Have you got your nominations in yet?

There's just 5 days left to nominate your favorite books of the year for the Cybils awards!  If you haven't yet, head over to the Cybils blog right now to submit your favorites.

About this time each year, the Cybils blog collects lists of items that haven't been nominated yet, but
someone would like to see still make the list.  If you haven't used of your one item per category nomination yet, you might want to peruse the lists to see if you can help someone out.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm judging in the new audiobook category this year, and we could still really use some nominations!  So I thought I'd put together this list of things I found on audible that are definitely eligible.

And if none of these float your boat, remember that most books nominated in another Cybils category this year that has an audio version available is eligible for the audiobook category.  Even if you haven't listened to the audio version, but you know the book is good, then it might still deserve and audio nomination.

Here's some audiobooks that are eligible based on their date and the middle grade criteria for this year.  I haven't read all of these yet, but if you have read any of these and you loved it, consider nominating it for our category.  Hopefully this list helps you think of a great audiobook nomination!

A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman
Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Case of the Girl in Grey by Jordan Stratford
Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella by Megan Morrison
Foxheart by Claire Legrand 
Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom by Booki Vivat 
Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger
Going Wild by Lisa McMann
Grayling's Song by Karen Cushman
Grounded by Megan Morrison
Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar 
I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 by Lauren Tarshis
Impyrium by Henry H Neff
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden
Lock and Key by Ridley Pearson
Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts by Esta Spalding
Milo Speck, Accidental Agent by Linda Urban
Moo by Sharon Creech
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein
Ned's Circus of Marvels by Justin Fisher
Once Upon a Toad by Heather Vogel Frederick
Out of Abaton by John Claude Bemis
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff 
Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks
Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan
Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat by Gary Paulsen
Slacker by Gordon Korman 
Sting: A Loot Novel by Jude Watson
Summerlost by Ally Condie
Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg
The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White
The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass
The Case of the Vanishing Emerald by Holly Webb
The Charmed Children of Rooksill Castle by Janet Fox
The Dala Horse by Lissa Jonston
The Door by the Staircase by Katherine March 
The Firefly Code by Megan Frazer Blakemore
The Girl in the Well Is Me by Karen Rivers 
The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst 
The Glass Castle by Trisha Priebe
The Haunting of Falcon House by Eugene Yelchin
The Lincoln Project by Dan Gutman
The Scourge by Jennifer Nielson
The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse by Brian Farrey 
The Trilogy of Two by Juman Malouf
Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones
Time Traveling With a Hamster by Ross Welford
True Heroes: A Treasury of Modern-Day Fairy Tales Written by Bestselling Authors
Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio
What Elephants Know by Eric Dinerstein
When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin
Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls by Raymond Arroyo
Wish by Barbara O'Connor 
Wishing Day by Lauren Myracle
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

It's that time again...

I'm a few days behind on announcing this, but things have been crazy the past few weeks.  In addition to getting the usual autumn cold, helping mom continue to recover from surgery, and trying to keep up with things at work, we also bought a new car.  Which came with its own long weeks of shopping and deal wrangling.  O.o

Anyway, things are getting back to normal for me, and a few days ago the Cybils Awards opened up for nominations!  For those of you who are not familiar with the Cybils, they are the Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogging awards.  Basically it's the kidlitosphere's blogging version of the literary merit of awards like the Newberry medal combined with the popular vote of the Webby Awards.  The biggest criteria for the Cybils is both good writing/literary merit and kid appeal.

I'm happy to be participating again as a Round 1 judge this year, in a brand new category, audiobooks!  It will be fun to break ground in this new area for the Cybils.

The biggest part of the "popular vote" section of the awards is now.  The awards accept nominations for books in 11 categories from people just like you!  So if you have a favorite book for kids or teens published in the last year, make sure you go nominate it.

We especially need audiobook nominations!  So even if audiobooks aren't your thing, if you have a book that you want to nominate (or has already been nominated) in either of the middle grade categories this year, all you have to do is check if it has an audio version to qualify for the new category.  I found tons of great possible nominations on audible.com, there's lots that will qualify.

Happy reading everyone!

Cybils 2014 Nominations Open

Yesterday was October 1st, which for me means the beginning of another long Cybils season (not that I'm complaining :)  The Cybils are one of my favorite things to participate in each year, and I always love serving on the judging panel. 

However, we need your help in the meantime.  Now is the time to go and nominate all those wonderful kids and YA books you read this past year so that we can know the best of the best books to evaluate. 

All the details are over at the Cybils site.  Nominate away!  Nominations last until October 15th. 

Time for Cybils 2014

Well, I've known about this for about a week now, but since it's been officially announced, I'm happy to share that I've once again been chosen to participate in the Cybils Awards.

If you're new to the blog, then you may have never heard of the Cybils before.  It's the Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogger Awards.  It's a grassroots award that started back in 2006, in an attempt to balance book awards for kids and teens book between the literary merit of the Newberry and Printz awards to a popularity contest award.  Thus, this is the first award that considers winners based on both literary accomplishment and "kid appeal".

