It's Monday, What Are You Reading? - Dec. 3

 I have been so glad to make time to actually get some reading done this past week, and so I decided to dive into some of my ARCs from #ncte12.  I will be quite the hero when I show up with some of these books this week.  In addition, I have been doing even more reading in order to finish all the nominated books in my Cybils category of nonfiction picture books.

With no further ado, I'll start with the Cybils nominees (some of which are also on the Nerdies nominee list as well):

Minette's Feast: The Story of Julia Child and her Cat -- What a lovely story about a famous cook and her cat.  Yet another great nominee for the Cybils nonfiction picture book category.

Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman -- I reread this Cybils NFPB nominee yesterday.  Given how visually oriented my students are this year, both in their own reading and writing, I think this will be a wonderful book to which they will relate.  Add the Skype visit we had with Stephen McCranie of Mal and Chad fame, and they will bring a lot of background knowledge to reading this biography.  They love graphic novels, so getting the inside story on how the Batman comics began will be great for them.  I expect kids to be indignant that it took so long for Bill to get the credit for Batman he so richly deserved.

Words Set Me Free -- One of our 5th grade history standards includes understanding the reality of the slavery situation.  Words Set Me Free would be a wonderful addition to this social studies instruction.  It's the type of biography that young readers will really enjoy.  But the message throughout the story of how it was truly words that set Frederick Douglass free is incredibly powerful.
This is also a Cybils nonfiction picture book nominee this year.

The Camping Trip That Changed America -- This is a great book that does a nice job explaining how the national park system came to be under the guidance of Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir.

FUN ARCs

My Life as a Cartoonist -- I met Janet Tshjian last year at NCTE at a Macmillan publisher dinner. When I ran into her again in the exhibit hall this year, I was delighted to see her and even more happy that she remembered me. The icing on the cake - the 3rd book in the My Life as a Book series was out in ARC format and I got a signed copy. Life is good! I so enjoy this series, and have many students, especially boys, reading it this year. They gravitate to the illustrations, either because they just enjoy them or it provides them enough support to make sense of the story. Which is great, considering Janet's son, Jake, does the illustrations because he had difficulty learning vocabulary words when he was in school.
In the latest book, Derek is still drawing his cartoons, only this time is joined by a new kid to the school, a bully in a wheelchair, Umberto. Turns out Umberto has quite a knack for cartooning as well, even when he is making Derek's life miserable. Fun story that kids will truly enjoy!
Look for My Life as a Cartoonist in May 2013.




Hide and Seek -- Kate Messner is such a diverse writer. Hide and Seek is the follow-up to Capture the Flag. This time, we see the events transpiring more through the eyes of Jose, even though it is still written in 3rd person. The setting takes all the main characters to the rain forests of Costa Rica, a perfect setting for the action and adventure that takes place in this book. Good guys, bad guys, trying to recover important artifacts for the Silver Jaguar Society - what's not to like? I especially enjoy the author's note at the end, where Kate shares the research she and her family did before she wrote this book. All the nature things in the story came from the trip they took to Costa Rica. And it is an author's note truly addressed to students - it sounds like she is talking right to them. I can really appreciate her teaching background when I read this.
Hide and Seek due out April 2013.

A Tangle of Knots -- A blurb about this book said it is "Savvy meets When You Reach Me", and I think that's a good analogy for A Tangle of Knots. The different points of view make this delightful - the reader becomes very invested in each character. Lisa Graff weaves a plot that is magical with almost everyone in the book having a Talent, but there is also a Talent stealer. I think I am a good reader, but as the story skipped around with characters in the beginning, none seeming to have anything thing to do with the other, I was puzzled and then enchanted. This book is due out February 2, 2013, and fans of Lisa Graff might be treated to one of her best books yet!

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Summer Vacation -- From the minute I saw the title of the first book in this series, Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, I knew it would be a hit with kids and I was right.  This series is spreading like wildfire in both of my classes.  So when I had the opportunity to get the 3rd book, Guide to Summer Vacation, as a review copy at NCTE, I grabbed it!
What I like is that Greenwald continues to have Charlie Joe be a schemer and always getting in trouble, but as the books have progressed, so has Charlie Joe's self-actualization.  In a fun series like this, I think that would be a fine line to walk as an author but Greenwald has done a great job.  Great freedom of speech and editorial writing in this last one as well.
Mark your calendars for May - this is yet one more book due out that month.

