Today's featured review comes from our new NFPB category organizer, Jennifer Wharton, who blogs at Jean Little Library. You can read all about her in her Cybils bio, but I'll still provide you with a Fun Fact: She also keeps a blog called Storytime Extras, where she posts all the fun songs and activities she uses during library storytime.

Since it's the fall season--and, Happy Halloween, by the way!--it seemed appropriate to post a review of a book about leaves. Earlier in the year, Jennifer reviewed NFPB nominee A Leaf Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas (herself a Cybils veteran judge, who blogs at writing the world for kids) and illustrated by Violeta Dabija. In her review, she said:

Laura Salas' poem of the many uses and beauties of a tree is illuminated by Dabija's softly glowing pastels.The poem drifts through the many functions of leaves, from shelter for animals to collecting sunlight, producing food to becoming food.

Read the full review here.

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Amelia Yunker of Challenging the Bookworm provides our featured review for the day. Amelia is actually a Round 2 judge for MG Fantasy and Sci-Fi, but as the Head of Children's and Young Adult Services at a library, she reads widely and blogs about everything from children's books to young adult literature and grown-up books. Fun fact: her blog tags books by page length, to make it easier for people (like student readers) searching for books that satisfy a particular requirement.

One of the books Amelia reviewed recently was a nominee for MG and YA Nonfiction, The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World by Mary Losure. A story about tricksy unseen spirits seems appropriate to Halloween week, and this one tells readers the true tale of two Victorian girls who took pictures of fairies. In her review, Amelia says:

Nonfiction typically doesn’t leave questions, but this book does. There’s still a mysterious quality about fairies and their existence that I think the author intentionally attempts to leave open-ended.

Click here to read the full review.

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Today's featured review comes from Ali Breidenstein, a Round 1 Judge for Middle Grade Fiction who posts at Literary Lunchbox. She reviews a wide range of books from picture books through young adult novels, as well as participating in various blog challenges. Fun fact: One of her favorite books is Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Another book she enjoyed was MG Fiction Cybils nominee The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani. When you're half-Indian and half-Jewish, and you have to start all over again at a new school, and you're in MIDDLE SCHOOL on top of it all, life gets pretty complicated. In Ali's review, she says:

 In her debut MG book, Veera Hiranandani skillfully captures the social dynamics of middle school.  Reading her book transported me back to my own adolescence - some of it good and some of it bad.

Click here to read the full review.

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Debra Touchette, a Round 1 Judge for Graphic Novels this year, is a blogger not only at her own blog, (Library Lass) Adventures in Reading, but also at the group blog Guys Lit Wire. She's got a Master's in Literature and is an apprentice librarian. Fun fact: Although she can now command words the way a mighty goddess commands planets and stars, she has limited zombie apocalypse survival skills.

Recently, she reviewed a nominee in the category of Teen Graphic Novels: Drama by Raina Telgemeier, whose previous book Smile was a 2010 Cybils finalist for MG Graphics. This latest volume is not autobiographical, instead following protagonist Callie's adventures with her friends as they prepare for a play. Debra says:

So many books about middle school and high school focus intensely on the romance aspect of adolescence, but really, there's a lot more going on for kids, and I really liked how this book struck a nice balance in Callie's interests.

Read the full review here.

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Today's featured reviewer is Cathy Potter, who is a Round 1 Book Apps judge. She blogs at The Nonfiction Detectives, where she and her co-blogger (also a Cybils judge this year) review, of course, nonfiction for readers aged 5-18. Fun fact: Cathy reviews book apps for School Library Journal, which is where today's review is from.

The Barefoot World Atlas from Touch Press is an interactive version of the print edition of this book, complete with illustrations, animations, and information about each country in the world, and is sure to appeal to both younger and older readers. In her review for SLJ, Cathy said:

This stunning title takes full advantage of the iPad’s interactive capabilities. Upon opening the application, an illustrated, 3-D globe appears. Mountains, oceans, lakes, and forests are painted onto the Earth’s surface in a range of bright colors. A swipe to the screen spins and tilts the globe, with a pinch and a pull, viewers zoom in for a closer look.

Click here to read the full review.

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Here they are--the fast facts about this year's Cybils nominating period!

