Editor's note: Jone has written us a shadorma, a poem with a meter of 3-5-3-3-7-5.
Jone writes for two blogs; Check It Out and Deo Writer, her poetry blog.
Multi-tasking Mary Ann is how she introduced herself lately - but perhaps that's apt as we delve into the world of Book Apps that seem to do so many things at once. Mary Ann is a school librarian, mom to three, grad student and blogger. Each day she spreads a love of reading with 300 elementary students in Berkeley, CA at Emerson Elementary School, a diverse and thriving public school. Each night she divides her time between blogging at Great Kid Books and pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Sciences at San Jose State University. Don't tell her professors, but she would much rather read children's books and share them with others than talk about formal library services! But the truth is, all this multi-tasking is only possible with nightly doses of dark chocolate.
Mary Ann has been reviewing children's book apps on her blog Great Kid Books since January 2011, and has been fascinated with the way this field is developing. In many ways, good children's book apps draw on the fundamental qualities of children's books; but in other ways, they are completely new. It's exciting to think critically about what makes an app really successful in engaging its audience.
In 1989, First Lady Barbara Bush helped me see that literacy is, in part, passing on a love of reading. Nothing excited me more than building a library in our nursery, and now, watching my almost-10-year-old grow as a reader. Like the excitement of Christmas morning, there'is something magical in the moment a child realizes they know how to read.
My day job is as Executive Director The Reading Tub, a nonprofit for family literacy. Through the Tub, families who don't have books at home can have them to share. Through the ensemble project Share a Story - Shape a Future we complement physical books with ideas and resources for helping readers of all types. These are exciting times for new readers ... here's to those magical moments.
My ideal dinner includes salad from Chiaparelli's in Baltimore's Little Italy, my mom's lasagna and homemade garlic bread, and something ooey-gooey-chocolaty for dessert! I blog at Family Bookself.
After a two-year hiatus, Fiona is thrilled to be back on the Cybils organizing team again. As a children's science writer, she spends her days chasing questions through the "ologies", talking to scientists around the world, and then writing about the quirky, cool, amazing science she finds. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Highlights for Children, KNOW, YES Mag, and Odyssey, as well as in 15 kids' science books, including the award-winning Bubble Homes and Fish Farts (Charlesbridge).
Her goal is to inspire kids to ask questions, make connections, and create their own eureka moments. Constantly in search of the "Aha!", clever puns, and her coffee, Fiona lives with her family of almost-growns on a mountain in the middle of a rainforest. You can find her blogging at Books and 'Rocks.
Continuing with the Cybils as category organizer for Fiction Picture Books, Pam Coughlan writes the blog MotherReader and administers the website KidLitosphere Central. Two daughters and ten years in the children's department of public libraries kindled her passion for picture books. Now managing the schedules of two teenage girls, she appreciates the genre even more for delivering the essence of story and art in brevity. Which is to say, the books are short - much like this bio.
Since I last saw you all back in February, a few amazing things have happened.
I interviewed a witch who casts spells and stuff and even writes YA. I interviewed an Iraq war veteran whose blog was censored by the U.S. Army. I meet some cool people in my day job as a radio news writer. Until a month or so ago, it was actually my night job. My hours were mercifully switched, but not before I completed draft #584 of a YA fantasy novel on my nights off. I seriously thought about ditching the big, shaggy, rambling monster of a manuscript. Then my first page went and got itself shortlisted in a big ol' national contest. Plus, my writing group loves the darn thing, so it's my albatross for the foreseeable future.
Oh, and I'm back as your taskmaster-in-chief and executive bottle washer. It's my privilege to run the Cybils every year and take all the credit for your hard work. Kidding! Seriously, welcome back, everyone.
--Anne Boles Levy
Susan Thomsen traces her love of nonfiction back to the days when she was mesmerized by such World Book entries as The Exoskeleton of Insects. She is positively thrilled with today's nonfiction bounty. Thrilled! Just ask her about Civil War submarines, P.T. Barnum, frog scientists, or growing up on Israel's West Bank--all of which were subjects in recent nonfiction for middle-grade kids and teenagers. Susan is the author of Elvis: A Tribute to the King, a book in the shape of a record. Nonfiction, of course.
--Susan Thomsen, Chicken Spaghetti
This is the second time in a week that Sarah Stevenson has had to write about herself, a fact which makes her feel terrifically self-centered. The first time was a letter introducing her debut novel to teen readers for YALSA's galley program, a task which was both incredibly cool and very intimidating. Her YA novel The Latte Rebellion will be published in January, meaning she'll be eligible for the 2011 Cybils, which makes her a little sad because next year she'll have to step aside after three years as blog editor. You might be able to find her hiding out in an unrelated, conflict-of-interest-free Cybils category like Graphic Novels or Fantasy/Sci-Fi. For now, though, she'll be helping supply you with reviews, blogger profiles and other items of interest here on the Cybils blog. You never know what weird stuff she might say, so keep checking back.
--Sarah Stevenson, Finding Wonderland and Aquafortis
Jackie Parker got the reading gene from her mother, a librarian, who had gotten it from her father, who was, by most accounts, a bit of a renaissance man. Jackie didn't become voracious until fourth grade when Stacy Youngs and she had an unspoken and puzzling rivalry regarding who could read the new Babysitter's Club book the fastest each month. Since Mrs. Youngs wouldn't let Stacy touch a book until it had been protected by an adhesive plastic cover, and Jackie's mother better understood the temporary nature of paperback series purchased at Target, Jackie almost always won. After years of living in the spare bathroom closet, all 117 copies of Jackie's BSC books were donated to an elementary school circa 2003; however, now a teen librarian herself, she's been very happy to see the graphic novel and prequel rebirth of her 9-year-old self's favorite series.
--Jackie Parker, Sno-Isle Teens and Interactive Reader
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