Cybils Panelist

I am so excited to post here that I will be a Cybils panelist for the Nonfiction Picture Book award again this year.  If you don't know about the Cybils, it is a group of awards for multiple types of books, given to the books that best combine literary merit and kid appeal.  The panelists and judges for this awards are children's and young adult book bloggers.  This group has a ton of expertise and a ton of enthusiasm.  It is fun to read for all of these awards, but as you can guess, I have a special spot in my heart for Nonfiction Picture Books.  While I liked them before last fall, I really fell in love with them over the course of my reading.  I read more than seventy books last year, and can't wait to read more!

If you are wondering about this procedure, it goes like this: between October 1st and October 15th, you can nominate books to be considered.  Rules are available at the Cybils website as the nomination period is opened.  Then the first round panelists (of which I am one), begin reading.  We read everything that is nominated, folks!  Then beginning around Christmas, we begin debating.  The panelists look at books and discuss them together, trying to narrow the books down to a shortlist.  The shortlist is passed on to the second round judges, who come up with a final winner in each category by Valentine's Day.

It is an incredibly fulfilling process for me, and I cannot wait to get started again.  You will be seeing reviews of some of the books I love as the fall goes on (last year I reviewed books here, here, and here, among others).  I will use the same post labels as I did last year - Cybils and Non-fiction picture books - if you are interested in looking at all of the related posts.  I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I will!