Cybils

The 2012 Cybils Awards

Good morning, book lovers, and welcome to the apex of the seventh season of the Cybils--that is, announcement day for our latest list of favorite books of 2012. They're a perfect blend of kid appeal and literary awesomeness, as befits the criteria of the Cybils Awards. Librarians love 'em, kids can't get enough, and we're thrilled to announce the crop of winners.

If you're an author or an illustrator and you spot your name on this list, don't forget we have shiny gold stickers now and a fancy logo for you.

For everyone else, get ready to update your "To Be Read" pile.

Marilyn Singer Q&A

It's National Poetry Month, and we've got a treat of a link for you to click today. Check out the Horn Book's interview with 2010 Cybils-winning author Marilyn Singer, in which she talks about her book Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (the title that won the Cybil award for Poetry in 2010) as well as an upcoming companion book, Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems. Congrats, Marilyn, and we look forward to reading your latest!

Keeping the Cybils Ball Rolling

We've already gotten a few enthusiastic e-mails and such suggesting nominations for next year, and we couldn't be happier that y'all are so proactive. BUT! Please remember that nominations officially open in October--we can't do anything about it at the moment. So please make a note of your favorites so you can tune in this fall and nominate them!

There are lots of ways to keep that Cybils momentum going, though--you can tweet or blog, you can make a Goodreads or Pinterest list...and I guess there's always good old pen-on-dead-tree (still my preferred mode of notetaking). Just remember you'll have to come back in October and submit them via our nominations form. For a refresher on the official process, click here.

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

Sharing the Love

We love our Cybils winners, and they think we aren't too bad ourselves--at least, judging by the tweets and blog posts reacting to Thursday's announcement of the 2012 winning titles. We're always happy to share the love, so here are a few of our favorites:

• Laura Salas, author of winning Poetry title BookSpeak (and former Cybil-ite and longtime blogger herself) had some absolutely lovely words for us on her blog (and a great initial reaction post, too).
• Faith Erin Hicks, author of Teen Graphic Novels winner Friends With Boys, tweeted: OMG YOU GUYS Friends With Boys won a Cybill!!!! http://www.cybils.com/2013/02/the-2012-cybils-awards.html#more … lookit me with all those Real Authors!
• Macmillan Kids gave us a shout-out on Twitter, too: Yay! A HOME FOR BIRD and BOMB won in the 2012 #Cybils Awards! http://ow.ly/hIg3V
• Anne Nesbet, author of SFF finalist title The Cabinet of Earths, shared the love on announcement day: So amazed & touched by the work book-loving bloggers put into the #Cybils! Thank you! THE CABINET OF EARTHS was tickled to be a finalist. :)
• Small Planet Digital, publishers of winning Book App Dragon Brush, posted some jubilation on their Tumblr. 

On behalf of the entire Cybils team (I think it's fairly safe to say), we're delighted to be able to read so many worthy and wonderful titles, and spread around some well-deserved recognition. It's a privilege and a pleasure!

Readers, Get Ready...

Don't forget to tune in tomorrow morning (or tonight, depending on how you look at it), February 14, at 12:01 a.m. PST for the announcement of this year's 2012 Cybil Award winners! We'll be announcing this past year's best of the best as selected by the Round 2 judging panels, although of course we couldn't have done it without all 100+ of our hardworking blogging volunteers.

That's 12:01 on February 14th, right here at Cybils.com--Valentine's Day for some, announcement day for those of us keeping tabs on the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards. See you soon!

REVIEW The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

It's fitting that our final review of the finalist period would come from a loyal and hardworking Cybils regular--Charlotte Taylor, who blogs about children's and YA fantasy and sci-fi at Charlotte's Library. She was a round 1 judge this year for MG Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and one of the most fun aspects of her blog is that every Sunday, she does a roundup of MG SFF reviews from around the kidlitosphere. Fun fact: Charlotte is an archaeologist. How cool is that?

This past spring, she reviewed Cybils MG SFF finalist The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen and called it her favorite of the year to date. It's also made it onto a lot of our judges' personal fave lists. It's a novel of political intrigue, sort of a non-magical fantasy, though it promises plenty of action and adventure. In her review, Charlotte said:

Sage, a mischievous, conniving, intelligent thief/orphan boy, tells the story from a beautifully unreliable first person point of view. There's a huge emotionally charged story embedded in this unreliable narration...

