Changes: A Child’s First Poetry Collection, by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke, is a poetic celebration of changing seasons by a classic children’s poet. Round 1 Poetry judge Carol Wilcox, a mom and educator who blogs at Carol’s Corner, reviewed it recently and said: “The poems are lovely, and gentle, and cyclical, and comforting. A perfect lap book …
REVIEW: Paper Hearts
Clementine Bojangles, aka Madeline Rudawski, is a Cybils returnee and Round 1 judge this year for YA Fiction, but on her blog Hey, Library Girl! she reviews a wide variety of books for young readers, and she writes about movies and pop culture, too. Last month she reviewed Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott, a novel in verse that tells the …
REVIEW: The Death of the Hat
Today’s book review comes to us from YA Nonfiction Round 2 judge Adrienne Gillespie of the blog Books and Bassets (don’t miss the cute photos!). A 4th grade teacher and former librarian from Portland, OR, Adrienne reviewed Poetry nominee The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris …
Poetry Category Description
Poetry is an ever flowing river of words. From words that rhyme, words that shape emotions on all different topics to poetic forms, thePoetry category is home to an uber stew of entries. These books willappeal to the very young, middle grade and/or young adults. Plus this year Poetry includes nominations of novels in verse. What belongs in Poetry? Consider …
2015 Poetry Judges
Round 1 Nancy Bo Flood The Pirate Tree Irene Latham @irene_latham Live Your Poem Jone Rush MacCulloch @JoneMac53 Check It Out Margaret Simon @MargaretGSimon Reflections on the Teche Tricia Stohr-Hunt @missrumphius The Miss Rumphius Effect Carol Wilcox @carwilc Carol W’s Corner Sylvia Vardell @SylviaVardell Poetry For Children Round 2 Linda Baie @LBaie Teacher …
List Fun: I Like a Few Facts With My Poetry
Don Graves, father of the modern writing process, used to always say, “Poets are a lot like scientists. They both observe the world very, very closely.” Each of the books celebrates the merge of poetry with nonfiction. Perfect for science or social studies, as mentor texts for quick reports, or just plain old enjoyable reads for those of us who …
Interview with J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon
First off, congrats! Voices from the March on Washington is fantastic! Can you tell us how you got the idea for this book? JPL: All credit goes to George Ella. When we first met at the Redlands (CA) conference a couple of years ago, I suggested to her that we might do a book together. She sweetly agreed and suggested the theme of …
List Fun: Ten Cybils Poetry Books That I Love
It’s always a challenge to select just one CYBILS Poetry book as the winner. Here are ten CYBILS finalists I love. Check them out for National Poetry Month. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, written and illustrated by Adam Rex (finalist 2006): This was one hilarious poetry book for the first year of the CYBILS. The kids at my school check this book out …
Review: Dear Wandering Wildebeest
Our review today is of Poetry finalist Dear Wandering Wildebeest and Other Poems from the Watering Hole, by Irene Latham. Panelist Margaret, who blogs at Reflections on the Teche, did a poetry round-up in the middle of our round one reading, and she wrote: I did not know what a wildebeest was until I got her new book of poetry. It …
Review: Firefly July
Today’s review of the day comes from Poetry panelist Kelly, who blogs at Writing and Ruminating. Back during National Poetry month, she reviewed Poetry finalist Firefly July by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Kelly wrote: Most of the poems fall into the “imagist” category: full of clear, sharp language, and conveying a clear snapshot description of the poem’s …