Look in the sidebar right next to this column. Scroll down just below the ads and genre list. What do you see?

Our new widget!

Yes, you too can have this glamorous widget for your website or blog. It shows off a different nominated title whenever you refresh the page -- though you can customize it to show just your favorite genres. 

It comes already loaded with our Amazon affiliate ID and you can customize the colors too.

Many, many thanks to Tracy Grand at JacketFlap once again for our fabulous widget.

--Anne

The Jean Little Library is the personal library of Jennifer Wharton, a youth services librarian at a small public library in Wisconsin. Jennifer is one of our panelists this year for Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books, and she blogs not only at Check It Out @MML but also provides insightful book reviews and other helpful resources via her blog for the Jean Little Library.

Recently, Jennifer reviewed Cybils nominee Alice's Shooting Star, the latest in a series by Tim Kennemore following the tribulations and adventures of middle child Alice. This latest volume shows Alice dealing with her imaginative little sister, Rosie, and figuring out where she herself fits into her family. More than that, it's just plain funny:

From Rosie's insane stories, to Oliver's ridiculous sulks, to the final laugh-out-loud catastrophe, this book will keep the reader giggling all the way through.

Read the first line and take a closer look at the book here.

The Jean Little Library is the personal library of Jennifer Wharton, a youth services librarian at a small public library in Wisconsin. Jennifer is one of our panelists this year for Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books, and she blogs not only at Check It Out @MML but also provides insightful book reviews and other helpful resources via her blog for the Jean Little Library.

Recently, Jennifer reviewed Cybils nominee Alice's Shooting Star, the latest in a series by Tim Kennemore following the tribulations and adventures of middle child Alice. This latest volume shows Alice dealing with her imaginative little sister, Rosie, and figuring out where she herself fits into her family. More than that, it's just plain funny:

From Rosie's insane stories, to Oliver's ridiculous sulks, to the final laugh-out-loud catastrophe, this book will keep the reader giggling all the way through.

Read the first line and take a closer look at the book here.

The National Book Award winners were announced tonight, and we were proud as could be to see that one of our Cybils nominees for MG/YA Non-Fiction, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose, was the winner for Young People's Literature.

Colvin herself--who was jailed as a teenager in 1955 for not giving up her seat to a white woman on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks took her stand--was there along with Hoose as he accepted the award, Reuters reported.

We're also proud to say that the other NBA finalists (check out the full list here) have been nominated for the Cybils, and that one of our past award winners--Gene Luen Yang, for Graphic Novels--was on the judging team this year. Congrats to all of the finalists and to the winner!

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

The National Book Award winners were announced tonight, and we were proud as could be to see that one of our Cybils nominees for MG/YA Non-Fiction, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose, was the winner for Young People's Literature.

Colvin herself--who was jailed as a teenager in 1955 for not giving up her seat to a white woman on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks took her stand--was there along with Hoose as he accepted the award, Reuters reported.

We're also proud to say that the other NBA finalists (check out the full list here) have been nominated for the Cybils, and that one of our past award winners--Gene Luen Yang, for Graphic Novels--was on the judging team this year. Congrats to all of the finalists and to the winner!

--Sarah Stevenson, blog editor

Sarah Woodard of Sarah's Random Musings is our featured blogger for today, and if you're a fan of YA book reviews and interviews with authors, you'll definitely want to cruise by her virtual home. Sarah is an aspiring writer and high school student in Washington State, and some of her favorite YA authors include John Green, Meg Cabot, and Melina Marchetta.

Another of Sarah's favorites is Sarah Dessen, author of Cybils YA nominee Along for the Ride. Narrator Auden is spending the summer with her father and stepfamily, but is still dealing with the ramifications of her parents' divorce and the fact that she'll be starting college in the fall. Dessen tackles these themes with her usual delicacy and heart. Says Sarah Woodard:

One of the best thing about her novels are the lively characters. Auden is looking for the approval of her parents and has missed out on her childhood because of this.

Click here for the full review.

Sarah Woodard of Sarah's Random Musings is our featured blogger for today, and if you're a fan of YA book reviews and interviews with authors, you'll definitely want to cruise by her virtual home. Sarah is an aspiring writer and high school student in Washington State, and some of her favorite YA authors include John Green, Meg Cabot, and Melina Marchetta.