• From October 1-15, book-loving bloggers and members of the public nominated a whopping 1074 eligible books across all categories of the Cybils.
• The category with the most books overall is, not surprisingly, Fantasy and Science Fiction, with a total of 287 books--122 in Middle Grade SFF and 165 in Teen SFF. Next comes Fiction Picture Books with 167 nominees, and Young Adult fiction with 147.
• For the first time this year, we'll be working with publishers, publicists and authors during a separate nominating window, over the next week or two. For the full skinny on how the process works, check our FAQs.

If you want to peruse the lists of nominations, here they are all in once place for your browsing convenience:

Book Apps
Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade Fiction
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Non-Fiction: Middle Grade & Young Adult
Poetry
Young Adult Fiction

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Our review for the day comes from Cybils veteran panelist Travis Jonker, who blogs at 100 Scope Notes. An elementary school librarian and School Library Journal reviewer, Travis has been reviewing books at his blog for the past 5 years and has participated in Cybils for several of those. This year he's a Round 1 judge for Fiction Picture Books. Fun Fact: He has a whole section of his site devoted to Book Covers, and he also does Toon Reviews.

His review of Fiction Picture Books nominee Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is traditional rather than toon, but he discusses the content, structure, and artwork of the book in some detail. In his review, Travis says:

Dramatic, reflective, and playful, this is a concept book that works on multiple levels, and succeeds at all of them....Although it debuted in the spring, this is a book for the whole year.

Click here to read the full review.

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This year, our own Charlotte Taylor, MG SFF Round 1 judge and blogger at Charlotte's Library, wrote up a post with five reasons why people should nominate books for the Cybils. Though the nominations period has ended, we still think Charlotte's list is noteworthy--and not only that, these are five excellent reasons to love and support the Cybils, not just through nominations, but throughout the year. (If you should find yourself so moved, you can support us in monetary fashion, too...)

Anyway, all sneaky-begging-for-money aside, you should love the Cybils because you'll:

1. have your good taste vindicated when the book you nominated makes it to the short list with your name and link next to it, and you will have lots of blog visitors as a result.

2. Be telling a much loved author you love her or his book

3. Be thanking the publisher of a book you love

4. Be ensuring that the book is read by up to seven bloggers, who might well love it too and spread the word on their blogs

5. Be sending a message to anyone who cares about children's book awards that we who are part of the children's and YA blog community, as writers of blogs or readers of blogs or both, are incredibly passionate about great books for young readers! And you'll be contributing to a really great resource--the Cybils shortlists are truly fantastic.

Thanks so much, Charlotte! Because the Cybils is a volunteer effort, it is truly what we make of it, and it's ongoing enthusiasm and participation like yours that keeps it all going.

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You've been busy nominating your favorites...now you can share them with teen readers who are hungry for books! The blog Guys Lit Wire, who has supplied us with a range of panelists past and present (including, full disclosure, yours truly, who is the webmaster over there), is putting on another Book Fair for Ballou High School.

According to Colleen Mondor, GLW's founder, budget cuts in DC mean that libraries are suffering again, and Ballou HS still has a ways to go before their library reaches the ALA standard of 11 books per student. So, for the next 2 weeks, GLW is holding a virtual book fair, with a huge list of amazing reads that you can buy and send directly to Ballou's librarian via Powells.com.

Go read more about it here, check out the great photos of their slowly-growing library, and donate!

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Hey, everyone! Don't forget it's Banned Books Week. This year, there's a national "read-out" on YouTube, featuring videos of supporters reading from favorite banned and challenged books, and talking about their experiences. Read more about it here, and check out the videos here.

Also, our NFMGYA chair, Gina Ruiz, just let us know that the group of Latina mom bloggers known as the Mamiverse also has a really cool reading event going this month. In conjunction with launching a new book channel called Mamiverse Books, they're also launching Mamiverse Reads: "an online pledge drive that commits parents to making reading and books a life-long priority."

About their new books channel, the press release says: "This is the first non-trade oriented, digital resource for Latino parents that want to foster in their children a love of reading, using books that reflect the U.S. Latino experience."

Cheers to having more sites that encourage kids to read, and promote diversity in reading! We at the Cybils can get behind that.