Read the full review here.

REVIEW Marty McGuire Digs Worms by Kate Messner

Katie Fitzgerald of Secrets & Sharing Soda is today's featured blogger. She's a Round 1 panelist for Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books, she's a children's librarian by day, and she blogs about a wide range of kidlit-related topics--including regular features called Old School Sunday, in which she reviews books published in the '90s and before. Fun fact: Katie furnished the very first review we posted this Cybils season.

One of the reviews she posted earlier in 2012 described Early Chapter Books finalist Marty McGuire Digs Worms!, written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Brian Floca. The second installment in the Marty McGuire series, this latest novel follows the third-grader's Save-the-Earth exploits. In her review, Katie said:

Marty is science-minded and loves to get her hands dirty, which is great, and I think kids are certainly drawn to her impatience and her desire to do the right thing, even if she doesn’t always manage to do it.

Click here to read the full review.

REVIEW Rounds: Franklin Frog by Nosy Crow Apps

Our featured reviewer for the day, Helen Dineen, is a UK-based blogger at CAppTivated Kids, where she blogs about iPad apps for young children. She's always on the lookout for entertaining and educational apps for her two little ones, and on her blog she posts about her favorites. Fun fact: Though she's a Twitter veteran, she's relatively new to blogging--she just started in 2012, but she impressed us with her in-depth book app reviews.

One of the apps she wrote about last year was Cybils finalist Rounds: Franklin Frog, developed by Nosy Crow Apps from a story by Barry and Emma Tranter. It's part of a series that looks at the life cycle of a different animal in each installment, and it's chock-full of fun frog facts. In her review, Helen says:

I really like the way Franklin asks the reader to help him in his journey – to jump across the pond, to catch food with his long, sticky red tongue, or to find somewhere to hibernate. My children enjoyed doing this, and so absorbed the facts easily along the way.

Read the full review here.

REVIEW I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Kellie Tilton, aka Kell, is today's featured blogger. A university librarian and Round 1 judge for YA Fiction this year, she blogs at The Re-Shelf, where she posts primarily about young adult fiction, especially contemporary romance, fantasy, and dystopians. Fun fact: she's a big Doctor Who fan (a surprising number of us Cybils folk are...)

One of the YA Cybils finalists Kellie reviewed this past year was I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (a past Cybils winner for Boy Toy in 2007). His latest is told from the viewpoint of the son of a notorious serial killer. Needless to say, it's a thriller, and main character Jazz is using his unique perspective to help the police solve some murders. As Kellie says in her review,

I Hunt Killers is, thus far, one of my favorite reads of the year.... Holy geez. Creepy, intense, gory, funny – if you like these things, pick it up immediately.

Click here for the full review.

REVIEW UnBEElievables by Douglas Florian

Today's featured review comes from Round 1 Poetry judge and Cybils regular Mary Lee Hahn, who blogs with fellow teacher Franki Sibberson at A Year of Reading. Fun fact: Did you know they keep a list of 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature? Laura Ingalls and Professor McGonagall aren't the only cool teachers you'll find--go check it out.

One of her reviews this past year was of Cybils Poetry finalist UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian (also no stranger around the Cybils). His poems explore the lives and communities of honeybees and their importance to our ecosystem. In Mary Lee's review, she cites a sample poem and sings the book's praises:

Douglas Florian does it again! A perfect trifecta of illustrations and poems and just enough information on every page.

Read the sample poem and full review here.

REVIEW Moonbird by Phillip Hoose

Today's featured review comes from Richie Partington, a Round 2 judge for MG/YA Nonfiction, faculty at San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science, and blogger at Richie's Picks. At his site, he writes detailed reviews of recent and upcoming books for children and young adults. Fun fact: he once had dinner with J.K. Rowling!

One of the books he reviewed was Cybils NFMGYA finalist Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95, by Phillip Hoose. It's the astounding story of a shorebird, banded B95, who has survived for nearly twenty years while his species begins to dwindle around him. Richie describes the importance of this story in his review:

Phillip Hoose shows how – for a particular species of endangered shorebird – the struggle is on across two continents between the man-made forces that are contributing to the threat of extinction and those citizens and leaders who hope to counter those forces and save this species.

