Cybils Time Again!!

I'm so very excited to be involved with the Cybils Awards for the 4th year in a row!  Incredibly, I have been a judge in the same category for all four years - nonfiction picture books.  I've served on both the first and second rounds of judging and have enjoyed both, but I will be a first round judge again this year.  I think the months of October, November, and part of December will be jam-packed with reading some great new nonfiction, and I can't wait!

I love that these awards exist; they are such a nice complement to the ALA awards.  We get the opportunity to focus not just on literary merit, but also on kid appeal.  That last being said, I'm the most popular teacher as I constantly share these new nonfiction books with my class.  And this year, having 52 students/critics, will help me fine-tune my own thinking about what actually has kid appeal.

I'm excited to work with some amazing people in the coming months:

Round 1
Janssen Bradshaw
Everyday Reading
@everydayreading

Deb Nance
Readerbuzz
@debnance

Amy Broadmoor
Delightful Children's Books
@delightchildbks

Ellen Zschunke
On the Shelf 4 Kids
@ontheshelf4kids

Karen Terlecky
Literate Lives
@karenterlecky

Susan Murray
From Tots to Teens
@semurray

Laurie Thompson
Laurie Thompson
@lauriethompson

Round 2
Jen Fukuyama
Perogies and Gyoza
@perogies_gyoza

Shirley Duke
SimplyScience
@slduke

Roberta Gibson
Wrapped in Foil
@RobertaGibson

Mandy Robek
Enjoy and Embrace Learning
@mandyrobek

Amy Uptain
Hope is the Word
@HopetheWordBlog

Looking forward to what will be the finalists in all the judging categories, and then finding out the ultimate winners sometime after the first of next year.

I spent some time at the Cybils website this evening, and I was reminded once again what a terrific website it is as a resource for great new titles.  I will be sharing it with my staff again this year, and hope that they will spot a great book that they are dying to share with students once the nominations start pouring in!

Let the Cybils fun begin!