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Hello, book lovers! The nominations process is speeding along--after a day or two we worked out most of the kinks in the new nomination form, and people have been coming by and letting us know their favorite titles.

BUT--there are still a few categories that need some love (particularly NFMGYA, Poetry, NFPB, and Book Apps), and plenty of great books that deserve nomination. A few of our panelists have created wish lists, too, with specific titles, so if you're stumped about what to nominate, please go check out their suggestions! Here they are:

• Our NFPB chair, Jennifer, has some suggestions in each category over on her blog, Jean Little Library
• Round 1 SFF MG panelist Charlotte Taylor of Charlotte's Library has lists of books from the end of 2011 and books from early 2012 that are Cybils-worthy in her category
• Jen Fukuyama of Perogies & Gyoza (LOVE that blog title), a Round 2 NFPB panelist, has some Fiction Picture Book suggestions for you

If you've got Cybils nomination suggestions, too, please feel free to post a link in the comments below! And keep up the great nominating work.

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

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There are a lot of ways you can show your love for Cybils, from volunteering to helping spread the word via your own blogs and Twitter and such. But one thing we always need more of is MONEY. (Don't we all??)

With Cybils, any money we raise goes straight to absolutely vital costs like buying nice commemorative prizes for our winning authors and illustrators, printing out bookmarks, and mailing stuff out. We always seem to be a bit needy, though, so--here are 4 ways you can help.

• You can always donate directly, and we really, really appreciate it! See that "donate" button on the top of the right sidebar? You could click it. We'd like that.
• You can take out an ad on our blog. To the left of the Donate button, also in the sidebar, is a clickable link that says "advertise with Cybils." If you have a book you'd like to promote, or if you're a publisher who wants to reach an audience of passionate booklovers, Blogads will set you up.
• You can buy Cybils bling. That's right, we have a wide range of items at Cafepress with the nifty Cybils logo on them--t-shirts, tote bags, mugs, and more. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Cybils prize fund.
• Last but not least, you can buy stuff on Amazon through our affiliate link. Every time you click on the Amazon link for a book in one of our posts, it'll take you to Amazon through our affiliate page, and ANYTHING you buy--books, TVs, private islands, whatever--we'll get a dribble of income. Bigger dribble if you buy a private island, of course. So please keep us in mind when you start your holiday shopping!

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

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Still wondering what to nominate? There are a lot of Cybils-worthy books out there, and we've got a few more lists for you from panelists who'd love to see them nominated:

• Amy Uptain, a round 2 judge for nonfiction picture books, has listed some favorite picture books from this past year (fiction and non) at her blog, Hope Is the Word. (Bonus: she also hosts the Armchair Cybils! How cool is that??)
• Round 1 MG fiction judge and Cybils regular Andi Sibley has some great titles she'd love to see nominated--check out her post on a wrung sponge.
• Aurora Celeste of the YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog has a short list of not-yet-nominated titles in that category--she's one of our round 1 panelists in teen SFF.
• Last but not least, Book Apps really needs your help! Mary Ann Scheuer, the category chair, has posted an excellent roundup of truly amazing-looking book apps over at her blog, Great Kid Books. 

Those of you (like, ahem, myself) who are waiting until later in the process to nominate titles that might have been missed--be aware that there is only a handful of days left!

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Yep, we've got a few more lists from panelists who are saying please, PLEASE don't miss these great books when you go to nominate. There are definitely some in here that I'm surprised haven't been nominated yet, so if you've been waiting around for those worthy not-yet-nommed titles, here's what you've been waiting for.

• Karen Jensen, a Round 1 SFF judge over at Teen Librarian's Toolbox, has a wishlist that includes book 3 of 2o1o Cybils winner Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry--not yet nominated! (As of her post, anyway.)
• We've got app wish lists--BOY, have we got app wish lists! There's a 4-part series over at Digital Media Diet (put up by Round 1 Book Apps judge Carissa Kluver) here, here, here, and here, and Paula Willey over at Pink Me has a list here (which has some amazing math and science titles on it).
• There are more SFF books to be nominated, too! Check out the list from Round 1 teen SFF panelist Kim Baccellia and one more list from Charlotte Taylor (including a title from Artemis Fowl creator Eoin Colfer!).

