I am very proud to have served as a panelist for the Children's Nonfiction Picture Book Cybils Award for the last two years. I've happily read almost 150 nonfiction children's picture books. When I had a first grade teacher ask me a few weeks back for some recommendations for nonfiction books for her strongest readers, I could smile and say, "Oh yeah! I can give you a few!"
Without further ado, here they are, the 2009 Cybils Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards:
Cybils Awards for Children and Middle Grades
Picture Book (Nonfiction):
The Day-Glo Brothers
written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Tony Persiani
Picture Book (Fiction):
All the World
written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee
Easy Reader:
Watch Me Throw the Ball! (An Elephant and Piggy book)
written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Early Chapter Book:
Bad to the Bone (Down Girl and Sit)
written by Lucy Nolan and illustrated by Mike Reed
Poetry:
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors
written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Graphic Novel:
The Secret Silence Alliance and the Copycat Crook
by Eleanor Davis
Fantasy & Science Fiction:
Dreamdark: Silksingers (Faeries of Dreamdark)
by Laini Taylor
Middle Grade Fiction:
Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Cybils Awards for Young Adults
Nonfiction:
The Frog Scientist
written by Pamela S. Turner and illustrated by Andy Comins
Graphic Novel:
Gunnerkrigg Court: Orientation
by Tom Siddell
Fantasy & Science Fiction:
Fire
by Kristin Cashore
Fiction:
Cracked Up to Be
by Courtney Summers
Have you read any of these? Thoughts? Comments?
What a great panel to serve on. I ama librarian/media specialist and I think that would be so much fun. I love the selections. Mo Willems is always fantastic and my very personal favorite in the list is CHAINS!!
ReplyDeleteI reviewed this a long time ago. Love, love loved it.
Great post thanks!
That sounds like fun! A lot of work, maybe, but fun most of all. Are you part of a panel, or do you judge alone?
ReplyDeleteI am part of a panel. Every book has at least two readers. This year, I challenged myself to read them all and to share them all with groups of children. Both tasks were accomplished. :-)
ReplyDeleteAwesome list! I'm going to write these down and keep my eyes open for them- I might use a few with the students I tutor. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow fun is that. :-) Congrats on your years on the panel. The books all look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThe only two that I'm familiar with on the list are Chains, which I've heard fantastic things about, and Fire, which I really enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I've seen reviews of Cracked Up to Be, but don't really remember what it's supposed to be about. I guess I'll have to take another look at that one.
You must check out the other books on the list. Red Sings from Treetops and All the World both were honor books for the Caldecott. The Mo Willems book and Bad to the Bone are books in a series and every book is excellent. Day-Glo is a fascinating look at inventors who are almost unknown.
ReplyDeleteOh, "Fire" is so, so brilliant. It seemed at first to be more slow-moving and less intricate in its ideas than the first of Cashore's books, "Graceling," but then it more than made up the difference in the final third of the novel. I talked about my feelings about Fire in a Sunday Salon in November (http://sycoraxpine.blogspot.com/search?q=Cashore)....
ReplyDeleteOhh-can I ask you for some recommendations then? My mom's preschool class is doing a unit on camping, and she was wondering if I had any book suggestions. I told her I'd ask around the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteHow fun to be a panelist for the Children's Nonfiction Picture Book Cyblis Award! I teach first grade and I'm always amazed at the new and wonderful books that come out each year.
ReplyDeleteI've given you an award: http://nanscorner.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/sunday-salon-vacation-and-awards/
Haven't read a one of them but the last set looks promising for my crew.
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