WATERCRESS by Andrea Wang illustrated by Jason Chin Neal Porter Books Winner – Fiction Picture Book 2021 CYBILS Awards The Book Fiction Picture Book Culture & Tradition, Family, Realistic Fiction, Social Issues Watercress is a beautiful lyrical story that transports your mind and heart through words and images. It incorporates a universal childhood desire to fit in while at the …
EVERYWHERE BLUE by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz #CYBILS 📚🎶
Right after we launched our book playlist feature, Joanne Rossmassler Fritz contacted us to share the Spotify playlist her son created for her book EVERYWHERE BLUE. Riya describes it as “stunning.”  EVERYWHERE BLUE By Joanne Rossmassler Fritz Holiday House Winner – Poetry 2021 CYBILS Awards The Book Young Adult Climate Change, Family, Growing Up, Mental Health, Music, Mystery, Realistic Fiction …
WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED by Victoria Jamieson #CYBILS 📚🎶
Because graphic novels by their nature engage readers on multiple sensory levels. When a story is told through pictures, there is more on the page for readers to explore, and having “background music” can add to the reading experience exponentially. WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy Dial Books Finalist …
#CybilsAwards Backlist Book List Summer: It’s a Wrap
Last week we posted our last Backlist Book List for 2021. We hope you have had as much fun exploring the curated lists as we had in creating them! Nine lists: 6 read-alike lists, 3 themed lists. Ten years of nominations, finalists, and winners. 154 recommended books for readers toddler to teen. What made them particularly fun was discovering books …
#CybilsAwards Backlist Book List: Dino-might
Does anyone else remember that one-word exclamation from a 1970s show called Good Times? Here’s a little trivia for you: Jimmie Walker, the character who used that phrase, also used it in a series of Panasonic commercials for, wait for it … cassettes and 8-track tapes. [Source: Wikipedia] So, as you’ve probably already guessed, our “din-o-might” is a bit different …
#CybilsAwards Backlist Book List: Pivoting Pandemic Reads
It’s either emblematic of the COVID-19 pandemic or the most over-used word of 2020. Either way, we couldn’t resist using it for this week’s Backlist Book List! We promise it is more riveting than pivoting. Laurie Halse Anderson’s award-winning book Fever 1793 was published in 2000, six years before the Cybils Awards launched. It is a historical fiction novel about …
#CybilsAwards Backlist Book List: #BatterUp
In a little less than a week, baseball fans will be celebrating the 91st Midsummer Classic, also known as Major League Baseball’s 2021Â All-Star Game. Last year, because of the pandemic, this annual event didn’t happen. But this year, well … we’re ready! To help get ready for the big game, let’s have some fun with a little trivia. âš¾ …
#CybilsAwards Backlist Book List for #SharkWeek 🦈
First let’s mark our calendar: July 11, 2021. Shark Week. Less than two weeks away. You probably already know that #SharkWeek was created by the Discovery channel, but did you know … Caged in Fear, the first Shark Week episode, premiered on 17 July 1988? Sometimes Shark Week is in August, not July? From 2005-2011 shark lovers could purchase DVD …
Backlist Book List: #STEM + #DiverseBooks For Young Creators
In 2019, Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet by Megan Frazer Blakemore won the Cybils Award in the Early Chapter Book. In selecting Frankie Sparks as a finalist, the panelists said:Â Â Â … This promising first book in a series will have children learning about animals, design thinking, and emotional intelligence while turning the pages to meet the new pet. …
#Cybils Awards Backlist Book List: Voices for Social Change
Civil Rights. Voting Rights. Individual Rights. Human Rights. These are some of the many issues in our society where people are moved beyond voicing opinions to “doing something” to influence change. Sadly, while they may seem “new” to our children’s consciousness, these ills are not new to us. For better or worse, since 2016, nearly 100 Cybils-nominated books have centered …