Cybils Nominations are Open!

Now is your chance to nominate your favorite elementary, middle grade and young adult books from the past year (technically from October 16, 2014 to October 15, 2015).

All the official information you need is at
http://www.cybils.com/2015/10/the-2015-cybils-are-open.html

Remember ONE book per CATEGORY per PERSON. The form will kick you back if you try to nominate more than one book (or if someone else has already nominated the book).

Here’s the nomination form!


BTW - Publishers and authors have to wait until the public nomination period closes, at which point they get to have a nomination phase of their own. 

Cybils Nominations Open October 1st

Nominations open Thursday! 

Rules are roughly as follows (the official version is here): 

• Anybody (real people only!) can nominate a book.
• You may nominate one book per category.
• If you have more than one book you’d like to nominate, enlist a friend or co-worker to help you out. (Real human friends only - no imaginary friends or pets or anything like that.)
  
• Nominated books must’ve been published in the US or Canada between Oct. 15, 2014 and October 15, 2015. 
• Additional information can be found here. 

The categories (paraphrased from the original linked sources) are:

• Easy Reader/Short Chapter Books
  The Easy Reader / Early Chapter Book category covers the whole spectrum of titles for early elementary kids who are learning to read, from the very basic books for emergent readers to longer, illustrated titles for kids who are not quite ready for novels. We’re looking for leveled readers with controlled vocabularies are designed for kids to use to practice their reading, such as “Step into Reading” or “I Can Read” books. They are typically 32-64 pages in length and usually have large type, simple sentence structure, and colorful illustrations on every page. With beginning chapter books use large print, short chapters, and simple plots, and they rely heavily on dialogue. Only those books designed for beginning readers belong in this category. Chapter books are a bit longer (up to 160 pages or so), and  have fewer illustrations - just a few black and white line drawings sprinkled throughout the text.


• Graphics Books using serial artwork to tell the tale, graphic novels cover it all—everything from wordless picture books appealing to the very young to intense, issue-based young adult novels. We give an award for both the younger graphics and for the young adult graphics… tell us who your favorites are!

• Fiction Picture Books introduce young readers to their worlds, present and past; take us on fantastic  journeys, real and imagined; guide us in the world’s “best practices” – from the Magic Word to cultural traditions; and inspire us to do great things. Inside a Fiction Picture Book you are as likely to discover something that makes a toddler giggle for days on end as you are to share a story that reduces a third grader to tears. They are looking for books that “excel in story, illustration, kid appeal, and literary value. The technical eligibility requirements for the Fiction Picture Books category that the book must be available in print – no eBooks, iBooks, or board books; written for a young audience (generally 2 to 9); fall within the accepted page count of 32 to 48 pages.


• Elementary/Middle Grade Non-fiction Kids are curious about the world around them and nonfiction is the perfect way to introduce them to that amazing world. History? Biography? Art? Science? Math? Animals? Sports? It’s all here and more besides! We’re looking for titles that are suitable for reading aloud or independently, including picture books and early chapters (nonfiction easy readers go to the easy reader category). We love text and illustrations or photographs that will wow kids and adults alike and topics so fascinating that kids will want to go digging for more, more, more nonfiction! Nonfiction Elementary/Middle Grade includes titles with factual content and informational titles, or books intended to teach. Roughly 50% or more of the book should be narrative nonfiction (as opposed to experiments or activities) and books should be directed generally at ages 3-12. We are currently accepting nominations only in print (no ebooks) for this category.


• Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Wonderfully inventive and full of unforgettable people and places–Along with the expected spells and space rockets and aliens, this is the category for books with talking animals, time-travel, ghosts, and paranormal abilities, and all the other books that might not have obvious magic on every page, and which are set here on Earth, but which push past the boundaries of daily life into what is almost certainly impossible…(sometimes it’s hard to know if something is magical enough to count, but we do our best to be consistent). This category is for both Elementary and Middle Grade books; that is, books written for eight- to twelve-year-olds (with a bit of wiggle room at each end).


• Middle Grade Fiction Middle grade fiction encompasses a wide range of stories that do not have magical elements and are geared toward the 8 to 12 year old age group. These stories could be mysteries, histories, humor, sports, adventure and other tales set in the real world. Middle Grade readers’ tastes and reading abilities can vary widely, and getting them a book that appeals to them is crucial. Books containing mature content in regards to violence, sex or language are more appropriate for the Young Adult Fiction category. The Cybils hopes to find realistic fiction books that are well-written and thought provoking but also make Middle Grade readers want to keep turning the pages. 


• Book Apps allow readers to interact with the story in a variety of ways: by reading the text on the page, swiping, tapping, recording, listening to narration and sound effects, viewing animation and videos, and much more. In the most effective book apps, the interactive features enhance the story without distracting readers or disrupting the flow of the narrative.Book Apps nominations may be fiction or nonfiction and may appeal to any age from preschool to young adult. All nominations must be available for iPad and available in the iTunes App Store. Books available in iBooks are not considered Book Apps.


