It's Time to Nominate!

In the world of kidlit blogging, October 1 is not only the start of Halloween season, it's also the day that nominations open for the Cybils!

So you know what to do - get on over to the Cybils website and put in your nominations before someone else does!

Guess Who's Going to be a Cybils Judge?

They've just announced the Cybils judges, and guess who's been tapped to serve as a first round panelist for Young Adult Spec Fic???? (Hint: you're reading her blog.)

This fall, I'll be joining old friends and new pals in reading our way through a stack of books as high as your head to pick out the ones that will go on to the Round Two judges. Can't wait!

The Cybils are a blogger-driven literary award, given to US-and-Canada-published children's and YA books in a whole range of categories, published within the past year (so, October 16, 2017, to October 15, 2018). They've been going since 2006 and the finalist lists are super-handy for all you teachers, librarians, parents, and kidlit-loving readers out there! Seriously, check out the finalist lists from previous years and you'll see some old friends. We've got good taste, y'all.

Nominations start October 1st, and anyone can nominate! That means you! If you've never nominated a book for the Cybils before, only one person may nominate any particular title, so gather up your favorite titles in each category and add a couple of spares in case someone else got there first.

It's Cybils Day!

Congratulations to the winners of the Cybils, released today!

I have such a long TBR list that I haven't read any of them, but I've heard amazing things about most of them, so there's that to look forward to.

Thank you to the intrepid judges and organizers who put in a mountain of work to make this happen, and don't get paid one red cent. It's amazing and I salute you.

Also there's some other holiday with chocolate and hearts happening today but that's clearly much less important.

The Cybils Are Out!

One of the things I flaked on doing in 2017 was volunteering for the Cybils. Blogging can be a lonely business, but the Cybils are one of those community events that reminds me that there are others just like me out there, who love kids' and teen books and love to talk about them and think about them.

But I didn't start this post just to talk about how  wonderful the Cybils are - even though they are wonderful, and the people who did volunteer are total superheroes.

What I really wanted to share was that they released their finalist shortlists on January 1! These are the books that made it through the first round (and let me tell you, that's a lot of nominated books) and will go on to be read, discussed, pulled apart, put back together again, and finally one will be chosen for each category and announced on February 14.

Share these lists with parents, teachers, librarians, and of course (always) with young and not-so-young readers.

Have You Nominated for the Cybils?

Nominations for the Cybils opened yesterday, so get crackin'! You can nominate for any and all categories, but check what's been nominated already because a book can only be nominated once. So have a few backups ready.

I'll be participating in Round 2 of YA this year. I'm so excited!

2015 Youth Media Awards: Newbery! Caldecott! Printz! All of the Shiny Medals!

John Newbery Medal
for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
The Crossover - Kwame Alexander
(H) El Deafo - Cece Bell
(H) Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacqueline Woodson

Randolph Caldecott Medal
for the most distinguished American picture book for children
The Adventures of Beekle: the unimaginary friend - Dan Santat
(H) Nana in the City - Lauren Castillo
(H) The Noisy Paint Box: the colors and sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art - ill. Mary GrandPre, written by Barb Rosenstock
(H) Sam and Dave Dig a Hole - ill. Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
(H) Viva Frida - Yuyi Morales
(H) The Right Word: Roget and his thesaurus - ill. Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant
(H) This One Summer - ill. Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki

Michael L. Printz Award
for excellence in literature written for young adults
I’ll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson
(H) And We Stay - Jenny Hubbard
(H) The Carnival at Bray - Jessie Ann Foley
(H) Grasshopper Jungle - Andrew Smith
(H) This One Summer - Mariko Tamaki, ill. Jillian Tamaki

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
for the most distinguished beginning reader book
You Are (not) Small - Anna Kang, ill. Christopher Weyent
(H) Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page - Cynthia Rylant, ill. Arthur Howard
(H) Waiting is Not Easy - Mo Willems