Another of Sarah's favorites is Sarah Dessen, author of Cybils YA nominee Along for the Ride. Narrator Auden is spending the summer with her father and stepfamily, but is still dealing with the ramifications of her parents' divorce and the fact that she'll be starting college in the fall. Dessen tackles these themes with her usual delicacy and heart. Says Sarah Woodard:

One of the best thing about her novels are the lively characters. Auden is looking for the approval of her parents and has missed out on her childhood because of this.

Click here for the full review.

Jone MacCulloch is our Non-Fiction Picture Books category organizer this year, and at her blog Check It Out, she looks at books from the perspective of a K-5 school library media specialist and teacher. What's more, she's a regular participant in Poetry Friday.

During Poetry Friday last week, Jone took a look at category-busting Cybils nominee Where Else in the Wild? by David M. Schwarz, Yael Schy and Dwight Kuhn. It's a nominee in NFPB, but it combines the poetry form with fabulous non-fiction facts about creatures and delightful photography. Jone says:

The photos are stunning, the poems fun, and the facts informative. Put them all together and readers of all ages will be coming back again and again.

Read some excerpts and the full review here.

Jone MacCulloch is our Non-Fiction Picture Books category organizer this year, and at her blog Check It Out, she looks at books from the perspective of a K-5 school library media specialist and teacher. What's more, she's a regular participant in Poetry Friday.

During Poetry Friday last week, Jone took a look at category-busting Cybils nominee Where Else in the Wild? by David M. Schwarz, Yael Schy and Dwight Kuhn. It's a nominee in NFPB, but it combines the poetry form with fabulous non-fiction facts about creatures and delightful photography. Jone says:

The photos are stunning, the poems fun, and the facts informative. Put them all together and readers of all ages will be coming back again and again.

Read some excerpts and the full review here.

Kelly Fineman, this year's (and last year's!) Poetry category organizer, brings us today's featured review on her blog Writing and Ruminating. Kelly herself is a poet, and you'll frequently see her participating in Poetry Friday as well as writing about children's poetry and other books.

Over the summer, she reviewed a book by one of our 2008 poetry panelists (who's also a frequent participant in Poetry Friday and other kidlitosphere poetry activities), Laura Purdie Salas' Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School, illustrated by Steven Salerno. Poems about individual children and groups of children at school bring out the "animal" side of going to class and interacting with other kids. Kelly says:

Laura's work is clever, creative and playful. It includes poems about groups of children (e.g., "Swarm", which likens the buzz of conversation to a swarm of bees or "Stampede", which compares the thundering of kids heading for the exit at day's end to a herd of elephants) as well as poems about individuals - usually in uncomfortable situations that most kids can relate to.

Click here for the full review.

Kelly Fineman, this year's (and last year's!) Poetry category organizer, brings us today's featured review on her blog Writing and Ruminating. Kelly herself is a poet, and you'll frequently see her participating in Poetry Friday as well as writing about children's poetry and other books.

Over the summer, she reviewed a book by one of our 2008 poetry panelists (who's also a frequent participant in Poetry Friday and other kidlitosphere poetry activities), Laura Purdie Salas' Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School, illustrated by Steven Salerno. Poems about individual children and groups of children at school bring out the "animal" side of going to class and interacting with other kids. Kelly says:

Laura's work is clever, creative and playful. It includes poems about groups of children (e.g., "Swarm", which likens the buzz of conversation to a swarm of bees or "Stampede", which compares the thundering of kids heading for the exit at day's end to a herd of elephants) as well as poems about individuals - usually in uncomfortable situations that most kids can relate to.

Click here for the full review.

Folks, give a nice shout-out or two for our next NaNoWriMo blurber:

The Beast by Samantha Wheat

For a hundred years Daniel has searched for a dream seer that will allow him to find the soul of his beloved. When Daniel finds a dream seer in the form of a teenage girl he believes his searching is over, until he begins to obsess over the dream seer.

Don't forget to submit your own blurb.

