Click Book Award New: Cybils
I’m not sure if this award is on your radar. It wasn’t on mine until recently, and in fact I missed the announcement by a longshot (it was February 14). It’s only a few years old, but I like how it was formed. Basically several bloggers who wrote about children’s and YA literature wanted to form a sense of community and highlight what they considered to be the best books in those categories of that year. Despite its humble beginnings, one shouldn’t assume this isn’t a great award. I’ve been pleased with my samples from it in the past, particularly in the children’s books.
Because I see great things happening in YA and children’s literature, and because I’m pleased to present it to my own children, I want to bring it to your attention.
Cybils Awards for Children’s and Middle Grade Books
- Picture Book (Fiction): All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon; illustrated by Marla Frazee
- Picture Book (Non-Fiction): The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton; illustrated by Tony Persiani
- Easy Reader: Watch Me Throw the Ball! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems
- Early Chapter Book: Bad to the Bone (Down Girl and Sit) by Lucy Nolan; illustrated by Mike Reed
- Poetry: Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman; illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
- Graphic Novel: The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis
- Fantasy & Science Fiction: Dreamdark: Silksinger (Faeries of Dreamdark) by Lani Taylor
- Middle Grade Fiction: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Cybils Awards for Young Adult Books
- Non-Fiction: The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner; illustrated by Andy Comins
- Graphic Novel: Gunnerkrigg Court: Orientation by Tom Siddell
- Fantasy & Science Fiction: Fire by Kristin Cashore
- Young Adult Fiction: Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
The only one I’ve read is Watch Me Throw the Ball!, and I’m telling you, these Elephant and Piggie books are wonderful and charming. Chains was a National Book Award finalist in 2008.
Hi, there!
Thanks so much for bringing this award to my attention. And nice blog, too!
The Cybils are one of my favorites because they don’t seem to have the agenda the Newberry has, but they focus on skill more than best-seller lists. I think their process of choosing winners is pretty neat and thought some of you might as well (this is just from wikipedia):
The Cybils Awards, or Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards, are a series of book awards given by children’s and young adult book bloggers. The awards were created to address an apparent gap between children’s book awards perceived as too elitist and other awards that did not seem selective enough.
Books are nominated by the public in nine genres of children’s and young adult literature. Nominees go through two rounds of panel-based judging before a winner is announced in each category. Finalists and winners are selected on the basis of literary merit and kid appeal.
Panelists are volunteers and must be active bloggers with extensive experience in children’s or young adult literature, either as readers and enthusiasts or as authors, librarians, booksellers, teachers, or others with verifiable investment in the world of children’s literature.
Several of my favorite authors (including E. Lockhart whom I get to meet in two weeks for a writing conference!) have won. From the list above I’ve read work by Willems, Cashore, and Hales Anderson. All of which write great and tell a good story (though Cashore’s genre isn’t my type.