Coretta Scott King Awards
for the best book about the African-American experience
Author
Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacqueline Woodson
(H) The Crossover - Kwame Alexander
(H) How I Discovered Poetry - Marilyn Nelson, ill. Hadley Hooper
(H) How It Went Down - Kekla Magoon
Illustrator
Firebird: ballerina Misty Copeland shows a young girl how to dance like the firebird - ill. Christopher Myers, written by Misty Copeland

John Steptoe New Talent Award
When I Was the Greatest - Jason Reynolds
(H) Josephine: the Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker - Patricia Hruby Powell, ill. Christian Robinson
(H) Little Melba and Her Big Trombone - Katheryn Russell-Brown, ill. Frank Morrison

Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement
Deborah D. Taylor - Enoch Pratt Free Library

Schneider Family Book Award
for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience
Picture Book
A Boy and a Jaguar - Alan Rabinowitz, ill. Catia Chien
Middle Grade 
Rain Reign - Ann M Martin
Teen
Girls Like Us - Gail Giles

Alex Awards
for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
Bellweather Rhapsody - Kate Racculia
Bingo’s Run - James A Levine
Confessions - Kanae Minato, trans. Stephen Snyer
Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng
Lock In - John Scalzi
The Martian - Andy Weir
The Terrorist’s Son - Zak Ebrahim, w/ Jeff Giles
Those Who Wish Me Dead - Michael Koryta
Wolf in White Van - John Darnielle

Andrew Carnegie Medal
for excellence in children's video
Me … Jane - Weston Woods, based on a book by Patrick McDonnell

Margaret A. Edwards Award
for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Sharon M. Draper

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Pat Mora

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
for an outstanding children's book translated from a language other than English and subsequently published in the United States
Mikis and the Donkey - Bibi Dumon Tak, ill. Philip Hopman, trans. Laura Watkinson
Honors
Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust - Loie Dauvillier, ill. Marc Lizano, trans. Alexis Siege
Nine Open Arms - Benny Lindelauf, ill. Dasha Tolstikova, trans. John Nieuwenhuizen

Odyssey Award
best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults
H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination - Christopher Myers, narrated by Dion Graham and Christopher Myers
(H) Five, Six, Seven, Nate! - Tim Federle, narrated by same
(H) The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place - Julie Berry, narrated by Jayne Entwhistle
(H) A Snicker of Magic - Natalie Lloyd, narrated by Cassandra Morris

Pura Belpre Awards
For the best books about the Latino cultural experience
Author
I Lived on Butterfly Hill - Marjorie Agosín, ill. Lee White, trans. E.M. O'Connor
(H) Portraits of Hispanic-American Heroes - Juan Felipe Herrera, ill. Raúl Colón
Illustrator
Viva Frida - Yuyi Morales
(H) Little Roja Riding Hood - ill. Susan Middleton Elya, written by Susan Guevara
(H) Green is a Chile Pepper - ill. John Parra, written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
(H) Separate is never equal : Sylvia Mendez & her family's fight for desegregation - Duncan Tonatiuh

Robert F. Sibert Medal
for most distinguished informational book for children
The Right Word: Roget and his thesaurus - Jen Bryant, ill. Melissa Sweet
(H) Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacqueline Woodson
(H) The family Romanov : murder, rebellion & the fall of Imperial Russia - Candace Fleming
(H) Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker - Patricia Hruby Powell, ill. Christian Robinson
(H) Neighborhood sharks : hunting with the great whites of California's Farallon Islands - Katherine Roy
(H) Separate is never equal : Sylvia Mendez & her family's fight for desegregation - Duncan Tonatiuh

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award
Books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.
This Day in June - Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., ill. Kristyna Litten
(H) Beyond magenta : transgender teens speak out - Susan Kuklin
(H) I’ll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson
(H) Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress - Christine Baldacchio, ill. Isabelle Malenfant