Please join Kellee and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts, who are the cohosts of this wonderful Monday event!  I love finding out what others are reading, and start planning my next week's reading using some of the participants ideas.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading??

I have been following the bloggers who post on Mondays about what they've been reading, and have loved seeing the variety of books and materials being read.  So, I've decided to join in the fun.  And yes, I do know that today is Tuesday, but my blog partner had such a great post on Monday about what he was doing with a NCFL grant he received, I didn't want to steal his thunder.

So, here are the books I was reading on Monday, or getting ready to read!!

First of all, this past Saturday, many of the Central Ohio bloggers met for breakfast and book browsing at our favorite independent children's bookstore, Cover to Cover.  You know what happens when a bunch of book-lovers are all in the same place?  Recommendations out the wazoo and my credit card getting a strenuous workout!!  But seriously, how fortunate I feel to live so close to such great people, great readers, and great minds!

Second, Bill and I wrapped up our Looking for Newbery series, and we both made the same commitment - we need to read more and track our reading throughout the year.  I have actually set a goal of reading 150 books this year (way up from last year's number), and GoodReads tells me I'm 5 books ahead of where I need to be.  Hope I can keep this up!!  This past week, books I read were:

• Scumble by Ingrid Law
• Neversink by Barry Wolverton
• Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner

In addition, I am one of second round judges for the Cybils nonfiction picture book category and our conversations are starting to intensify, so I finished reading all the finalists in my category as well.  Though, I can't talk about them in depth here, let me say that each book has some great entry points for students.  Here is a picture of those books:

Finally, I am eagerly looking forward to the stack of books I brought home from Cover to Cover last Saturday.  So many great choices, it's hard to know what to read next!  Next week, I'll have more information about what those choices are.

Hope everyone has a great reading week!  Head over to Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts to see what even more people are reading!

Cybils Nominations About to Begin...

It's that time of year again. The time when kidlit bloggers and lovers of kidlit get to nominate the books that they just absolutely adored this past year for an award -- specifically a Cybils Award. There are many categories for nominations.

The category I will be watching with great interest in the coming weeks is the Nonfiction Picture Books. So, if you have a favorite book that you think is deserving of an award, please join in the nomination fun!

For more specifics on the Nonfiction Picture Book category, I have included the following information:

"Kids love interesting non-fiction books. Kids love information books. And the sky’s the limit for kids' interests. The Nonfiction Picture Book category is looking for stunning, visual nominees that capture the curiosity and wonder of children of all ages by providing lots of great information.

From science to art, history to sports, or current events to biographies, will the book be picked up because of its fresh approach, kid appeal, fabulous illustrations, and or photography? If yes, then nominate it!

Nonfiction picture books are 48 pages or less and aimed at younger readers. Longer books (48 pages or more), denser text divided into chapters and/or a mature theme belong in the Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction category. The committee refers to the Library of Congress classification as a transferred referred to appropriate committees.

Previous winners in this category include The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton,Nic Bishop’s Frogs (2008), Lightship by Brian Floca (2007), and An Egg is Quiet by Diana Ashton (2006)."

--Jone MacCulloch, category organizer

So, if you have a book that sounds like the above description, please head on over to the Cybils website to make your voice heard! Nominations begin October 1st.

Cybils 2010

It's that time of the year again -- time to start thinking about nominations for the Cybil Awards. I am in awe of how the kidlit blogging community has pulled together to present their own award to deserving books, and will be celebrating the 5th annual Cybils Awards this year -- awards giving to the most deserving of books in the following categories:

• easy readers / short chapter books
• fantasy and science fiction
• fiction picture books
• graphic novels
• middle grade fiction
• non-fiction picture books
• non-fiction: middle grade and young adult
• poetry
• young adult fiction

If you don't know about these awards, I would encourage you to bookmark the Cybils site and follow as the nominations for these categories begin pretty soon. There are some wonderful titles in multiple categories that I find each year! Since the categories for the Cybils don't exactly align with the ALA award categories, it makes it fun to see when books win both an ALA award as well as a Cybil Award. As a 5th grade teacher, I am always checking out the nominations for the middle grade fiction category. I also have a soft spot for the non-fiction picture book category.

That being said, I'm very excited to share that I'll be serving on the Cybils non-fiction picture book panel again this year. I'm thrilled to be working with the other panelists, guided by our fearless leader, Jone. I look forward to reading close to 100 books or more, trying with my fellow panelists, to narrow it down to the seven most worthy of being a finalist in this category. A tough job, but I get an opportunity to see so many wonderful non-fiction picture books. I look forward to the nominations beginning!

