Our featured blogger today is Kim Baccellia, who is an author, blogger, and longtime Cybil-ite who reviews at YA Books Central as well as her own blog, Si, Se Puede. She loves reading sci-fi, dystopian, and fantasy for young readers, and she’s a Round 1 judge this year for YA Speculative Fiction. A few months ago she reviewed Sanctuary by …
REVIEW: Dayshaun’s Gift
Charlotte Taylor is one of our indispensable category organizers at the Cybils–she’s in charge of Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, as well as being one of the Round 1 judges this year. Her blog, Charlotte’s Library, is devoted primarily to reviews of sci-fi and fantasy for children and teens, and on Timeslip Tuesdays she specifically looks at time travel …
REVIEW: Denton Little’s Death Date
Today’s review features a nominee from the YA Speculative Fiction category: Denton Little’s Death Date by Lance Rubin. It was reviewed earlier this year by Allie Jones of In Bed With Books, a Cybils regular and Round 1 judge this year in YASF. She is a technical writer and self-confessed nerd who reviews books from a variety of genres. About …
REVIEW: Took: A Ghost Story
As we creep closer to Halloween, it seems only fitting that we take a look at a ghost story from the Elementary and Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction category. (And isn’t that cover art SUPER creepy? Yipes.) Today’s review of Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn is brought to you by Round 1 judge Mark Buxton, aka sixth-grade language arts …
Young Adult Speculative Fiction Category Description
Speculative Fiction takes us to realms of the imagination: places and times and realities where the rules of life may be different than our own and where the impossible and improbable become real. But good science fiction and fantasy does more than that: it asks, “What if?” It makes us think. It holds up a mirror to our own society …
Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction
Wonderfully inventive and full of unforgettable people and places–this year’s speculative fiction books for kids are better than ever! Along with the expected spells and space rockets and aliens, this is the category for books with talking animals, time-travel, ghosts, and paranormal abilities, and all the other books that might not have obvious magic on every page, and which are set here …
2015 YA Speculative Fiction Judges
Round 1 Sheila Ruth @sheilaruth Wands and Worlds Kim Baccelia @ixtumea Si, Se Puede Maureen Eichner @elvenjaneite By Singing Light Kimberly Francisco @kimberlymarief Stacked Books Allie Jones @wearedevilcow In Bed With Books Cindy Hannikman Fantasy Book Critic Kaye M. @gildedspine Watercolor Moods Round 2 Pam Margolis @Pamlovesbooks An Unconventional Librarian Tanita Davis Finding Wonderland Sarah Stevenson @aquafortis …
2015 Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Judges
Round 1 Charlotte Taylor @charlotteslib Charlotte’s Library Brenda Tjaden @LogCabinLibrary Log Cabin Library Melissa Fox @book_nut Book Nut Kristen Harvey @bookgoil The Book Monsters Stephanie Whelan @TesseractViews Views from the Tesseract Annamaria Anderson @bookstogether Books Together Katy Kramp @alibrarymama alibrarymama Round 2 Kim Aippersbach Dead Houseplants Hayley Beale @bibliobritish bibliobrit Heidi Grange @GeoLibrarian GeoLibrarian Guinevere Thomas @aravere Twinja Book Reviews …
List Fun: Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Deserves it’s Own Book Club
There’s nothing I love better than getting lost in a new world. Bonus points if there’s a pirate or a map or a glossary or a new language! For those moments that I’m reading speculative fiction, I’m no longer trapped in my body: I’m on adventures, I make new friends, and sometimes I conquer fears. For a long time middle …
Interview with Matt de la Peña
First off, congrats!! We are all thrilled The Living won! Could you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for this book? MdlP: I’m so honored that The Living won! Thank you, thank you, thank you! The book was a bit of an experiment for me. First of all, I was coming off four much quieter novels, …