Me, I always wait until the last day or so, and then I try to pop in some of these neglected titles that are either books I've personally loved or that someone else has serious book lust for. It's especially helpful in categories I don't have as much experience with, like book apps (sigh...one day I'll get an iPad...) or poetry. So if you're like me, you'll want to take a gander at these lists. Also, check out our previous list posts here and here.

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...well, really, three-plus, since there's still the rest of today. But my point is, there's not much time left to nominate a book for the Cybils. So check out our posts from the last few days, find some favorite Cybils-worthy titles that haven't yet been nominated, and GO!

Join us next week when we start on our regular blog posting schedule, which means we'll be posting a book review excerpt from one of our fabulous volunteer panelists every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It's a great way to add to your holiday book wish list (you know you have one!) and it'll help you discover some excellent new blogs. So visit often!

*If you're a publisher, author, or publicist, you'll have a short window to submit books after the public nominations end. PLEASE CONTACT sruth@wandsandworlds.com to make sure you're on the list to receive information.

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You've only got today and tomorrow if you want to nominate a Cybils title as a member of the public--please check out our official nominations post for all the information and links you need. There will be a short period of time after public nominations close while we process nominations from publishers and authors, after which the real work begins! 

For now, though, if you haven't nominated yet, go do it soon, and keep checking the Cybils blog for occasional updates along with great reviews from our volunteer judges.

Oh, and thanks for your participation--we wouldn't have a Cybils without everyone's enthusiasm and willingness to share their favorite books each year!

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Our first panelist review of this year's Cybils comes from Round 1 Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books judge Katie Fitzgerald. Katie is a children's librarian and aspiring writer who posts book reviews, themed book lists, and more at Secrets & Sharing Soda. Fun fact: her blog name comes from a line in a Joni Mitchell song.

Earlier this year, Katie reviewed Cybils Easy Reader nominee Mittens at School (My First I Can Read) by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Susan Kathleen Hartung. Mittens, of course, is a cat who goes to school with his owner for show and tell and ends up wreaking havoc. In her review, Katie says: 

The best thing about the text is its use of onomatopoeia. When Mittens counts the beads on an abacus, the sound is written as “Clink clink clink.” Then there is the “plink plink plink” of the piano keys beneath his paws, and the “flip flip flip” of the pages in a book.

Click here to visit her blog and read the full review.

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Thanks for joining us and nominating your favorite books for the 2012 Cybils! We've got hundreds of nominees that we're still sorting through behind the scenes, and our hardworking Round 1 panelists have already gotten started reading and evaluating.

If you're worried about having nominated a book in the wrong category -- fear not. We'll figure out where it's supposed to go. As long as it was nominated by midnight last night and otherwise meets our eligibility requirements, it's a go.

ATTN: PUBLISHERS--the publisher submission window is October 16-26. You'll be hearing from Sheila Ruth, our publisher liaison, by the end of the week if you are in our contact database. If you haven't received any email from us yet this year, you are probably not in our database; please email Sheila at sruth@wandsandworlds.com to be added.

And, everyone, please keep visiting our blog this season for reviews of nominated titles (our first review was posted yesterday), updates on the contest, and other goodies.

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

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Today's review comes courtesy of Aurora Celeste, a Round 1 panelist for Teen Fantasy and Science Fiction. Appropriately, she blogs at the Young Adult Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, where she reviews a wide range of titles in the genre. Fun Fact: Aurora is an active and award-winning costumer, whose passion is reproducing costumes--mostly sci-fi and fantasy movies and tv shows, as well as anime and manga.

One of her fantasy reviews was Bitterblue, the third book in Kristin Cashore's Graceling trilogy. In Bitterblue, a young queen must overcome the legacy of her father's brutal rule in order to come into her own. About the book, Aurora says:

I enjoyed it from front to back, and even though it was a long time coming it was totally worth the wait! Bitterblue is definitely different from Fire and Graceling, though. Where Fire and Katsa are active participants in the book, fighting for a place, Bitterblue has been handed a place she doesn’t know what to do with.

Read the full review at Aurora's blog.

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