Cybils and Looking for Newbery - Love, Aubrey

We need to take a quick break from our Newbery hunt to say that the Cybils short lists were posted yesterday. Bill and I were pleased to be part of the Nonfiction Picture Book category panel. What was amazing to us is how many excellent nonfiction picture books were published in the last year. Nonfiction has come so far as a genre; there are so many more wonderful choices that a reader can make when looking to read nonfiction. That being said, we are quite pleased with the shortlist to which our panel agreed. I'd like to give a public shout-out to all of the members of our panel for being so delightful to work with. Thanks Jone (our fearless leader), Carol, Kara, Mandy, Franki, Debbie, and Bill for a wonderful experience!!


Regarding our Looking for Newbery, Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur is the book of the day. This book was actually recommended to me this summer by a friend. I read it and loved it (see my original post). But, since I've been reading a lot lately and didn't want to confuse story plot lines, I reread Love, Aubrey again yesterday to help me remember the details of the story. I realized that on a reread, this book just got even better. In fact, I was so impressed with it the second time, I went online to look up the exact terms and criteria for the John Newbery medal.

In my opinion, Love, Aubrey qualifies to have the Newbery committee take a look at it. It is definitely "distinguished". There is a clear-cut theme throughout this story. The development of plot and delineation of characters is breath-taking. Even the setting plays a huge role within the story. True, this is my opinion, but I am happy to report that the good folks participating in the Allen County Public Library mock Newbery also agree with me.

What is doubly amazing to me is that Love, Aubrey is Suzanne LaFleur's first book. LaFleur is definitely an author to watch in the coming years!

Last Day of School, Cybils, and Waiting for Newbery

Today is our district's last day of school before holiday break. As I look back on these past 4 months, I realize how far my students have already come. What is wonderful (and challenging as well) is knowing how much further we have to go. But, for the next two weeks, I plan on putting my students aside, and focusing on my family, my friends, and myself. Two glorious weeks full of wonderful happenings, and also many days with nothing to do but curling up with a book and maybe even the computer to post a few blogs. Heavenly, right? We are truly blessed to have such a lovely break.

In addition, Bill and I are currently in deep discussions online with our fellow panelists about what books our group might recommend to make the short list for the Cybils non-fiction picture book category. Our panel is amazed at how many wonderful non-fiction picture books were written this year. If you haven't checked out the long list on the Cybils website, it is most definitely worth a look!

Finally, Bill and I met for breakfast the other morning, and have committed to doing another year of "Looking for Newbery". We will begin right after Christmas, and each day one of us will post about a book on a mock Newbery list. Last year, we relied heavily on the list compiled by Fuse #8. Currently, we are looking at the Allen County Public Library list. We're also paying attention to what the folks at Heavy Medal are posting and thinking. Some wonderful books are listed, and we can't wait to dive in.

We hope you'll join us in the next month or so as we try to read the book that just MIGHT win the Newbery -- hope lives eternal!! Stay tuned!

Life-Size Zoo is Worth Visiting

Life-Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephats, an Actual-Size Animal Encyclopedia by Teruyuki Komiya is a delightful gem. I haven't shared it with my 5th graders yet, but I predict they are going to love it.

The cover sets the stage nicely for what the reader will find inside the book. We see a life-size photo of a zebra. Right inside the book, the author gives a guide to the readers as to what each section of the upcoming pages will hold. As someone who is currently teaching non-fiction text characteristics and their purposes to her students, this immediately caught my attention. It is so important for students to know how to get the most information possible from each page of a non-fiction text.

The pictures of each animal are not only life-size, but they also contain the most minute of details. Children will love looking at these amazing close-up photographs.

The text beside each photo is minimal, but good. However, the sidebars on each page have very interesting details about both the specific animal in the picture (including its name) and details about the animal in general.

The best part of the book is the pages that fold-out to accommodate the life-size features of the animal. My favorite fold-out was the picture of the giraffe with its tongue sticking out -- both gross and fascinating at the same time!

To be "life-size", Life-Size Zoo is quite an oversized book. This is yet another reason to love this book and share it with children!


**This book was compliments of the publisher, Steven Footer Press.**

CYBILS 2009: 14 Cows for America

Every September I struggle to find an appropriate book to commemorate the World Trade Center tragedy. Finally I have found one that while it remembers that horrific day, it has an uplifting message of peace. Next September 11, I will share 14 Cows for America in THE PIT.

