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Happy Nonfiction Monday! Today, I'm presenting another book that has been nominated in the Nonfiction Middle Grade/Young Adult category for the Cybils Awards.


Raucous Royals: Test your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce Which Royal Rumors are True is a very fun and engaging book that investigates whether or not common rumors about the world's most famous royalty throughout history are true or false. For example, did Anne Boleyn really have six fingers? Was Napolean Bonaparte as short as he was rumored to be? Was King Henry VIII so large that his servants had to carry him because he couldn't walk?

Throughout the book, readers encounter speech bubbles, quizzes, funny caricatures, tabloid magazine-style articles, and other interactive text that make readers become a part of the investigation and learn how over time, facts can be twisted. The information in the book is chunked into short segments so that readers never feel overwhelmed with content. A section at the end of the book even tells readers how they can begin to investigate other rumors they may have heard.

Carlyn Beccia made smart choices about which information to present, creating a book that makes history fun and appealing and that I believe will have kids interested in learning more. I'm definitely keeping my eye out for more books by her in the future.


Resources:

The Book's Blog and website include a lot of resources for further investigation. They're well worth checking out.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

I.N.K. "A book with wickedly appealing art and layout, little quizzes, juicy historical tidbits." (read more...)



More Info:

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1 edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618891307
• ISBN-13: 978-0618891306
• Source: Review copy from publisher

Nominations for all Cybils categories close this Wednesday, October 15. I'm on the panel for the Nonfiction Middle Grade / Young Adult category and would LOVE to see more nominations in this category.

Here's the category description from the Cybils site:

"Facts First! Don't fall under the misconception that facts are boring. Facts can break boundaries. Facts can open eyes. Facts can inspire. Facts can do anything fiction can do. Maybe more. Not that we don't love fiction, but nonfiction has been a special focus of many bloggers in the kidlitosphere since the inception of Nonfiction Monday for good reason. We want to highlight the best of 2008 in informational books for kids and teens.--The Editors

We're also drawing the line between this category and the younger non-fiction titles by, well, looking at the drawings. If the book's more than 48 pages, has more text and seems geared for somewhat older kids, you're probably right. Put it here."

• Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics by Catherine Thimmesh and Douglas Jones
• Why You Shouldn't Eat Your Boogers and Other Useless or Gross Information About Your Body: Information About Your Body by Francesca Gould
• One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia by DK Publishing
• Hocus Pocus by Paul Kieve
• Coyote Speaks: Wonders of the Native American World by Ari Berk, Carolyn Dunn
• X Doesn't Mark the Spot: Tales of Pirate Gold, Buried Treasure, and Lost Riches by Ed Butts
• Who's Haunting the White House?: The President's Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There by Jeff Belanger, Rick Powell (ill)
  

Nominations for the 2008 Cybils open up tomorrow. Please check out Jen Robinson's post for tons of information because there's no way I say it better than her.

I will completely rip off her call to action though. Jen says:

"We think that the Cybils nominations will be of interest to parents, teachers, librarians, writers, and teens. If you have a blog or an email list or belong to a newsgroup that serves one of these populations, and you feel that your readers would be interested, please consider distributing this announcement (you are welcome to copy it). The Cybils team would very much appreciate your help in spreading the word. And if you, or the children that you know, have any titles to suggest, we would love to see your nominations at the Cybils blog, starting on Wednesday. "

Oh, and while I'm ripping off bloggers, I'm stealing Charlotte's idea and telling you which books I'm thinking of nominating. I clearly have no shame.

• A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg (my review)
  

• I haven't read any 2008 published easy readers, so no nominations from me. I seriously need to start reading and reviewing those though.

• T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte (my review)

• Madapple by Christina Meldrum (my review)
• Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (my review)
• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (my review)
  
• The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante (my review)
  

Anne and I are nearly finished putting together the panels for the 2008 Cybils. The first panel--Early Readers--will be announced tomorrow at the Cybils blog. If you wrote in with your requests, you'll be hearing from me over the course of this week before your requested categories are announced.

I can't wait to get started, how 'bout you?

We're adding a new category for the 2008 Cybils--Easy Readers. Easy Readers are those 6" x 9" books found in the easy-to-read section. The category will be headed up by none other than Anastasia Suen (Book of the Week, Children's Book Biz News, Picture Book of the Day, Scholastic's Kid Lit Kit) and we're looking for judges. If you're interested, read the judging announcement on the Cybils blog and send me and Anne an e-mail. (If you've already written in, but would consider serving on Easy Readers, then please also drop us a line.)