• Poetry is an ever flowing river of words.  From words that rhyme, words that shape emotions on all different topics to poetic forms, thePoetry category is home to an uber stew of entries. These books willappeal to the very young, middle grade and/or young adults.
  Plus this year Poetry includes nominations of novels in verse.  
  What belongs in Poetry? Consider nominating anthologies and poetry collections written by various authors or a single author. They include illustrations or not. If the poems that resonate to readers of all ages and it’s a collection or anthology of poems,
  Poetry is the category.
  


• Young Adult Fiction The world as it was and is. Not as it could, or would, or should be. In YA Fiction we are looking for realistic fiction, be it contemporary or historical, funny or mysterious, romantic or adventurous. We want the real world of the past and present with all of its flaws and pain and humor and beauty. We want books published for young adults ages 12-18 that are not only well-written, but which will expose the world and open a window to self-discovery. Books that respect their audience; books that teens will press into their friends’ hands with fervor in their eyes and say, “You HAVE to read this.” We are looking for the handful that can call themselves the greatest teen novels of 2015.


• Young Adult Speculative Fiction Speculative Fiction takes us to realms of the imagination: places and times and realities where the rules of life may be different than our own and where the impossible and improbable become real. But good science fiction and fantasy does more than that: it asks, “What if?” It makes us think. It holds up a mirror to our own society and lets us see ourselves in a different light. Magic, aliens, ghosts, alternate universes, time travel, space travel, high fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic futures, horror, and sentient animals are just some of the many topics that belong here. Speculative fiction novels with graphics in addition to text belong here, but if the book is primarily told through serial artwork, it belongs in the Graphic Novels category. The age range for this category is approximately 12-18, although there is some overlap with the Elementary/Middle-grade Speculative Fiction category that will be decided on a case by case basis. New Adult (NA) titles are not eligible, as those are primarily intended for an adult audience. This category accepts books published in either print or ebook formats.


• Young Adult Non-fiction A great nonfiction book can sweep readers away to far off lands, different time periods and have you walk the shoes of someone else’s life as easily as fiction–only for in our case, these people, lands and events really took place. Young adult nonfiction readers will not and should not shy away from controversial topics, they rely on accurate and up-to-date information to help them form opinions on what matters most to them. While some topics are not easily discussed, we need these resources so they have a safe place to turn to for the information they seek. Narrative nonfiction reads so much like a story that you have to stop and consider whatever or not you are truly reading a story because it blends information in such a way that it reads like a story. It will include informational graphics, pop out boxes, an index and other informational clues where appropriate to add valuable information. While how-to nonfiction and textbooks are fantastic in some cases, for CYBILS purposes, that is not what we are looking for so please do not nominate them. If you have read or written an engaging narrative nonfiction book for those in seventh through twelfth grades, we would love for you to nominate them for Young Adult Nonfiction!

Once you have narrowed your choices down to one book in each category (eek that's hard!) here is the link to the Cybils nomination form (it goes live at 12:00am PST on October 1, 2015). If you have questions about what qualifies or which category would be best there are links on the Cybils website to the chair of each category.

Nominations close October 15th!

I am a Cybils Judge again!

Hurray!  I can now announce that I have once again been chosen to be a Round 1 Elementary/Middle Grade Non-Fiction Judge! This is such a great honor.  I had a blast last time, reading over 100 books and struggling with ways of articulating why I thought some were standouts in a field of very strong contenders. There are such wonderful non-fiction books being written. Yay! 

Nominations for all Cybils categories open October 1st and close on the 15th. The guidelines are here.
Submissions from publishers and authors will be accepted October 16-26 and information for that is at the publisher section.

The mission of these awards is as follows ... "The Cybils Awards aims to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussels sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious." 

So if you have read a great picture book, early reader, chapter book, middle grade or young adult novel, graphic novel, poetry or nonfiction book this past year please nominate them!


The Elementary/Middle Grade Non-Fiction Chair is Jennifer Wharton Jean Little Library

The First Round Judges are:

• Ellen Zschunke     @ontheshelf4kids      On the Shelf 4 Kids 

• Bridget R. Wilson      @bridgetrwilson      What is Bridget Reading? 

• Amy Broadmoore      @delightchildbks      Delightful Children’s Books

• Elisa Bergslien (me!)     @DNAPL       Leopards and Dragons

• Roberta Gibson     @RobertaGibson      Wrapped in Foil

• Reshama Deshmukh      @stackingbks      Stacking Books

• Laura Arnhold      @literacious      Literacious 

The Second Round Judges are:

• Alyson Beecher      @alybee930      Kid Lit Frenzy

• Julie Larios      The Drift Record

• Carrie Gelson      @CarrieGelson      There’s a book for that

• MaryAnn Scheuer    @MaryAnnScheuer      Great Kid Books

• Sue Leopold      @SuzyK5     Through the Prairie Garden

So Cool! 

Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

Murder is Bad Manners 
by Robin Stevens
 
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
US Publication Date: April 21, 2015
Format: hardback
Pages: 320
Genre: Children's Mystery
Age Range: 10 and up
Source: purchased book

From the author's website:

When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t, really.)

But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident – but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there’s more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.

Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

(Yes I redacted the name - you can figure it out early on in the story so it isn't a critical spoiler but seriously, who gives away the name of the murder victim in the book blurb??  Bad form! If you absolutely must know, highlight the box to see the text.)

I heard about this book ages ago and had been really looking forward to it. I saw several gushing early reviews and it sounded like just my kind of thing. Now that I finally have gotten my hands on the book - well, um, I am not as excited about it honestly. I do like the set up, the mystery turned out to work for me and I really, really like the book's narrator - Hazel Wong. Other things though I was less enthused about.

Hazel is from Hong Kong, so seeing an English boarding school through her eyes is a rewarding experience. Her father, a lover of all things British, sent his daughter to a country that she is finding rather cold - weather wise and also in terms of her reception by the students and staff at the school. This aspect of the book was excellent.

On the other hand, Daisy Wells is presented as a perfect blonde, peaches and cream skinned aristocratic English girl. She is also bossy, self-centered, impulsive and rather cruel. Apparently some people find this contrast makes the two girls a great team. My take was rather different and I was somewhat uncomfortable with the dynamic. Is a person really your friend if they only like you when you are passive and comply with their demands ?  There was eventually some give in the relationship but I found the power dynamic and how the book dealt with it quite discomforting.

I also understand given the time period, but utterly hate, the idea that the characters feel compelled to pretend to lack intelligence in order to make friends and be popular. The book treats this as perfectly obvious and the right/normal thing to do. Yuck. 

Hazel and Daisy are pretty well developed characters, regardless of how I personally responded to them, so that is a plus. The rest of the cast I felt was less interesting and more of series of rather blurry stereotypes. The sense of place was strong, however, and I appreciated that.

As I mentioned, the mystery was pretty well done with some nicely laid out clues. I did see where it was going, but I have read lots of mysteries so that isn't surprising. The best part about the mystery is that the author managed to pull the resolution together in a nice, plausible manner. I was really, really worried that I was about to see a Scooby-Doo style ending - "I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!" - that would have totally destroyed the credibility the book had built up.  The author skirted close to this but managed to pull off an ending that was satisfying for child readers without blowing the suspension of disbelief of older readers.

Soooo - I am interested enough to read the next book at some point, just too see if there is some growth in Daisy, but not enough to go out of my way to find it. The down side is that I am not interested in having my kids read the book really. We are already having discussions of what a real friend is and how giving a person presents to make them your friend means that they really are not being a friend to you. (Sorry - that came out rocky but I hope that you understand what I mean.) The book presents Hazel and Daisy's friendship as appropriate, whereas I see exactly the sort of dynamics that I want my children to learn to avoid in some of their budding relationships. Perhaps when they are older the book will be fruitful for discussion, but right now they are too unsure of themselves and this is not a helpful model.


Murder is Bad Manners was first published in the UK as Murder Most Unladylike. There are two more UK titles: Arsenic for Tea and First Class Murder.

Pluto is so cooool!

If you haven't looked at the images being sent back from New Horizons, you should. Pluto is way cooler then anyone imagined.

This is a NASA image from the lower-left edge of Pluto’s 'Heart' more technically called the Tombaugh Regio (Tombaugh Region). The peaks are estimated to be approximately one-half to one mile (1–1.5km) in height, or about the same scale as the Appalachian Mountains.

Sputnik Planum is believed to be relatively young in geological terms, less than 100 million years old or so, while the darker region is most likely billions of years old.  

The image was acquired by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on July 14 from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers) and sent back to Earth on July 20. Features as small as a half-mile (1 kilometer) across are visible. The names of features on Pluto have all been given on an informal basis by the New Horizons team.
Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI



And wow - look at this ...

This is a mosaic of high-resolution images of Pluto, sent back from the New Horizons spacecraft from Sept. 5 to 7, 2015. The the smooth, bright region across the center of the image is an icy plain that has been informally-named  Sputnik Planum. 

"The smallest visible features are 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) in size, and the mosaic covers a region roughly 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) wide. The image was taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers)."

Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

 

Go look at more images at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-pluto-images-from-nasa-s-new-horizons-it-s-complicated