William C. Morris Award
for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens. Finalists are announced in December.
Gabi: A Girl in Pieces - Isabel Quintero
(F) The Carnival at Bray - Jessie Ann Foley
(F) The Story of Owen, Dragonslayer of Trondheim - E.K. Johnston
(F) The Scar Boys - Len Vlahos
(F) The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender - Leslye J Walton

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. Finalists are announced in December
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek - Maya Van Wagenen
(F) Laughing at My Nightmare - Shane Burcaw
(F) The family Romanov : murder, rebellion & the fall of Imperial Russia - Candace Fleming
(F) Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman who Challenged Big Business and Won - Emily Arnold McCully
(F) The Port Chicago 50 : disaster, mutiny, and the fight for civil rights - Steve Sheinken

They're Here, They're Here!

Check out the 2014 Cybils finalists! What do you think?

Cybils Wrap-Up and Statistics

Well, round 1 is done. We've picked a shortlist, we've sent in our blurbs, and now all the round 1 panelists wait to hear the announcement, simultaneously grinning over our secret knowledge and anxious to hear from the other categories.

With all that, I thought I'd type up a few thoughts and numbers. Because I like numbers.

Books nominated in YASF - 205
Books I read before the nomination period - 21
Books I finished during the nomination period - 34
Books I didn’t finish during the nomination period - 41
Books I didn’t read but am keeping on my TBR list - 43

See, this is why we have more than one person on the judging panels.

One of the adventures of the Cybils is reading books I would otherwise never pick up. Maybe the premise didn't appeal to me. Maybe I'd overlooked them. Maybe I wasn't a fan of the author's other work so had planned on giving them a miss. For the Cybils, I read them, and stretched myself. Some of them were stellar. Some . . . were not. That's okay. I'll talk a little bit more about the stellar ones after the announcement. 

Thanks to Sheila Ruth and all my fellow Round 1 judges for the past three months. It's hard, hard work but it's also a lot of fun with people as opinionated as you guys to debate the books with. For me, talking about the books is just as much fun as reading them. In some cases, more.

Check out Cybils.com on January 1 and see the fruits of our labor. And thanks. The Cybils are a community effort, and everything that you do to support it, like nominating books, cheering us on, talking up the shortlists, and even retweeting each other, makes these prizes what they are.

Cybils Eve

Guess what!

Go on, guess!

Okay, fine, I'll tell you. Starting tomorrow through October 15, you get to nominate books for the Cybils! The world's only Children's and YA Blogger award opens its nomination period tomorrow, in thirteen categories from picture books to YA fiction, from book apps to poetry.

Anybody can nominate, and the books can be anything published in English in the US or Canada in the past year. 

Remember, each book (or app) can only be nominated by one person. So if you're going in, take at least a few faves in each category with you. 

More info here: Nominating for the Cybils.

2014 Youth Media Awards

John Newbery Medal
for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
Flora and Ulysses: the Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell
(H) Doll Bones by Holly Black
(H) The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
(H) One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
(H) Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Randolph Caldecott Medal
for the most distinguished American picture book for children
Locomotive by Brian Floca
(H) Journey by Aaron Becker
(H) Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Scharr Idle
(H) Mr Wuffles by David Wiesner

Michael L. Printz Award
for excellence in literature written for young adults
Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick
(H) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
(H) Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
(H) Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Julian Crouch
(H) Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
for the most distinguished beginning reader book
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
(H) Ball by Mary Sulllivan
(H) A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems
(H) Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes

Coretta Scott King Awards
for the best book about the African-American experience
Author
P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams Garcia
(H) March: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell
(H) Darius and Twig by Walter Dean Myers
(H) Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes
Illustrator
Knock Knock: my dad's dream for me illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Daniel Beaty
(H) Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson

John Steptoe New Talent Award (illustration)
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the creation of hip-hop illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, written by Laban Carrick Hill

Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement
Patricia and Frederick McKissack

