HIGHLY recommended Nonfiction Reading- For All Ages

The finalists in all categories have been announced, with nonfiction titles linked HERE. Our team worked so hard (with than fifty nominees in the middle grade group and more than a hundred titles in the elementary group!). The discussions and considerations were intense, and some terrific titles had to be left aside, but we'll share many of those as this new year unfolds. Deepest thanks to this remarkable team of readers and supporters of the best books for kids.

Congratulations to all the finalists! Now our Round Two team faces the difficult choice naming a single winner in each group, to be announced on Valentine's Day! 

Take a look at these diverse and intriguing topics from our hard work:

If nonfiction isn't your first choice of reading (c'mon, give it a try!), here's the link to the finalists in every other category at the CYBILS AWARDS site. For our finalists and all of these, you can read a short blurb about the choice at the Cybils link. Happy New Year Reading!

DRUMROLL PLEASE.... 2020 CYBILS Fiction Picture Book Finalists!

 

This was my sixth year serving as a Round One Cybils Award panelist, and it was a joyful experience in an otherwise heartbreaking year. I've volunteered each time because the organizers are brilliant and support the process, whether serving as a novice or an old hand. It's also a fun experience to work with some returning bloggers and meet others who are new to me in a given year. I love the fact that this award welcomes nominations from readers as well as from the authors and publishers, but each title is evaluated on its merits alone, as defined for its category. I've also appreciated the genuinely open and spirited discussions among us panelists. Our opinions vary widely, in a few cases, and yet respectful and careful listening are the hallmarks of the final decisions. What a welcome tone and temperament that provided for our task. Thank you to one and all who shared this experience, and I hope more bloggers/reviewers will consider volunteering next year. Fresh faces and voices are always welcome.

While the stroke of midnight last night marked the calendar page turn, allowing us to kick 2020 to the curb, it is the stroke of twelve NOON today that marks our first opportunity to celebrate the fabulous finalists in our categories. (That's noon ET, so 11:00 here in CT). The actual winners will be announced on February 14, so stay tuned to @CYBILSAwards on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook for the roll out of all categories, reviews of finalists, and the eventual winners on Valentines Day.

Now please help me applaud these outstanding  FICTION PICTURE BOOK FINALISTS from among more than TWO HUNDRED nominees. I'll continue to share reviews of many of the outstanding titles that aren't included in this small field, because they, too, are remarkable and worthy of everyone's attention. As one panelist indicated, there could have been TWENTY (or more) finalists chosen from such an impressive list of contenders. 

Without further ado, (DRUMROLL, please....) here are the Fiction Picture Book Finalists!

EACH AND EVERY ONE IS ALREADY A WINNER!

Covid note:  

This is it! 2020 is officially over, even though the pandemic continues raging globally. Vaccines are being administered, with more than one type approved and on the way. But the end of this long tunnel requires our focus and safe practices. Hold on. A year from now we can celebrate 2021 as the year in which the world was restored to a semblance of normal, leaving us more deeply aware of our vulnerability and our need to support each other in health and justice. 

Celebrating CYBILS: Poetry Titles You Won't Want to Miss

In case you missed it, my previous post was a celebratory thank you to readers marking the SIX YEAR BLOGIVERSARY of this site. One unexpected bonus from sustaining and developing this blog is that it led me to serve for the last three years on the CYBILS AWARDS round one panels: picture book fiction in 2015, picture book nonfiction in 2016, and poetry in 2017. My preference for working as a ROUND ONE panelist won't surprise readers here or others who know me: I dread the pressure of naming a single "Best" or "Favorite" or "Winner" of anything, but especially in the realm of books. Even narrowing the field can be stressful, and has been in each of these categories. 

This year I was faced with an even tricker issue: POETRY nominees spanned everything from preschool rhyming books to YA/teen novels in verse. 

Whew! 

The process made for some incredibly entertaining and inspiring reading, but decisions were nearly overwhelming. To see what I mean, check out the full list of poetry nominees, click here. Our finalists, now under consideration as the 2017 poetry winner, can be seen here, and I recommend ALL as wonderful reads. 

To make things a bit easier, though, I'll post here some brief notes about some of the picture books among the nominees that I particularly enjoyed, even if they didn't make the cut to be named as a finalist. I'm also sharing them here as an advance "I told you so" when upcoming awards are presented and some of these are among them. Trust me, they are REALLY good reads!