P.S. I am 24 hours behind responding to Cybils e-mails. Do not panic. I will answer Thursday afternoon.

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II written and illustrated by Lita Judge

A 2007 Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book Finalist

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (June 5, 2007)

I don’t think I have ever read a picture book, a NONFICTION picture book at that, that has moved me the way One Thousands Tracings moved me. Author/illustrator Lita Judge was inspired to write this picture book, her first, when she found a box of full of old letters containing foot tracings. She learned from her mother about the huge relief effort her grandparents, Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom, led to help families in need in post-WWII Europe.

One Thousand Tracings is the story of this effort told from the perspective of young girl (Lita Judge’s mother). The story begins in December 1946, “When I was three, Papa left home to join the war. When I was six, the war was over, and Papa came back to me and Mama. I thought everyone we loved was home and safe. But just before Christmas, a letter arrived that changed everything.”

That letter was from their friends in Germany who said they were starving and had no shoes. They put together a care package for the family, and weeks later received a thank you letter from the family along with a list of ten families who needed help. There were foot tracings for each family member in the letter. Over the next two years, the Hamerstrom’s received over a thousand foot tracings, and enlisting the help of friends and neighbors, over 3,000 care packages including shoes matching the foot tracings and other supplies were sent to families all over Europe.

In addition to telling us the story of the relief effort, Lita Judge draws us in by telling, through letters sent to the Hamerstrom’s, the story of one family with a little girl named Eliza who is the same age as the narrator. Her father is still missing, and she, her mother, and brother are in need. The reader is filled with anticipation to find out what happens to this family and the father.

The most poignant part of the story is the fact that Americans put their differences with Germany aside and helped PEOPLE. They were no longer fighting the enemy, but helping mothers, fathers, children who didn't even have shoes to keep their feet warm in the bitter cold. But perhaps the most engaging part of the book are pictures of the actual foot-tracings, yellowed letters, and photos sent with the letters scattered throughout the pages of the book and on the end papers. Mixed in with Judge’s soft watercolor illustrations, we can SEE what Lita Judge found in the attic. We see a picture of the real Eliza, a pair of warn boots that would be a godsend to a poverty-stricken family, a doll like the one Judge’s mother made for Eliza, and more.

One Thousand Tracings is beautifully written and tells the heartwarming story of human compassion. Sure to spark a lot of conversation, no child’s library should be without it.

ALA 2008 Awards It's that time of year when the air is buzzing with the excitement of the upcoming ALA awards. The ALA Midwinter conference begins held this weekend in Philadelphia, and the 2008 Newbery and Caldecott winners (among many others) will be announced a week from today. Can't make it? Listen to their live webcast, starting at 7:45 AM on the 14th. As you can imagine, the kidlitosphere

The Cybils nominating and judging panels are now set and up over at the Cybils blog. Nominations for the best books of 2007 will open on October 1. I'm already making lists of my favorites so I can nominate in each and every category.

I want to thank everyone who volunteered--especially those of you who are currently waitlisted. This is an exciting, but arduous process and we couldn't do it without you.

The Cybils 2007 Awards Process has begun! Here's what's new:

• Our website. (Direct your links to www.cybils.com)
• Our Forum. We have 12 members now! Sign up and discuss books, awards, and life.
• The welcome post is up at the blog! Read all about the Cybils and what comes next.
• Committees should be formed by the end of this week. If you're still interested in serving on the awards committees, send me an e-mail as soon as possible.

Good morning!

If you're looking for something to do, then head on over to www.cybils.com and sign up for the Cybils forum. You can discuss your favorite books of 2007, the Cybils process, or anything at all in an Open Thread. Registration is easy and we'd love to chat with you.

I'll be back later this afternoon with the early weekend reviews. It's a busy weekend, so there'll be lots to read.

Today's the day.

We're seeking volunteers for Cybils panels in seven different categories. If you run a book blog or if you're a writer or illustrator who blogs, consider volunteering on a nominating or judging panel. Read all about it at the Cybils blog.

You'll be writing to me with your requests. Please indicate second and third choices in your e-mails.



Let's get this party started!
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This beautiful logo/sticker was designed by illustrator Scott E. Franson.

We need some help with an image.

You see this lovely Cybils medal here to the right? Well, Anne and I are in the midst of ordering trophies (well, paperweights) and stickers for the award winners. And we wanted an image without the ribbons for this purpose.

I was able to do this, but unable to get the image to 600 dpi, which is what we'll need for high quality printing and engraving.