Schneider Family Book Award
for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience
Picture Book
A Splash of Red: the life and art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Middle Grade Novel
Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell
Young Adult Novel
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Alex Awards
for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
Brewster by Mark Slouka
The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan
Help for the Haunted by John Searles
Lexicon by Max Barry
Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Mother Mother by Koren Zailckas
Relish: my life in the kitchen by Lucy Knisley
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
The Universe vs Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

Andrew Carnegie Medal
for excellence in children's video
Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Weston Woods, based on the book by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile

Margaret A. Edwards Award
for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Markus Zusack

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Brian Selznick

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
for an outstanding children's book translated from a language other than English and subsequently published in the United States
Mister Orange by Truus Matti, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson
(H) The Bathing Costume or the Worst Vacation of My Life by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, translated from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick
(H) My Father's Arms Are a Boat by Stein Erik Lunde, illustrated by Oyvid Torseter, translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson
(H) The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax illustrated by Caryl

Odyssey Award
best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults
Scowler by Daniel Kraus, narrated by Kirby Heyborne
(H) Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle, narrated by the author
(H) Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, narrated by James Naughton
(H) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, narrated by Rebecca Roman and Sunil Mahotra
(H) Matilda by Roald Dahl, narrated by Kate Winslet

Pura Belpre Awards
For the best books about the Latino cultural experience
Author
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
(H) The Living by Matt de la Pena
(H) The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's greatest abolitionist by Margarita Engle
(H) Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: a migrant's tale by Duncan Tonatiuh
Illustrator
Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales
(H) Maria Had a Little Llama/Maria Tenía Una Llamita by Angela Dominguez
(H) Tito Puente Mambo King/Rey del Mambo illustrated by Rafael Lopez, written by Monica Brown, translated into Spanish by Adriana Dominguez
(H) Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: a migrant's tale by Duncan Tonatiuh

Robert F. Sibert Medal
for most distinguished informational book for children
Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore
(H) A Splash of Red: the life and art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
(H) Look up! Bird Watching in your own backyard by Annette Cate
(H) Locomotive by Brian Floca
(H) The Mad Potter: George E Ohr, Eccentric Genius by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award
Books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
AND (!)
Fat Angie by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
(H) Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
(H) Branded by the Pink Triangle by Ken Setterington
(H) Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

William C. Morris Award
for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens. Finalists are announced in December.
Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
(F) Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian
(F) Dr Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
(F) Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
(F) In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. Finalists are announced in December
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
(F) Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd
(F) Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World War II by Martin W. Sandler
(F) Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
(F) The President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson

Cybils Book Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Book: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Published: 2012
Source: Review copy from publisher specifically for the Cybils

Chubby, pasty, and socially awkward, Greg Gaines has spent most of his high school career trying not to make waves, and finding a fair amount of success. He prides himself on being accepted by every group without ever really being part of one. He stays off the radar and out of firing range in the war that is high school. Nobody knows about his secret hobby of filmmaking except for his (for lack of a better word) best friend and co-director, the undersized and perpetually furious Earl.

Then Greg's mother tells him that Rachel Kushner has leukemia, and she wants him to spend some time with her.

Who is Rachel Kushner? Nobody, really. A girl he once sort-of-maybe-but-not-really had a thing with, in eighth grade. Their parting was drawn out, awkward, and gratefully forgotten until now. Greg bows to the unstoppable force that is his mom's nagging and revives their friendship. He's just trying to make her laugh, but he finds himself opening up to her. And whether he likes it or not, Greg Gaines is about to make tsunami-size waves.

The book really isn't about Rachel, in spite of her presence in the title. As a character, she's actually rather thin (delete tasteless Greg-style joke about thinness and chemo patients). She doesn't do much. There's not even any hint of romance. But her illness forces Greg to be a friend for the first time in his life. He has to do things that are uncomfortable to him. He has to expose his own flaws, not only to her but to others. Near the end of the book, he gets suckered into making a film about Rachel. In the past, he and Earl have made one attempt at each film and went on to the next one. They were stupid, derivative, tasteless, and pretty much senseless. This time he makes . . .

