Cybils 2013 Call for Judges!

Do you post reviews of children's and/or young adult books on your blog? Or maybe apps? Or perhaps both?

Are you curious what it's like to sit on a virtual award committee? To engage in virtual book discussion about very real books, some of which may be delivered to your home address by publishers?

Have you always wanted to be part of a group that awards the finest and most kid-friendly literature in a given genre in a given year?

Yes, yes, and yes again? Well then you should apply to be a Cybils judge! Yes, YOU!

The Cybils are annual awards for children's and young adult literature organized and chosen by kidlit bloggers. These are the folks who read and review, read and review, until their library customers or students make a game out of trying to name a book the librarian hasn't read. That's how they pick the best of the best in terms of both literary quality and reader appeal.

In all seriousness, the Cybils are a tremendous award, and they annually recognize some really fantastic books and apps for young people. I look forward to the announcement of the finalists and winners every winter, and last year I was privileged to be a member of the Round 1 Middle Grade Fiction panel. I cannot participate this year as, ahem, I've got some other reading things going on at the moment. You, however, should seriously consider applying to be a Cybils 2013 judge. You smart thing, you.

The deadline to apply for a position as a Cybils judge is August 31, so get to it!

The 2012 Cybils Finalists are Here!

The 2012 finalists for the Cybils Awards were announced on January 1. These shortlists are perfect to share with library customers as winter sets in and folks want to cozy up with great books.

I know my Middle Grade Fiction panel is quite proud of the list we came up with after reading and discussing our 127 nominated books:

• Almost Home by Joan Bauer
• Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
• Fourmile by Watt Key
• Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
• The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader
• The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The shortlists of books in the variety of categories--from book apps and picture books to poetry, middle grade science fiction/fantasy, and YA--will ultimately be whittled down to a single winner in each category, announced February 14. Head over to the Cybils website now for full finalist details!

Today is the last day to nominate for the Cybils!

Have you nominated your favorite reads of 2012 for the Cybils yet? Today is the last day that the general public is eligible to nominate one title (published between Oct. 16, 2011, and Oct. 15, 2012) in each of the 13 categories. So take a look at the titles currently nominated, then think over what you've been reading: What's missing? What great books deserve to be on the long list? Nominating is a simple process, and by adding your favorite titles to the list, you're making it easier for everyone to find great books to share with readers.

I know my fellow committee members and I are already furiously reading the nominations--I can't wait to see what titles get added to the long list before the clock winds down!

Cybils Award Nominations are Underway

As of October 1, nominations for the 2012 Cybils Awards are underway! Between now and October 15, anyone can go to the Cybils website to nominate their favorite reads published since Oct. 16, 2011. You can nominate one book in each of the ten (yes, TEN!) categories, ranging from book apps and picture books to graphic novels and poetry. I am a Round I panelist for the Middle Grade Fiction category, and I am already loving the list of nominated books that my esteemed colleagues and I will be considering. Please do your part to make sure the books you've read and loved this year don't get left out of consideration--nominate today!

What I'm Doing These Days

The next few days will be slightly out of the ordinary here on the blog. I'll be in Indianapolis through Saturday for the 2012 ALSC National Institute--three days of all sorts of sessions aimed at those of us who serve children in our libraries, plus plenty of networking and author excitement. I'll be one of several attendees live-blogging all the great things going on at the Institute, so make sure you check out the ALSC Blog to stay on top of all that's happening in Indy. You can also follow #ALSC12 on Twitter to keep up with the chatter. I'll try to post some highlights here, too, but time and internet access will factor into whether that happens.

And now for some reading updates! You may have noticed that there haven't been many chapter book reviews on the blog lately. That absence is not due to lack of reading, I assure you--on the contrary, it's due to large amounts of reading due to two committee appointments:

• I was named a Round I panelist for the Cybils Awards in the middle grade fiction category! Reading hasn't yet begun for this appointment--book nominations don't even begin until Oct. 1 (start thinking of what titles you want to recommend!)--but I'm gearing up for what will surely be a very large stack of to-read books on my kitchen table.
• I've been working my way through the 2013-2014 Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominees as part of my reader/selector duties. That's 25 novels aimed at 4th-6th graders, and I'm happy to say that the genres and appeal factors run the gamut. I've really been enjoying reading these middle grade novels.

That's what I'm doing these days in addition to all the fun programming and collection management at my branch. Stay tuned to the blog in the next few weeks for some exciting program ideas as well as a celebration of one of my favorite weeks of the year: Banned Books Week! I may even have a surprise up my sleeve to help celebrate the freedom to read...

I hope to see many of you in Indy!