Folks, give a nice shout-out or two for our next NaNoWriMo blurber:

The Beast by Samantha Wheat

For a hundred years Daniel has searched for a dream seer that will allow him to find the soul of his beloved. When Daniel finds a dream seer in the form of a teenage girl he believes his searching is over, until he begins to obsess over the dream seer.

Don't forget to submit your own blurb.

Franki Sibberson is a teacher, author, and co-blogger (with Mary Lee Hahn) at A Year of Reading. Franki and Mary Lee are both familiar faces at the Cybils, and this year Franki is part of our wonderfully experienced panel of Round I judges for Non-Fiction Picture Books.

Recently, Franki reviewed Cybils nominee 14 Cows for America, written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. This picture book about a gift from the Maasai people to the citizens of America in the wake of the 9/11 disaster exemplifies the themes of empathy and generosity. Franki had a chance to speak with the illustrator about his work, and found out the following:

Tom said that for him this story is about far more than just 9/11. This story says that no matter how powerful you are, unexpected circumstances can come out of nowhere and totally change everything...and that help often comes from people you don't know. For Tom, this book is about the connectedness of all people.

Read the rest of the review and learn more about the illustrator here.

Franki Sibberson is a teacher, author, and co-blogger (with Mary Lee Hahn) at A Year of Reading. Franki and Mary Lee are both familiar faces at the Cybils, and this year Franki is part of our wonderfully experienced panel of Round I judges for Non-Fiction Picture Books.

Recently, Franki reviewed Cybils nominee 14 Cows for America, written by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. This picture book about a gift from the Maasai people to the citizens of America in the wake of the 9/11 disaster exemplifies the themes of empathy and generosity. Franki had a chance to speak with the illustrator about his work, and found out the following:

Tom said that for him this story is about far more than just 9/11. This story says that no matter how powerful you are, unexpected circumstances can come out of nowhere and totally change everything...and that help often comes from people you don't know. For Tom, this book is about the connectedness of all people.

Read the rest of the review and learn more about the illustrator here.

In my role as Publisher Liaison, my job is to notify publishers about their Cybils nominees, finalists, and winners, to answer any questions and concerns from publishers, and to coordinate review copies from those publishers that can provide them. It's a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding to be able to give good news to publishers and experience their reaction firsthand.

Here are a few posts from publishers happy about their nominated titles, and sharing the love with the wonderful authors and illustrators of the nominees.

Listing their ten Cybils nominees, Charlesbridge posts, "The Cybils are awesome and they like us. They really, really like us."

Tundra books congratulates the authors of their two nominated titles, with a shout out to the nominators.

Blooming Tree Press and CBAY Books offer "A big congratulations to our Cybils Award nominees!"

On behalf of the panelists who are working hard to read through all the nominated books, I'd like to express our gratitude to the following publishers (and their imprints) who are providing review copies in some form. 

Abrams for Young Readers
Albert Whitman & Company
Automatic Pictures
Big Tent Books
Bloomsbury USA
Candlewick Press
Charlesbridge
Childrens Brains are Yummy Books
Chiron
Chronicle Books
Crossway Books
Curbstone Press
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Egmont USA
Frances Lincoln Childrens Books
Groundwood Books
Holiday House
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hyperion
Imaajinn This
Jabberwocky/Sourcebooks
Kids Can Press, Ltd
Kingfisher
Lands Atlantic Publishing, LLC
Lee & Low Books, Inc.
Lerner Publishing Group
Little, Brown
Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books
Milkweed Editions
Mirror Publishing
Mushroom Hollow Press
National Geographic Children's Books
O Books
Oni Press
Orca Books
Peachtree
Penguin USA
Prairie Star Publishing
Puffin UK
Random House Children's Books
Raven Tree Press
Revell
Rodrigues-Peters
Running Press Kids
Saffron Press
Scholastic
Seven Footer Press
Shadow Mountain
Shamwari
Shen's Books
Shenanigan Books
Simon & Schuster
Sleeping Bear Press
SLG Publishing
Sterling Publishing
Studio Foglio
Sylvan Dell Publishing
Tachyon Publications
Tanglewood Press
The Wild Rose Press
tiger tales
Tilbury House
TopShelf
VIZ Media, LLC
WestSide Books
Wire Rim Books
Zumaya Thresholds

And also to the following authors who provided books:

• Heidi Thomas
• Karen Okagaki

A tip of the hat to all of you for making our panelists' job easier!