A stupid, derivative, tasteless, and pretty much senseless film. Or rather, five of them. He keeps going. He keeps trying. And while the result is astonishingly bad (I cringed just reading the bits that we get), he still worked at it, for perhaps the first time in his life.

Like most guys, Earl and Greg show their feelings by talking around them, joking about them, and downright pretending they don't exist. You have to watch carefully to see the change in Greg from someone trying to stay invisible and unhurt to someone who is reluctantly, tremulously, openly vulnerable.

I feel like this book got overlooked a lot because of its overt similarity to the much more high-profile The Fault in Our Stars. (And trust me, there will be a review of that coming. Sometime. Soon. Ish.) But they're really not the same at all. Sure, they both talk about death in teens, and how it affects other teens, but in tone and approach they couldn't be more different. This is the death/cancer book for kids who will moan and roll their eyes all the way through The Fault in Our Stars. Myself, I loved them both.

Happy Cybils Day!

Hop on over to the Cybils blog to discover the winners for this year. Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators, and many, many thanks to all the judges and organizers. This is a big job and it's all volunteer-driven.

I had a great time with my fellow judges for the YA fiction panel, and I feel awfully proud of our choice. Hope you like it as much as we did.


Also, there's some holiday about love or something. Yeah. I don't see it catching on.

Reaction Post: 2013 Newbery, Printz, and others

So what did I think of the 2013 winners?

Overall, a pretty decent year. No huge surprises, unless you count Wonder's total lack of appearance. I know a lot of people have been loving on that book, but I've been avoiding it. Now that it hasn't won anything, I don't have to read it.

The actual Newbery winner, Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan, is a book I've been hearing good things about, so I'm happy to read that.

Huzzah for Bomb getting three mentions: a Newbery Honor, a Sibert medal for nonfiction for children, and a YALSA medal for nonfiction for teens. In fact, a lot of books ended up on the same two nonfiction lists. Tasha over at Waking Brain Cells pointed out on Twitter that so much of the really good nonfic out there is for grades 6-8, which also happens to be an overlap period for the two age ranges. Hmm. Interesting to think about.

I had never heard of the Printz winner, Nick Lake's Into Darkness. That's not unusual for the Printz - in fact, this is kind of a banner year in that I've read two of the honor books (Dodger, Code Name Verity) and heard of one more (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe), leaving only one honor and the winner as unknowns.

The other big winner, besides Bomb, was Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, which carried off a Printz honor, the Pura Belpre author award, and the Stonewall award. Someone pointed out that this is the first year a book with Latino characters has won the Stonewall. Initially, I went, "The award is, what, three years old? How is that significant?" And then I researched, and I learned that while it's only been included in the ALA announcements for about three years, it's actually been around since 1971. I am humbled. And yeah, that's big. Congrats, Ben Saenz!

Finally, my personal, "EEEEE!!!" moment? Seraphina winning the Morris Award. You can see how much I loved that book.

(But Bibliovore, what about the books for younger kids?)

(I'm not ignoring those! Go over to Kid Tested, Librarian Approved for the scoop on that.)

2013 Youth Media Awards

John Newbery Medal
for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
(H) Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
(H) Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
(H) Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Randolph Caldecott Medal
for the most distinguished American picture book for children
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
(H) Creepy Carrots illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
(H) Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
(H) Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
(H) One Cool Friend illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
(H) Sleep Like a Tiger illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue

Michael L. Printz Award
for excellence in literature written for young adults
In Darkness by Nick Lake
(H) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
(H) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
(H) Dodger by Terry Pratchett
(H) The White Bicycle by Beverly A Brenna

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
for the most distinguished beginning reader book
Up! Tall! and High by Ethan Long
(H) Let's Go for a Drive by Mo Willems
(H) Pete the Cat and HIs 4 Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
(H) Rabbit and Robot: the Sleepover by Cece Bell

Coretta Scott King Awards
for the best book about the African-American experience
Author
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney
(H) Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis
(H) No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Illustrator
I, Too, Am America illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Langston Hughes
(H) H.O.R.S.E.: a game of basketball and imagination by Christopher Myers
(H) Ellen's Broom illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons
(H) I Have a Dream illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Martin Luther King Jr.

Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement
Demetria Tucker - Roanoke Public Library system

Schneider Family Book Award
for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience
Picture Book
Back to Front and Upside Down by Claire Alexander
Middle Grade Novel
A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean
Young Adult Novel
Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis

Alex Awards
for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
Juvenile In Justice by Richard Ross
Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
My Friend Dahmer by Derf
One Shot at Forever: a small town, an unlikely coach, and a magical baseball season by Chris Ballard
Pure by Juliana Baggott
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

Andrew Carnegie Medal
for excellence in children's video
Anna, Emma, and the Condors by Green Planet Films

Margaret A. Edwards Award
for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Tamora Pierce (specifically for the Song of the Lioness series and the Protector of the Small Quartet)

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Andrea Davis Pinkney

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal
for substantial and lasting contributions to literature for children
Katherine Paterson 

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
for an outstanding children's book translated from a language other than English and subsequently published in the United States
My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve, translated by Tammi Reichel
(H) A Game for Swallows: to die, to leave, to return by Zeina Abirached, translated by Edward Gauvin
(H) Son of a Gun by Anne de Graaf

Odyssey Award
best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults
The Fault in Our Stars written by John Green, read by Kate Rudd

Pura Belpre Awards
For the best books about the Latino cultural experience
Author
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
(H) The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
Illustrator
Martin de Porres: the rose in the desert illustrated by David Diaz, written by Gary D. Schmidt
Robert F. Sibert Medal
for most distinguished informational book for children
Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
(H) Electric Ben: the amazing life and times of Benjamin Franklin by Robert Byrd
(H)  Moonbird: a year on the wind with the great survivor B95 by Philip M Hoose
(H) Titanic: voices from the disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award
Books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
(H) Drama by Raina Telgemeier
(H) Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
(H) October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepherd by Leslea Newman
(H) Sparks: the epic, completely true blue, (almost) holy quest of Debbie by SJ Adams

William C. Morris Award
for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
(F) Wonder Show by Hannah Rodgers Barnaby
(F) Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
(F) After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
(F) The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.
Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
(F) Steve Jobs: the man who thought different by Karen Blumenthal
(F) Moonbird: a year on the wind with the great survivor B95 by Philip M Hoose
(F) Titanic: voices from the disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
(F) We've Got a Job: the 1963 Birmingham children's march by Cynthia Levinson

Stuff I've Missed

Mind, you haven't missed it, because there are people living in caves in the Marianas Trench who've blogged about some of this stuff. But if I don't write about this, they'll take away my kidlit blogger card.

• Cybils! On the the 1st, the Cybils finalists were announced. And because they're awesome, the Cybils team already has a printable PDF for teachers, parents, and librarians of the finalists. I'm a second-round judge for the YA category. Did you see the list that my fabulous fellow judges and I get to choose from? It has Code Name Verity AND I Hunt Killers. Seriously, guys, this is gonna be hard.
• Comment Challenge! It starts today, y'all. MotherReader and Lee Wind are running their famous Comment Challenge once again, because they're awesome like that. Never done it before? It works like this: Sign up. Pledge to comment at least 5 comments a day for 21 days, from 1/11 to 1/31. (That is so 21 days. Shup.) Watch as other people visit your blog and comment too. Sound good? Hop over to Lee's blog to sign up.
• ALA Youth Media awards! Otherwise known as the Newbery, the Caldecott, and an increasing boatload of others. They're still a little over two weeks away, (January 28th), which means the kidlit community is progressing through the frothing-at-the-mouth stage of speculation on the winners and headed full tilt toward the uncontrollable twitches and vague death threats. (Probable actual quote: "If Wonder doesn't win something, I will BURN THINGS.") Me? I have no opinions. No, honestly. I'm still reading stuff from 2011, guys. I have no idea. I haven't even read Wonder. I just get up for the webcast at ridiculous hours of the morning for the Twitter party.