National Geographic

Up first, take a look at the gorgeously photographed and written ANIMAL ARK: Celebrating Our Wide World in Poetry and Pictures, by Kwame Alexander and Joel Sartore.
Breathtaking, truly stunning photography is no surprise when it is produced by National Geographic. The angles, perspectives, lighting, fold-outs, and EYES of these gorgeous creatures will make it a favorite across ages and interests. Kwame Alexander's use of free form Haiku works well to provide minimal but superbly selected words, as sharply hypnotic as the images.

Candlewick Press

Compare that with another amazing animal book, filled with images that will entrance and enchant readers of any age: SONG OF THE WILD:  A First Book of Animals, by Nicola Davies and Petr Horacek.
Without a doubt this is a gorgeous book of illustrations, sized to be a colorful tabletop book and to appeal to young eyes. Its bulk (and cursive text, complex organization) mean it will work best with support from adults. Even so, the various individual entries/descriptions will be favored or less favored throughout the book. At least that was my reaction. The organizing approach should make it well-suited to the youngest (Size/Color and Shape/Homes/Babies/Action) but it offers too little for older readers (no index, resources, or other back matter) and too much for the youngest to grasp the categorical approach due to lack of relative scale among the entries. 
Despite those concerns, this will hit a sweet spot for kids who are zoo fans, who can manage some independent reading, and who engage with the lush art and the lyrical lines that appear on various pages.

Both books are keepers, in the sense that young folks will want to explore them again and again, potentially wearing out the bindings, but treasuring them as books to share with their own children and grandchildren. Both, though, focus on full-scale animals with minimal attention to tiny creepy-crawlies. For that, turn to CRICKET IN THE THICKET: Poems About Bugs, written by Carol Murray and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. 
When it comes to content-specific picture books, this one has it all. The poetry is a delightful mix of rhymed and unrhymed verse utilizing varied forms. Melissa Sweet works her illustration magic on each double spread, shifting perspective, embedding numerous scientific elements within gorgeous and appealing images. The "Cricket Notes" in back matter elaborate (accessibly) on the brief info-box sidebars for each insect poem. Even cockroach and mosquito are equal parts intrigue and yuk-factor, with visual details that lend both accuracy and personality to these typically repulsive critters.This offers something for everyone- sparking curiosity, utilizing specific vocabulary, and charming readers on repeated readings and explorations.

Stay tuned for more suggestions in future posts, and I'll include several of those non-picture-book verse novels. For now, though, take a deep dive into any/all of these three books. Be prepared for an eye-popping, ear-pleasing, exhilarating feast of poetry.

Finalists for Cybils Awards: Stay Tuned on January 1!

The tough (but thrilling) work of Round One panelists for CYBILS AWARDS has been completed. In each category the nominees have been read and examined thoroughly, lovingly, and analytically. Discussions and debates about favorites are now complete, final decisions have been made, and blurbs for each have been written and submitted. The organizer/chairperson for each category submits this content to the overall CYBILS coordinator, who will post it with fanfare for the general public on...

wait for it...

JANUARY 1

What better way could there be to celebrate the start of 2017 than to check out these highly recommended titles in categories "just-right" for every possible reader you know. While you browse and begin your shopping/library hold list, the panel of final judges in each group will dig in to do the heavy lifting-- reading and considering every aspect of these outstanding books to select JUST ONE. Why not get your hands on as many of them as you can and see if your opinion matches their final decisions? Or conduct classroom/family discussions about the finalists in various categories that suit your readers. 

After all, this particular award is presented by those of us who write blogs about books. Even very young readers can write blogs, too, and they can learn more about the process by reading examples from various panelists in their favorite categories. 

Make sure you don't miss any of the news and updates by checking out the website for CYBILS.ORG. http://www.cybils.com.  There you can also scroll down and find links to subscribe to their newsletter (for email feeds), and follow social media updates on Twitter and Facebook, if you are so inclined. 

It's a tough challenge not to spill the beans about the finalists in our categories: 

Juvenile and Elementary NonFiction.

I'm honoring the rules, though, because I wouldn't want to ruin a chance to participate as a panelist again in future years. While you're waiting, you won't go wrong by checking out the blog written by the chair of our group, Jennifer Wharton, Youth Librarian at the Jean Little Library in Wisconsin.