Providing review copies is not necessary for a book to be considered. Panelists will do everything they can to find all nominees in the library and through ILL, when review copies aren't available. And although we don't ask panelists to purchase the nominees, some dedicated panelists have bought their own copies of nominees that they couldn't find elsewhere, in order to give those books fair consideration. 

Finally, I'd like to thank the publishers, authors, and illustrators of all the nominated books for helping to create such great books for children and teens!

If I missed anyone, please let me know in the comments below or by emailing me at sruth (at) wandsandworlds (dot) com.

Sheila Ruth

Hey all, we have a new blurb, this one from Kelly Jensen. Remember, these are 50-word pitches for a YA NaNoWriMo manuscript. 

The Acres, by Kelly Jensen

Leave some encouraging words for Kelly in the comments, folks. It takes guts to put yourself out there like this. Best of luck, Kelly, and don't forget to update us on the manuscript's progress at month's end.

-Anne

Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews is no stranger to the Cybils, and this year she's a round I judge for the Middle Grade Fiction category. Her book review blog has been going for over three years, looking at children's, MG, YA, and adult books and hosting numerous fun reading challenges as well as author interviews.

Becky reviewed one of our MG fiction nominees that was published in late 2008--too late for the 2008 Cybils contest, but eligible this year. That book is Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, a historical novel about Isabel and Ruth, two slaves freed in their recently deceased master's will. However, their master's nephew ignores the decree of freedom and sells them to an unscrupulous Loyalist family in New York City. Nevertheless, Isabel, the book's narrator, still dreams of freedom. Says Becky:

Set in New York City during circa 1776-1777, the story is vibrant and heartbreaking. It's a story rich in detail and emotional and powerful in nature. Isobel's story--her struggles--resonates so deeply that I think this one is a must-read.

Read the full review here.

Yeesh, it feels a little weird to be posting about one of my own reviews! I assure you, it really isn't shameless self-promotion; rather, I wanted to post about a graphic novel for teens, since I'm on the judging panel for this year's Graphic Novels category. We post about graphic novels as well as other fiction for YA and MG audiences over at Finding Wonderland (where I blog with author and Cybils SFF panelist Tanita Davis), and this summer I had the opportunity to read one of the nominees.

The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa is the first book in a trilogy that follows the coming of age of Ehwa, a young girl in rural Korea, and her relationship with her single mother. It's also the mother's story, though, and the story of both of them exploring romantic love, one for the first time, and one revisiting it after a period of loneliness. It was written as a tribute to the author's own mother:

The artwork reflects this, illustrating with sensitivity and vividness, remaining simple and expressive throughout, yet unafraid to add flourishes and whole spreads rendered in exquisite detail when called for by the storytelling.

Click here for the full review.

Yeesh, it feels a little weird to be posting about one of my own reviews! I assure you, it really isn't shameless self-promotion; rather, I wanted to post about a graphic novel for teens, since I'm on the judging panel for this year's Graphic Novels category. We post about graphic novels as well as other fiction for YA and MG audiences over at Finding Wonderland (where I blog with author and Cybils SFF panelist Tanita Davis), and this summer I had the opportunity to read one of the nominees.

The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa is the first book in a trilogy that follows the coming of age of Ehwa, a young girl in rural Korea, and her relationship with her single mother. It's also the mother's story, though, and the story of both of them exploring romantic love, one for the first time, and one revisiting it after a period of loneliness. It was written as a tribute to the author's own mother:

The artwork reflects this, illustrating with sensitivity and vividness, remaining simple and expressive throughout, yet unafraid to add flourishes and whole spreads rendered in exquisite detail when called for by the storytelling.

Click here for the full review.

Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews is no stranger to the Cybils, and this year she's a round I judge for the Middle Grade Fiction category. Her book review blog has been going for over three years, looking at children's, MG, YA, and adult books and hosting numerous fun reading challenges as well as author interviews.