Click here to read the full review.

REVIEW Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin

Our featured review of the day comes from the blog Delightful Children's Books, which is the online home of Round 1 Nonfiction Picture Books judge Amy Broadmoore. Besides having an adorable sock monkey in the header, her blog also features recommendations for outstanding picture books--fiction and nonfiction--that encourage kids to love reading and explore the world around them. Fun fact: her Read Around the World booklists are fantastic--no wonder she's a founder of International Book Giving Day.

Recently, she posted a roundup of some favorite titles from the NFPB reading period, including finalist Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin. Island tells the story of how these amazing and ecologically diverse islands came to be, illustrated by beautiful paintings. In her review, Amy says:

Chin tells an engaging story about an island forming, the island becoming populated by plants and animals, plant and animal populations changing over time, and, finally, the island sinking into the sea.

Read the rest of the review here.

A Librarian's Perspective on Cybils Finalists

Our finalist lists get put to use in a number of different ways, from fodder for individual TBR piles to reference sheets for booksellers. As our NFPB category chair Jennifer Wharton shows in a recent blog post, our finalists are also helpful for librarians, who can use them for collection development.

If you're curious how librarians use the lists of finalists, take a gander at her post, which looks at which Cybils books her library is going to buy, which they already own, and sprinkles in a bit of information on circulation statistics as well as commentary. It's an intriguing inside view for us non-librarians!

REVIEW The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader

Deb Marshall, one of our Round 1 judges in Middle Grade Fiction, is today's featured blogger. As for her area of expertise, her blog name says it all: Just Deb: Reading and Writing for Children and Teens. She's a 25-year veteran of public library youth services as well as a professional storyteller in Alberta, Canada. Fun fact: she's got some great resources and posts for those interested in MG/YA from Canada.

Recently she posted about Middle Grade Fiction finalist The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader. How can you resist a book whose jacket copy begins with "Never underestimate the power of the bean"? It's a charming story about a kid who draws comics and his superhero character Beanboy. In her review, Deb describes the main character, Tucker MacBean:

Not only is he on a quest to create the best superhero sidekick in order to win a contest, he's also on a quest to find the hero's heart within himself. The hero's heart that will allow him to stand up for himself and what he wants...

Click here for the full review.

REVIEW Ichiro by Ryan Inzana

Jennifer Wharton, our Nonfiction Picture Books category chair, blogs about books at Jean Little Library--but she also has another blog, Flying Off My Bookshelf, where she uses a really neat flipcard feature to showcase book reviews in a colorful, cover-art-oriented fashion.

Today's featured review is from one of those flipcards--a couple of months ago Jennifer looked at Teen Graphic Novels finalist Ichiro by Ryan Inzana. Ichiro is half Japanese and half American, and when his American father dies, his mom decides to move them to Japan. It's a complex story about identity, war, and growing up. As Jennifer put it in her review,

Ichiro's complex feelings about his soldier father, his American grandfather's feelings about war, his Japanese grandfather's remembrances of WWII, and the dialogue he has with the spirits in the underworld, especially the god of war, all shape and mature his thoughts and ideas.

Read the full review here.

Some Worthy YA Titles that Missed the Shortlist

Continuing the series of posts highlighting our Round 1 judges' personal favorites, we've got a couple from the Young Adult Fiction category (which is another one that always gets a ton of nominees)--check out some worthy books that didn't quite make it onto the shortlist this year:

• Kendall Kulper of Blogging for YA shares her Ten Hidden Gems from the Cybils Nominees List. 
• Sarah Gross of The Reading Zone has put together her personal list of Cybils YA highlights.

As always, I'm going to have the world's biggest TBR list after this is all over...

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

REVIEW Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds

Amy Uptain, who blogs at Hope Is the Word, is a Cybils veteran, Round 2 judge in Nonfiction Picture Books--and today's featured blogger. A former teacher and librarian, she currently is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of three young children. She blogs about her life, parenting, and home education as well as about the books she reads. Fun fact: she hosts an Armchair Cybils!

