Round 2 YA Nonfiction judge Adrienne Gillespie, of the blog Books and Bassets, brings us our featured review today: finalist title Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson. This versatile author is already acclaimed for his YA fiction, and this nonfiction book (listed for the National Book Award) brings us …
REVIEW: Guts and Glory: The Vikings
One of the coolest things about Roberta Gibson’s blog Wrapped in Foil is that she’s got a list of children’s books by state, from Alabama to Wyoming, along with brief descriptions of each book. Our featured review today–Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction finalist Guts & Glory: The Vikings by Ben Thompson—may not exactly fit on that list, but it did make the …
REVIEW: The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy
Happy Holidays from the Cybils! We hope everyone is able to find a bit of relaxation during the holidays and some time to enjoy a good book. To that end, today’s featured review is YA Nonfiction nominee The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs. It was reviewed earlier this year by Round 1 judge Jennifer Rothschild, who manages …
REVIEW: Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
Amy Broadmoore, who is a Round 1 judge this year for Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction, is an aspiring children’s librarian, mom of 3, former attorney, and founder of International Book Giving Day. At her blog Delightful Children’s Books, she focuses primarily on great picture books, and has a fantastic range of booklists sorted by age range and theme/subject matter. Earlier this …
REVIEW: The Boys in the Boat
Though today’s featured review is a nominee from the YA Nonfiction category, our spotlighted blogger is none other than Karen Yingling, category organizer for Middle Grade Fiction. Her blog, Ms. Yingling Reads, highlights great books for middle schoolers, especially boys. Karen is a middle school librarian as well as a reviewer for School Library Journal and YA Books Central, so …
REVIEW: Big Red Kangaroo
Today’s review is brought to you by Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction category chair Jennifer Wharton, librarian and longtime Cybil-ite, who blogs about children’s books at Jean Little Library as well as contributing to No Flying No Tights. One of her recent reviews really appealed to me because I just got back from Australia last week (and yes, I did see both …
REVIEW: Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone
Louise Capizzo of The Nonfiction Detectives is one of our YA Nonfiction judges this year. She’s not only a Cybils returnee, but also a youth services manager in a public library in Maine and a tireless enthusiast for nonfiction books written for young readers. She reviewed YA Nonfiction nominee Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone by Rebecca L. Johnson …
REVIEW: Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France
Roberta Gibson, Round 1 judge for Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction, brings us our review of the day, from her children’s lit blog Wrapped in Foil. She focuses primarily on children’s and YA nonfiction, and has an interest in both biographies and STEM titles–both of which could describe EMNF nominee Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France …
YA Nonfiction Category Description
Young Adult Nonfiction is experiencing a boon in great books. It is true that there is definitely more interest in great nonfiction, especially if you have a child in school, and that school district uses common core. Not known for being as glamorous as the fiction categories, for this librarian, great nonfiction is as much of a treat as any fiction book on any …
Elementary/Middle Grade Non-Fiction Category Description
Kids are curious about the world around them and nonfiction is the perfect way to introduce them to that amazing world. History? Biography? Art? Science? Math? Animals? Sports? It’s all here and more besides! We’re looking for titles that are suitable for reading aloud or independently, including picture books and early chapters (nonfiction easy readers go to the easy reader category). We love text and illustrations …