Becky reviewed one of our MG fiction nominees that was published in late 2008--too late for the 2008 Cybils contest, but eligible this year. That book is Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, a historical novel about Isabel and Ruth, two slaves freed in their recently deceased master's will. However, their master's nephew ignores the decree of freedom and sells them to an unscrupulous Loyalist family in New York City. Nevertheless, Isabel, the book's narrator, still dreams of freedom. Says Becky:

Set in New York City during circa 1776-1777, the story is vibrant and heartbreaking. It's a story rich in detail and emotional and powerful in nature. Isobel's story--her struggles--resonates so deeply that I think this one is a must-read.

Read the full review here.

Hey all, we have a new blurb, this one from Kelly Jensen. Remember, these are 50-word pitches for a YA NaNoWriMo manuscript. 

The Acres, by Kelly Jensen

Leave some encouraging words for Kelly in the comments, folks. It takes guts to put yourself out there like this. Best of luck, Kelly, and don't forget to update us on the manuscript's progress at month's end.

-Anne

In my role as Publisher Liaison, my job is to notify publishers about their Cybils nominees, finalists, and winners, to answer any questions and concerns from publishers, and to coordinate review copies from those publishers that can provide them. It's a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding to be able to give good news to publishers and experience their reaction firsthand.

Here are a few posts from publishers happy about their nominated titles, and sharing the love with the wonderful authors and illustrators of the nominees.

Listing their ten Cybils nominees, Charlesbridge posts, "The Cybils are awesome and they like us. They really, really like us."

Tundra books congratulates the authors of their two nominated titles, with a shout out to the nominators.

Blooming Tree Press and CBAY Books offer "A big congratulations to our Cybils Award nominees!"

On behalf of the panelists who are working hard to read through all the nominated books, I'd like to express our gratitude to the following publishers (and their imprints) who are providing review copies in some form.

Abrams for Young Readers
Albert Whitman & Company
Automatic Pictures
Big Mouth House
Big Tent Books
Bloomsbury USA
Brown Books Publishing Group
Candlewick Press
Capstone Press
Charlesbridge
Childrens Brains are Yummy Books
Chiron
Chronicle Books
Crossway Books
Curbstone Press
Dundurn Books
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Egmont USA
Flux
Frances Lincoln Childrens Books
Groundwood Books
Holiday House
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hyperion
Imaajinn This
Jabberwocky/Sourcebooks
Kids Can Press, Ltd
Kingfisher
Lands Atlantic Publishing, LLC
Lee & Low Books, Inc.
Lerner Publishing Group
Little, Brown
Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books
Mercier Press
Milkweed Editions
Mirror Publishing
Mushroom Hollow Press
National Geographic Children's Books
O Books
Oni Press
Orca Books
Peachtree
Penguin USA
Prairie Star Publishing
Puffin UK
Random House Children's Books
Raven Tree Press
Revell
Rodrigues-Peters
Running Press Kids
Saffron Press
Scholastic
Seven Footer Press
Shadow Mountain
Shamwari
Shen's Books
Shenanigan Books
Simon & Schuster
Sleeping Bear Press
SLG Publishing
Sterling Publishing
Studio Foglio
Sylvan Dell Publishing
Tachyon Publications
Tanglewood Press
The Wild Rose Press
tiger tales
Tilbury House
TopShelf
VIZ Media, LLC
Weinstein Books
WestSide Books
Wire Rim Books
Zumaya Thresholds

And also to the following authors who provided books:

• Elijah Meeks
• Dawn Menge
• Karen Okagaki
• B Lee Schmidt
• Barbara B Slater
• Heidi Thomas
• Melissa Walker

UPDATE:

More publishers and authors have been added to the list. Thanks go to the following publishers, who are also providing review copies:

Big Mouth House
Brown Books Publishing Group
Dundurn Books
Flux
Mercier Press
Weinstein Books

And also the following authors who are sending review copies of their books:

Elijah Meeks
Dawn Menge
Barbara B. Slater
B Lee Schmidt

A tip of the hat to all of you for making our panelists' job easier!