One of the books Amy reviewed for her Read-Aloud Thursday feature was Cybils Fiction Picture Books finalist Creepy Carrots! written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown, a title that also got starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. In her review, Amy says:

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds is a fun story that takes something that is decidedly not creepy–carrots–and turns the root vegetable into a veritable menace, at least to one Jasper Rabbit.

Click here for the full review.

REVIEW Every Day by David Levithan

Today's featured blogger comes to us from all the way Down Under--Christchurch, New Zealand, to be specific. Zac Harding is a children's librarian who blogs at My Best Friends Are Books, and he's a Round 2 judge this year for YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi. He also blogs at the Christchurch City Libraries blog and the Christchurch Kids Blog, posting about books he's read and wants to read. Fun fact: Along with a few other Cybils judges, he's on the planning team for International Book Giving Day on Feb. 14.

A few months ago, Zac wrote a glowing review of Teen SFF finalist Every Day by David Levithan. What if you woke up every morning in a different body? That's the question posed by this book, and the narrator, A, has just gotten used to it...sort of...when love throws a wrench into the works. In his review, Zac says:

Every Day is one of the most extraordinary, thought-provoking, and emotional stories I’ve ever read.  Even now, 3 days after reading the final sentence, I’m struggling to put into words how much this book has affected me.  It’s completely different from anything I’ve ever read...

Read the full review here.

The Ones that Got Away, Part II: Electric Boogaloo

We've got a few more lists of favorites that didn't quite make it onto the shortlists this year--all from Fantasy and Sci-fi, which is not a surprise when you consider the sheer number of submissions in that category. So if you're looking to add to your TBR pile, check out these worthies from our Round 1 judges:

• Sheila Ruth, our SFF category chair, also was a panelist for Round 1 SFF for teens, and she's posted a wonderful account on Wands and Worlds of what it's really like to have to sift through all those books every year, looking for the gems--and having to reject some real diamonds. She also lists some of her favorite non-finalist titles. 
• Tanita Davis, my co-blogger on Finding Wonderland, also did a roundup/post-mortem on what the process was like this year in teen SFF and which books she wishes could have been part of the shortlist. 
• Sherry Early of Semicolon, who was part of the elementary/MG fantasy and sci-fi panel, posted a list of 12 favorites--some shortlisted, some not--as well as a fantastic list of quotable quotes from books she read over the course of the past year.

REVIEW Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes

Catherine Nichols, aka The Cath in the Hat, is a Round 2 judge on our Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books team this year, and today's featured blogger. Her blog focuses exclusively on books for the early reader, and in her day-to-day life, she's a children's writer and editor. Fun fact: She's written books about an incredible range of topics, from bugs to Barack Obama.

One of the books she reviewed at her blog last year was Easy Readers finalist Penny and Her Song, a new book in the series about a little mouse girl by Caldecott winner Kevin Henkes. This volume of the series recounts the tale of a new song she's just learned at school--but if she sings it at home, she'll wake the babies. In her review, Catherine says:

Henkes, without moralizing, shows his readers the benefits of using self-control and patience. Short, direct sentences combined with Henkes's always delightful illustrations give us a winning easy readers children will want to read again and again.

Click here for the full review.

REVIEW Where Do Balloons Go? by Jamie Lee Curtis

Elizabeth LeBris, who blogs at LeBrisary, is our featured reviewer for the day. As you might have guessed, she's a librarian--specifically, she's the Director of Library and Technology Services at The Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, Illinois. She's also a Round 2 judge for Book Apps this year. Fun fact: Those cute little puppies in her blog header are Pembroke Welsh Corgis, her favorite breed.

Elizabeth also reviews book apps for School Library Journal, and one of the apps she reviewed this past year was finalist Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, written by Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrated by Laura Cornell. This fun and interactive app from Auryn, Inc. brings Curtis's picture book to life. As Elizabeth says in her review,

Some of the more spectacular features include the opportunity for users to record their voices (as though affected by helium), to make balloon animals, to write and email postcards, to create characters and produce animated movies in the Balloon Theatre, and to snap and insert a photo of themselves on a balloon.

Read the full review here.