Written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez 14 Cows for America is beautiful to read and to look at. The author collaborated with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah the Maasai tribesman whose story is told.

Kimeli was in New York City on that tragic day and he witnessed the events. He was a student in the United States and his gentle warrior heart felt compelled to do something to help. When he returned to his native Kenya and told the story of the attacks, and the devastation experienced by the people of the United States, his countrymen were also alarmed.

In the tradition of his people, Kimeli offers up the most sacred of things a man can own, his cow. As the warrior offered up his gift cow for blessing to give to the grieving people of the United States, 13 of his fellow warriors did the same and fourteen cows were blessed for the people of the United States.

The American ambassador and his wife were moved to tears when hundreds of Maasai stood in respectful silence as the Star Spangled Banner played during the presentation of the 14 cows. Holding with tradition, the fourteen cows could never be slaughtered and now with offspring, the herd totals 35.

This simple yet moving story is beautifully illustrated with scenes from Africa. The colorful artwork captures the splendor of the continent and the beauty of its people. This is an awesome book. Watch the cool trailer here.

Mary Lee interviewed Thomas Gonzalez at A Year of Reading.
Author James Preller interviewed Carmen Agra Deedy.

Other reviews at:
5 Minutes for Books
Picture Book of the Day
A Fuse #8 Production
The Reading Tub

Cybils 2009: Unite or Die

Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by Jef Czekaj is one of the most kid-friendly books I've ever read that explains how our Constitution came to be. When I originally read the title, I assumed the book would be about America's fight for independence. This book is great because it is so much more than that.

The story is told with a very clever plot device -- a school play at Forest Lake Elementary. Some of the students in the play are dressed up as the original 13 colonies. The story begins right after the American colonies have won the Revolutionary War, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. Turns out the colonists have spent so much time unified as a group, fighting against King George, that they really don't know how to live together as one country.

Jacqueline Jules uses great dialogue between states in the play to show how much self-centeredness and bickering was actually taking place among the states. Students will be able to identify with the characters Jules has created in the states. Each one has a distinct personality and its own wants and needs.

Because of this bickering, the United States of America was not able to function effectively and something had to be done. The story does a nice job explaining all the different events and plans that take place as representatives from the different colonies met in Philadelphia to try to find a government that would work for all.

Jules does a wonderful job mixing the facts of these events with the dialogue of the states (in speech bubbles, no less). During all of this, the dialogue of the states propels the story forward in a way that children will be able to understand. Because of this dialogue, the reader is better able to understand the need for the three separate branches of government provided in the Constitution.

But if all that weren't enough, the last two parts of the book were the clinchers for me. There is an afterword that more fully explains the Constitution and focuses on the fact that these state delegates from long ago, formed a document that could change with the times that they could not even imagine -- a great introduction to the power of amendments. Finally, little questions that I found myself asking while reading the text like, on pages 28-29, "How did Roger Sherman save the day?", are asked and answered in the last section. So many great facts that kids will love to find out!

Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation was given to me by the author as a courtesy at the most recent kidlit blogger conference. How exciting that I was able to meet the author of this Cybils nonfiction picture book nominee! Even more exciting is how I will be able to use this book in my own 5th grade classroom.

I would be remiss if I didn't give a tip of the hat to Jef Czekaj for his wonderfully amusing illustrations that children will love!

CYBILS 2009 - The American Revolution From A to Z

When I agreed to be a panelist for the Cybils nonfiction/informational picture book category, I'm not sure I realized how much work it might entail. However, there is most definitely a silver lining to this extra work -- recently, I arrive home and find packages of books on my front door stoop. Talk about dying and going to heaven!!! Just today I came home after school, and found 3 packages (6 books) waiting for me. I truly appreciate the trouble to which the publishers of the nominated books have gone to make sure the panelists are all able to read each and every nominee. Thanks so much!

One of my finds today was The American Revolution From A to Z by Laura Crawford and illustrated by Judith Hierstein (this review copy is compliments of Pelican Publishing Company). I was immediately drawn to this book for two reasons: 1) I love to see how different authors organize their informational ABC books, and 2) as a 5th grade teacher, I spend some time each year investigating the causes of the American Revolution with my students.

Laura Crawford does a nice job sharing information with the reader. The American Revolution From A to Z is full of good details that will both reinforce concepts about the Revolution, as well as expand the knowledge my students already have.