Okay, that's enough. Over and out, folks. Over and out.

2012 Cybils News!

I have been doing a secret happy dance for a week. Why, you ask?

Do you need a reason to do a happy dance?

Well, in this case, I actually had a reason, and that reason is because I got asked to be a Round 2 Judge for the YA category! I'm awfully excited about this. Can you tell?

I'll be judging with these other magnificent bloggers:

Maureen Eichner
By Singing Light
@elvenjaneite
Adrianne Russell
The Writer's Republic
@writersrepublic
Michelle Castleman
The Hungry Readers
@ShelTheProf
Jessica Silverstein
Reading on the F Train
@SilversteinELA

Congrats to all the other judges and the other panels. It's always a fun time, working on the Cybils. 

Nomination period opens up, as always, on October 1 and run to the 15th of that month. Follow the Cybils blog for the latest!

2012 ALA Youth Media Awards

John Newbery Medal
for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
(H) Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
(H) Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Randolph Caldecott Medal
for the most distinguished American picture book for children
A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka
(H) Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
(H) Blackout by John Rocco
(H) Me . . . Jane by Patrick McDonnell

Michael L. Printz Award
for excellence in literature written for young adults
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
(H) Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
(H) The Returning by Christine Hinwood
(H) Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
(H) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Coretta Scott King Awards
for the best book about the African-American experience
Author
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
(H) The Great Migration: Journey to the North by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
(H) Never Forgotten by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Illustrator
Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom by Shane W. Evans
(H) Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement
Ashley Bryan

Schneider Family Book Award
for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience

Picture Book
No winner selected this year

Middle Grade Novel
Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Young Adult Novel
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Alex Awards
for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin
In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard
The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithin
The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens by Brooke Hauser
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Robopocalypse: A Novel by Daniel H. Wilson
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures by Caroline Preston
The Talk-Funny Girl by Roland Merullo

Andrew Carnegie Medal
for excellence in children's video
Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producers of “Children Make Terrible Pets"

Margaret A. Edwards Award
for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Susan Cooper, for her The Dark is Rising sequence

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Michael Morpurgo

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
for an outstanding children's book translated from a language other than English and subsequently published in the United States
Soldier Bear by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson
(H) The Lily Pond by Annika Thor and translated from the Swedish by Linda Schenck

Odyssey Award
best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults
Rotters by Daniel Kraus and narrated by Kirby Heyborne.
(H) Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri and narrated by JD Jackson
(H) Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt and narrated by Lincoln Hoppe
(H) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater and narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham
(H) Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt and narrated by Wendy Carter

Pura Belpre Awards
For the best books about the Latino cultural experience

Author
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
(H) Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle
(H) Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller by Xavier Garza

Illustrator
Diego Rivera: His World and Ours illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, written by Duncan Tonatiuh
(H) The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred illustrated by Rafael López, written by Samantha R. Vamos
(H) Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match /Marisol McDonald no combina illustrated by Sara Palacios, written by Monica Brown

Robert F. Sibert Medal
for most distinguished informational book for children
Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet
(H) Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor by Larry Dane Brimner
(H) Drawing from Memory by Allen Say
(H) The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O’Connell and Donna M. Jackson, photographs by Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell
(H) Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award
Books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.
Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright
(H) a + e 4ever by Ilike Merey
(H) Money Boy by Paul Yee
(H) Pink by Lili Wilkinson
(H) with or without you by Brian Farrey

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
for the most distinguished beginning reader book
Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider
(H) I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems
(H) I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
(H) See Me Run by Paul Meisel

William C. Morris Award
for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
(H) The Girl of Fire and Thorns Rae Carson
(H) Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard
(H) Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
(H) Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin
(H) Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and Science by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
(H) Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition by Karen Blumenthal
(H) Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy
(H) Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein by Susan Goldman Rubin

Phew!!!!