Providing review copies is not necessary for a book to be considered. Panelists will do everything they can to find all nominees in the library and through ILL, when review copies aren't available. And although we don't ask panelists to purchase the nominees, some dedicated panelists have bought their own copies of nominees that they couldn't find elsewhere, in order to give those books fair consideration. 

Finally, I'd like to thank the publishers, authors, and illustrators of all the nominated books for helping to create such great books for children and teens!

If I missed anyone, please let me know in the comments below or by emailing me at sruth (at) wandsandworlds (dot) com.

Sheila Ruth

Okay, so paneling is not exactly a verb in a way that means "a group of kidlit obsessives who natter on to an audience of strangers."

But paneling we did. Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 fame moderated a discussion on kidlit blogging and the Cybils awards at the NY Public Library on Saturday. The one with the lions, though the whole building's under wraps for renovation. So, no lions.

Participants: Betsy, me, Pam, Susan, Liz B.

Some highlights:

• The audience wanted to see all of the nominated titles include links to reviews by our panelists. That's up, according to Sheila. Thanks for getting on it so fast!

• I made a pitch for ideas for funding. I got several, but I'll ask readers too. Ideas and links for grants, sponsorships, financial backing? Send 'em my way or comment below. I wouldn't partner with, say, a publishing house for the obvious conflict of interest, but there's a whole lot of organizations that would be thrilled to have quality content with a devoted, target audience with a history of buying stuff. I just have no idea who they are.

• We discussed the growing power of the bloggers to bloody a publisher's nose. Pam related how bloggers reacted to the proposed cover of "Liars," which depicted the African-American protagonist as white. She summed up the firestorm it caused and the publisher's decision to change the cover image in time for publication. 

• Ethics and stuff -- we decided this was very important. I gave my famous spiel about transparency, quality, etc. I kept watching this one woman nod off and briefly panicked until I realized she was a vagrant and probably just looking for a warm place to snooze.

• In particular, we discussed getting free stuff from publishers and what you owe them in return, the new FTC rule about aforementioned free stuff, and whether a negative review is a punch in the stomach to your new sugar daddies in the publishing world. Though not in such colorful language.

We had so much fun, we're thinking of repeating this another time. I'm looking into whether BEA will put up with us.

More later,

Anne Levy, Cybils Yakker-in-Chief

P.S. Here's another, less flattering take on the discussion from an audience member. You can't please everybody.

Okay, so paneling is not exactly a verb in a way that means "a group of kidlit obsessives who natter on to an audience of strangers."

But paneling we did. Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 fame moderated a discussion on kidlit blogging and the Cybils awards at the NY Public Library on Saturday. The one with the lions, though the whole building's under wraps for renovation. So, no lions.

Participants: Betsy, me, Pam, Susan, Liz B.

Some highlights:

• The audience wanted to see all of the nominated titles include links to reviews by our panelists. That's up, according to Sheila. Thanks for getting on it so fast!

• I made a pitch for ideas for funding. I got several, but I'll ask readers too. Ideas and links for grants, sponsorships, financial backing? Send 'em my way or comment below. I wouldn't partner with, say, a publishing house for the obvious conflict of interest, but there's a whole lot of organizations that would be thrilled to have quality content with a devoted, target audience with a history of buying stuff. I just have no idea who they are.

• We discussed the growing power of the bloggers to bloody a publisher's nose. Pam related how bloggers reacted to the proposed cover of "Liars," which depicted the African-American protagonist as white. She summed up the firestorm it caused and the publisher's decision to change the cover image in time for publication. 

• Ethics and stuff -- we decided this was very important. I gave my famous spiel about transparency, quality, etc. I kept watching this one woman nod off and briefly panicked until I realized she was a vagrant and probably just looking for a warm place to snooze.

• In particular, we discussed getting free stuff from publishers and what you owe them in return, the new FTC rule about aforementioned free stuff, and whether a negative review is a punch in the stomach to your new sugar daddies in the publishing world. Though not in such colorful language.

We had so much fun, we're thinking of repeating this another time. I'm looking into whether BEA will put up with us.

More later,

Anne Levy, Cybils Yakker-in-Chief

P.S. Here's another, less flattering take on the discussion from an audience member. You can't please everybody.