Are any of you lovely, talented illustrators willing to donate some time and clean up our medal-winning image? I can promise you tons of props, but little else, I'm afraid :)

In planning for the 2007 Cybils, we're looking for your input. 2006 was the first year for the Cybils and we want to know what you think. (Okay, "you guys stink" isn't exactly what we're looking for.) What went wrong? What could go better? Head on over and spend your two cents.

We have just announced the 2006 Cybils Awards. Head on over and read.

Tomorrow is a big day. Not only do I have Lisa Graff stopping by with an interview (and book giveaway!), but it's annoucement day at The Cybils.

There are nine of us out there who know the results. And I'm one of them. And, I'm horrible at keeping secrets or sitting on big news. Thank goodness, Michele at Scholar's Blog has come up with a World Book Day meme. The question is: What ten books can't you live without?

Here are mine, in order of importance to me:

War and Peace, Tolstoy
Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Atkinson
Enduring Love, McEwan
His Dark Materials, Pullman (yes, this counts as one book.)
Speak, Memory, Nabokov
The Flowers of Evil, Baudelaire
Pale Fire, Nabokov
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rowling
Talking it Over, Barnes
Harriet the Spy, Fitzhugh

No tagging from me. But, please help me kill the time until 2 pm tomorrow when The Cybils are finally announced.

I have another question up over at The Cybils--this time to do with publicity. Please head on over and share your expertise and advice.

Speaking of publicity, here's another candidate for BACA to consider.

Do you think Cybils judges need to have certain qualifications in order to evaluate children's books? Or, do you think we need to know more about the Cybils judges and panelists before we can trust the process? Weigh in on this discussion over at the Cybils!

Recently comments about The Cybils have been bouncing about the kidlitosphere. Comments have ranged from "whew! Am I tired from reading 80 some books" to "what the heck are they thinking?" (All quotes approximate.) Well, we want to know what you're thinking. Today we want to know what you think about the shortlists. Even about the idea of shortlists. Head on over and discuss. We want to hear from you.

I must be the last person to review Hattie Big Sky, but I have an excuse, I swear. I spent November and December reading Middle Grade fiction almost exclusively for The Cybils and Hattie Big Sky was nominated in the Young Adult category. In fact, Hattie Big Sky was selected as a shortlisted title in the Young Adult category. That being said, I'd recommend Hattie Big Sky to children as young as 10.

Hattie Brooks has moved from relative to ever-more-distant relative most of her young life. When she is sixteen years old, she reaches the end of her line with Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt (he's a distant cousin). Or so she thinks. Just as Aunt Ivy is about to send her off to work as a maid, Hattie Brooks receives a letter informing her that her mother's brother left her a land claim in Montana. She has one year to work the land, make it profitable, fence it off, pay her taxes and it will be hers. Hattie takes her chances and the train out West.

Hattie arrives to Wolf Point, Montana where she is met by Perilee and Karl Mueller, her homesteading neighbors, and their three children, Chase, Mattie, and Fern. They help her settle in her Uncle's "house," and show her how to survive the winter and care for the horse and cantankerous cow. Even the children know more than Hattie: Chase has to detach Hattie from the well pump on her very first day. Though life is hard, Hattie is up to the challenge and works to survive on her own.

Kirby Lawson has created a wonderful character in Hattie. She's a tough girl, willing to work to make it on her own. But, Hattie is more than just determination--she's also kind and compassionate without being silly or sentimental. In 1917 Montana, anti-German sentiment is strong, yet Hattie stands up to her wild Montana neighbors and supports her friend Karl Mueller when he's attacked, both physically and verbally, for being German-born. Even Hattie's feelings for her school friend, Charlie, who is away at the front, are true to character:

• "So maybe I did spend a night now and then dreaming silly girl dreams about him, even though everyone knew he was sweet on Mildred. My bounce-around life had taught me dreams were dangerous things--they look solid in your mind, but you just try to reach for them. It's like gathering clouds."

Hattie Big Sky, just as its narrator, is a brilliant, straightforward novel. Author Kirby Larson pulls no punches: death is ever present in the novel, as it was in 1917, and friends are essential to survival. I appreciated Hattie Big Sky for its complex ending as well. Hattie, in some ways, fails in her endeavor. (I won't spoil the book for you by mentioning how.) In other ways, Hattie finds family, love, and self-sufficiency.

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A related note: MotherReader recently read Hattie Big Sky and invited readers to discuss the use of religion in the book. It's a fascinating discussion, so read through if you get a chance. I have to admit, that I was one of the readers who didn't notice it much--it seemed appropriate for the era.

(I say this as a person who was really irritated by the Narnia books as a child because I found them too evangelical.)

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I received Hattie Big Sky from the author.