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 …
SpecFic Saturday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.25.2023
Magic carpets? Check. Time loops? Double Check. This week we have – according to the reviewers – two un-put-downable books. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a Saturday! Book summaries come from Goodreads. Click the book cover image to add it to your own TBR. ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE-GRADE SPECULATIVE FICTION Gina @ Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – I’m telling you, I was …
Nonfiction Tuesday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.21.2023
Happy Feast Week! Today’s featured nonfiction nominees were chosen with family dinner conversation in mind. Fun, interesting tidbits humorously told. These books have lots of factoids that you can drop onto the table when those inevitable long, silent pauses kick in. Oh! And we brought desert: after dinner, you can enjoy some poetry. Summaries via Goodreads. Click the cover to …
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 …
SpecFic Saturday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.18.2023
What do two of our judges say about today’s selections? That if if weren’t for being CYBILS Awards judges, they would not have discovered books they characterized as “gems” and “one of my favorite books of the year.” The authors and illustrators may be familiar to you – Eoin Colfer, Francis Hardinge, PJ Lynch – but their latest works are …
Nonfiction Tuesday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.14.2023
No historical events. No biographies. Today we’ve got some here-and-now, science-y nonfiction selections. Wild Maps for Curious Minds is a great option for readers who don’t feel the need (or want) to start on page 1. Odds are readers will take a similar approach to How It Happened! Sneakers. They’ll look for their favorite brand of shoe first, then settle …
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 …
SpecFic Saturday | #CYBILS2023 Book Reviews 11.11.2023
Anyone else hear the “do-do-dew-do” Twilight-ish music when they look at that date? Phew. Glad I’m not alone. If the walls could talk … Well, apparently the walls at Crossroad House hide all the secrets of the Carrefour Curse and there is something quite creepy about the house Jo just inherited from her grandmother. Horror fans, the day is your. …
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. …