I'm not sure whose decision it was -- the author, Crawford, or the illustrator, Hierstein, but I thought the lettering of "A is for ..." that introduces each new page was extremely well done, and tied the book together. For lack of a better description, I'll call it a colonial script - it even looks like it was done with a quill pen.

I'm impressed with the manner Crawford has chosen the essential parts of each topic to share, without making the reader feel either overwhelmed or under-informed.

The American Revolution From A to Z will be a great addition to other Revolutionary War picture books I've already collected. It will also be a great mentor text for student writers who want to take a nonfiction topic and write an ABC book about it. This book provides many great examples of how to combine informative text with detailed pictures.

CYBILS 2009 - One Giant Leap

I actually blogged about One Giant Leap this summer, but since it has now been nominated for a Cybils nonfiction / informational picture book award, and I am one of the panelists, I thought it would be good to bring it to everyone's attention again. What follows is the blog post I published in July, shortly after receiving this book as a gift at a seminar on word study:

I was recently with Franki Sibberson ( Year of Reading) at a seminar she was presenting. During her seminar, she handed out a few mentor texts to support her topic. One such text was the picture book One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh and painted by Mike Wimmer.

This book is amazing on many different levels:

• The book tells the story of how Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in the Eagle while their fellow astronaut, Michael Collins, continued the orbit of the moon on his own in the Columbia. What a phenomenal moment in history!
• For all of us who watched this unfold on our black and white TVs (and even for those of you too young or not born at the time), this book captures the feelings of worry (would they be ok landing and taking off from the moon), excitement (as Armstrong and Aldrin climbed down the steps of the Eagle and then bounced around on the moon), pride (that NASA has been able to accomplish this feat), and disbelief (how could man be on the moon, or even in outer space).
• The story is told completely in verse, with amazing language for children to hear and read over and over. This is a book meant to be reread many, many times!
• The paintings by Wimmer are breathtaking -- they capture the words of Burleigh perfectly.
• The story gets inside the feelings and emotions of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins, and lets the reader know what they were thinking during this monumental moment in history. That technique draws the reader in even more.
• We are soon approaching the 40th anniversary of this event - July 20, 1969 - so this book is a very timely. One Giant Leap can bring this event alive for an entire new generation.
• And, on a personal note, in addition to everything else I've listed, this will be a great book to add to the Earth and Moon study I do with my students.
  

This is a fabulous book, and I am so glad I have it! I have many excellent nonfiction books in my classroom collection, but only a few are like "magnets" to the entire class. I believe One Giant Leap will be another one of those "magnets". I can't wait to share this with my students!

CYBILS - Ron's Big Mission

Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden is the story of Ron McNair, a black man who grew up to be an astronaut, and unfortunately died on January 28, 1986, when the Challenger exploded.

But this story is not about Ron McNair, the astronaut. It is far more about Ron McNair, the brave young boy who changed things forever in his town of Lake City, South Carolina. Ron was a youth that liked to frequent the town's public library. He would read everything he could get his hands on that dealt with aviation. But Ron was unlike most patrons of his public library. Because his skin was black, he was not allowed to have a library card and check out books from the library. His reading all had to take place at the library; not in the comfort of his own home.

One day Ron made a stand... literally. He gathered a pile of books on aviation, took them to the front desk, and asked to check them out. When no one would respond to his request, he jumped up on the circulation desk, stood there, and announced quietly to all within earshot that he would like to check out the books. People reminded him that he was black and only white people could check out books. He stood his ground, and eventually the Lake City police and his mother were called.

Despite many people telling him it was impossible to check out books, he stayed determined. He asked why he shouldn't be allowed to check out books like all the other students. In the end, we see Ron walk out of the library with a library card and a pile of books that were important to him; important enough for him to stick up for what he believed was right.

In the Author's Note at the end, the authors say, "This story is a fictionalized account of a real incident in Ron McNair's life." That being said, based on the interviews the authors did, I'm inclined to believe that this version is close to what actually happened.

The illustrator for Ron's Big Mission was Don Tate. The illustrations are reminiscent of some of Kadir Nelson's work, with the oversized heads and the large, expressive eyes.

Watching the Challenger explode is one of those tragedies that I'll never forget -- the disbelief something like that could happen. Ron McNair, along with his crewmates, is truly remembered as a hero. Ron's Big Mission is a little misleading -- it would appear that Ron McNair was a hero long before he ever became an astronaut. Being the person who paved the way for black children and adults in Lake City, South Carolina, to get their own library cards; taking a stand for what he believed was right -- that is when he first became a hero.