Congratulations to all the winners and honorees. Now to work on my reaction post. It was a surprising year in some ways. Tune in tomorrow.

Awards Eve!

Just in case y'all didn't know, the ALA Youth Media awards will be announced tomorrow morning, at 7:45 Central time. If that sentence made you go, "Huh?" these awards are like the Oscars for kidlit, with the big kahunas being the Newbery and Caldecott awards.

Like most of us, I can't be in Dallas for the fun in person, but you can bet I'll be watching the live webcast, joining in the Twitter party (hashtag: #alayma), and generally geeking out in a way that would be embarassing except all the cool people are gonna be geeking out too.

Watch this space tomorrow for a full list of the winners.

The Battle is On!

Now that the ALA awards have all been awarded, and reacted to, it's time for another bit of annual kidlit tomfoolery. SLJ's Battle of the Kids Books is on for 2011.

May the best book win!

And What Did I Think?

Well. I'll tell you.

I had a little easier time writing the post on the picture books over at Kid Tested, Librarian Approved, because I'd read a larger proportion of the books. When it comes to YA and MG novels, however, I'm still working through books I added to my list in 2009, so I have to largely base my reactions on what I've heard of and what I've heard about it.

Yay!
I've been jonesing to read After Ever After since I heard that Sonnenblick was writing a follow-up to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. I haven't yet, but knowing that it got the Schneider Family book award makes me hopeful that my library will order it soon.

Y'all, Sir Terry Pratchett for the Margaret A. Edwards award! I've always said that Pratchett is a natural for teen readers, even his Discworld stuff, because it looks at the world and says, "Y'know, this is really sort of silly. And stupid. Let's mock that. A lot." See? Totally teen. His work goes beyond mere nasty-minded parody, however, by asking readers to consider The Big Questions, and respecting their capacity to do so. Teeeeeeen!

The Sibert medal winners made me all kinds of happy. First, how about some love for Scientists in the Field? Well-deserved. I always tell people about this series, not just kids but parents, teachers, and fellow librarians. And then Ballet for Martha! It was surprisingly absorbing for such an unusual subject and in fact I named it a standout the month that I read it - for illustration, I think.

And Will Grayson, Will Grayson isn't exactly love-starved, especially in the kidlitosphere, but it still made me happy to see it on the Stonewall list. 

Huh?
I think I'm not alone in my giant, "Whuh?" when the Newbery was announced. I'd never even heard of Moon Over Manifest, which looks like one of those quiet and thoughtful books that tends to slip through the cracks unless a big shiny medal holds it up. I'm looking forward to reading it and seeing if I agree with the committee.

I feel like a bad person saying it, but I could not get into The Freak Observer. It was well-written, I'll give it that, so the Morris award was deserved. But my reaction was more on the lines of, "Oh, I can see that," than "Joy! JOY!!!"

Hey!
First in the "Hey!" category: where was Sharon Draper's magnificent Out of My Mind? No Schneider award, no Newbery or honor. It was off the radar. Wha? Not even a nod from the Coretta Scott Kings, although because the main character's race is never specified, I can see how that would have been left off.

I also would have liked to see a pretty sticker for Finnikin of the Rock. As the Printzes don't require American citizenship, Marchetta's novel still would have been eligible. Ah well.

But the biggest "Hey!" of this awards season was the winners getting bumped from the Today show. Wha? You know what, Today show, when you run a story about how American children aren't reading anymore, we librarians have our response all ready for you.