reading By the Pond @JulieWilliams89 Round 2 Rebecca J. Allen The Winged Pen @RebeccaJ_Allen Wendy Gassaway Falconer’s Library @WendyGassaway Sussu Leclerc A Novel Without Further Ado @bookriders1 Thomas …
Cybils 2016: Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Judges
Round 1 Sherry Early Semicolon @semicolonblog Kristen Harvey The Book Monsters @bookgoil Brandy Painter Random Musings of a Bibliophile @brandymuses Charlotte Taylor Charlotte’s Library @charlotteslib Brenda Tjaden Log Cabin Library @logcabinlibrary Round 2 Mark Buxton Say What? Nicole Brinkley YA Interrobang @nebrinkley Heidi Grange Geo Librarian @geolibrarian Rosemary Kiladitis MomReadIt @roesolo Tasha Saecker Waking Brain Cells @tashrow
Interview with Kevin Sands
First off, congrats! We really loved The Blackthorn Key. Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea?Thank you! I’m absolutely thrilled to have won the Cybils. The idea for The Blackthorn Key actually came during one of those times where I was specifically trying to think up new ideas (which almost never works). It …
List Fun: Ghost Stories for All Ages
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, stories that feature these ethereal characters are a creepy delight for readers of all ages. These ten books, selected from past Cybils nominees/finalists/winners, highlight the best tales about ghosts. Some of the ghosts are friends, others are foes; some stories are pretty funny while others are downright terrifying. There’s something for every reader! …
Interview with Joel Ross
First off, congrats! We adored The Fog Diver. Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for the book?It’s the same old story you’ve heard a hundred times: I was trying to write about pirate raccoons. I wasn’t making much progress though, until I went for a walk one morning in a misty field. The fog …
The 2015 Cybils WINNERS!
Happy Cybils Day! As always, we want to thank all our judges for their reading, discussing, and ultimately deciding on our fantastic winners. And to our organizers who rose to the challenge of wrangling said judges, making sure everything ran smoothly, on top of everything else that was going on in life. (Life, it does get in the way of …
REVIEW: Listen, Slowly
Round 1 judge Debbie Tanner of The Book Search is a former classroom teacher, current elementary school librarian, who created her site and blog as a way to help people find books that match the skills they want to teach. A few months ago she reviewed Middle Grade Fiction finalist Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai, the National Book Award-winning author …