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 2021 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. ⚾ …
#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 …
#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 …
REVIEW: Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything
Our featured blogger review for today looks at Young Adult Speculative Fiction finalist Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland: Raquel Vasquez Gilliland deeply understands her characters, and there was something about Sia’s voice and Gilliland’s writing that felt so real, so raw, so engrossing. Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything should be …
REVIEW: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Today’s featured blogger review looks at High School Nonfiction finalist Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi: From the back, you can see this is not a history book, this is a book about the here and now–a book about race, and that’s a great overview of racism throughout the ages. What I liked about …
REVIEW: Displacement
Our featured review for today looks at Young Adult Graphic Novels finalist Displacement by Kiku Hughes: Powerfully written and beautifully illustrated, Displacement tells the story of the Japanese-Americans who were forced out of their homes and their established lives and stripped of their civil liberties. Read the full review here (along with several others), written by Round 1 judge Rosemary …
REVIEW: Clap When You Land
Our featured review for today looks at Young Adult Fiction finalist Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo–specifically, the audiobook version: The audiobook production brings another level to this book, not just because Acevedo herself narrates half this book but because her writing begs to be performed. Her writing is magical and lyrical and her slam poetry background adds such …
REVIEW: Cinderella Is Dead
Today’s featured blog review looks at Young Adult Speculative Fiction nominee Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron: Forget everything you think you know about Cinderella and prepare to learn the truth. Cinderella is Dead takes place generations after Cinderella’s “happily ever after” with Prince Charming. Now the monarchy rules the kingdom based on their approved version of the Cinderella story. …
REVIEW: Shadow of the Batgirl
Today’s featured review looks at Young Adult Graphic Novels nominee Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn, illustrated by Nicole Goux: I was obsessed with watching this furtive, skittish girl warm up to the two women in this story who could help her so much if she gave them a chance. And of course I loved the library setting for …