Hello From Washington DC

Well, Bill and I are both currently in Washington D.C., soaking up this city's history, as well as many raindrops! That's right -- it actually had the nerve to rain on us on our one sightseeing day. Good news is tomorrow is supposed to be worse, and Bill and I will be dry and inside attending our first ever Kidlitosphere Conference. We've met some wonderful people already today -- putting a face to Sara Lewis Holmes, and Tricia of Miss Rumphius, and Pam Coughlin, our wonderful organizer and the author of the wildly amusing MotherReader blog, just to name a few.

Actually, Bill is out with the group right now. They went to a restaurant close by. And, no I'm not ditching them. I just haven't seen my oldest daughter, who lives here now, for over 6 weeks, and she and I are headed out for a yummy steak dinner at Morton's instead. The "mom" in me just had to squeeze in every available minute I could with her while I was in town.

I flew out last night, but will be driving back to Ohio with Bill on Sunday. There will be plenty of time for us to plan how we will share about this fabulous weekend with you, as well as start to write some posts about the very wonderful nonfiction/informational picture books that have been nominated for a Cybils award in the same category. Can't wait to start reviewing the books and chatting with the other Cybils' panelists as we narrow the category down to 5 books -- quite the task, don't you think?

Stay in touch. We're going to be pretty busy around here in the near future!

The Cybils and Us

Bill and I are very excited! It just was announced on the Cybils website that we will be joining a great group of people as panelists for the Nonfiction/Informational Picture Book category.

Here's a description of our category :

Kids love interesting non-fiction books. Kids love information books. And the sky is the limit for kids' interests. The Non-fiction/ Information Picture Book category is looking for stunning, visual nominees that capture the curiosity and wonder of children of all ages. From science to art, history to sports, or current events to biographies, if the book has a fresh approach, kid appeal, fabulous illustrations, photography, and will be picked up again and again, please nominate.

Nonfiction/information books will be 48 pages or less and should appeal to the younger reader. The committee will refer to the Library of Congress classification as a guide for determining non-fiction status. Previous winners in this category include Nic Bishop’s Frogs (2008), Lightship by Brian Floca (2007), and An Egg is Quiet by Diana Ashton (2006).

If you have any books you'd like to nominate that fit these criteria, head over to the Cybils website. Bill and I are greatly looking forward to reading the latest in nonfiction/picture books this past year. Stay tuned as we begin to blog about books in this category.

It's Time For the Cybils!!

Tomorrow, on October 1, the nominations for the Cybils will begin. If you haven't checked out this year's Cybil website, you need to go visit. Many of the categories have their panelists posted on the website, and you can learn more about both the category and the panelists. Also, the judges' names who take it from the final 5 to the winner in each category are listed as well.

The Cybils are a great way for our kidlit blogging community to share what we think are the best and the brightest books that were written this past year. I know I eagerly await the nominations, the top 5 or so picks, and then the winners. What a great concept the Cybils is!!

In addition, this year Bill and I have a vested interest in the Cybils... more details to come later.

For now, I am just anxious to see the books that are nominated in each category. Let the nominations begin!!!

The Cybil Awards -- 2008

Nominations for the third annual Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (the Cybils) will be open Wednesday, October 1st through Wednesday, October 15th. The goal of the Cybils team (some 100 bloggers) is to highlight books that are high in both literary quality and kid appeal. The Cybils were founded by Anne Boles Levy and Kelly Herold.

This year, awards will be given in nine categories (Easy Readers, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Novels, Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Poetry, Young Adult Novels). Anyone can nominate books in these categories (one nomination per person per category). Nominated titles must be published between January 1st and October 15th of this year, and the books must be in English (or bilingual, where one of the languages is English). To nominate titles, visit the Cybils blog (http://www.cybils.com/) between October 1st and 15th. A separate post will be available for each category - simply nominate by commenting on those individual posts. If you are not sure which category to choose for a particular book, a questions thread will also be available.

Between October 16th and January 1st, Cybils panelists (children's and young adult bloggers) will winnow the nominations down to a 5-7 book short list for each category. A second set of panelists will then select the winning titles for the different categories. The winners will be announced on February 14th, 2009.

The Cybils is a fun blog to watch in the upcoming months. Find a category(ies) that interests you, and follow it to see what nominees pop up.