I'll be back to joining the graphic novel committee this year, and I'm glad to see some new and familiar faces.  I wasn't sure I would be able to participate this year due to an anticipated fuzzy schedule around the holidays this year, but I'm glad that things have settled down enough that I can participate.

The fun for the Cybils starts October 1st, and you can find out more about them by visiting their website.

Don't Forget to Nominate!

Sorry things have been a little sparse around here lately.  I've found it just a bit difficult to get back to hobby things after losing Greysen a few weeks ago.  But life goes on and things are slowly returning to normal. 

I've been out of it enough that I've forgotten to remind everyone to make sure you nominate your favorite books of 2013 for this year's Cybils.  Pretty much any book published between 10/16/12 and 10/15/2013 for children, middle grade, or YA is eligible. 

Head over to the Cybils site for all the details, and to nominate your favorites.  You have just over a week (until October 15th) to get those votes in!

And please, if anyone knows of a good YA non-fiction title published this year, make sure you nominate it! As I mentioned before, that's my category, and we're a little sparse on books.  :)

It's that time again...

Well, it was officially posted on Monday, so I guess I can share now. 

I'm glad to announce that I will be returning as a Round 1 panelist to the CYBILS (Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogger Awards) this year.  However, in a twist of events, I will be working in the new Young Adult nonfiction category this year. 

I wasn't able to participate last year because of my "blogging gap", so this is very exciting for me.  I've been on the CYBILS every other year since the first one in 2006, and its familiar territory to be ramping up for the things now that it's fall.  Of course, YA non-fiction is pretty much an alien genre to me, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.  :)

If you've never heard of the CYBILS before, head over to their website to check it out.  It's one of the most awesome grassroots movements in the kidlit blogosphere.  And for those of you who already know what they are, don't forget nominations are around the corner, and open on October 1st!

Blogoversary Challenge #12

So I figured we'd make this a round dozen of challenges. Once again, this will be another great way to rack up points to earn prizes.

October 1st is a very important day in the kid lit blogosphere. It marks the opening of the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Literary Awards) nominations. I've been participating in the Cybils for 5 years now, so they are near and dear to my heart. But the awards wouldn't be possible without nominations, which brings me to this challenge.

Challenge Details:
Points: +1 for every nomination you submit.  There are 10 categories, and you can nominate up to 1 book per category, for a possible point total of 10 points.
Deadline: Nominations are open until Oct 15, but if you want points for this, you must submit your nominations by midnight on October 3rd
How To Enter: Head over to the Cybils page to enter your nominations.  Once you're done, come back here and leave a comment on this post with the titles of the books you nominated.

Want Extra Contest Entries?

Want extra entries for my contest for Suzanne Weyn's Empty or Star Crossed: Gemini Night?

Well, here's a way to get up to 2 extra entries. All you have to do is nominate an eligible graphic novel for this year's Cybils awards. You can nominate up to two titles, one for each category (Middle Grade and Teen). Nominations must be both eligible and unique (meaning you are the first one to nominate it) in order to get these extra entries.

Just leave a comment on this post letting me know which title(s) you nominated and where you'd like to apply your extra entries (Empty or Gemini Night).

If you've already nominated a graphic novel, you can still get extra entries. Just let me know in the comments which one you nominated.

Good luck!

(Psst: If you want to nominate a title but don't know what to choose, you'll find a list of good ideas here.)

Time to Nominate!

Although it's still September here on the West Coast, it's officially October 1st over there on the eastern side. Which means it's Cybils time! For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the Cybils is a loose acronym for the Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogger awards. It's a cross between the People's Choice Awards and the Newberry Award for book bloggers. If you'd like more information, there's a great overview at the Cybils Wikipedia Page.

Nominations are open right now over at the Cybils blog, so head over and nominate your favorite books. I'll be having a couple of Cybils themed posts over the next few weeks, but for now you simply get to nominate and enjoy. And you know you better nominate a graphic novel, since that's the committee I'm on. (LOL)

There's also been two changes this year. First, my graphic novel panel has been split for nominations. So now you can nominate one MG and one YA title. We've been announcing the award for both categories for awhile, but until this year you could only nominate at title for one or the other. Likewise, the Early Readers category has been split with Early Chapter Books, so you have two nominations there as well.

Here's a reminder of the rules (thanks to the Cybils official blog):

•One book per genre per person. Have two young adult books you love? Get a best friend, co-worker or random stranger to nominate the other one.

•Anyone may nominate. Anyone! This means you. And me. And that person over there, and the guy who cut you off in traffic. Or that kid you won't sit next to at lunch. Anyone!

•The book must have been published between the last contest and this close of this one. In other words, between Oct. 16, 2009 and Oct. 15th 2010.

•The book can be bilingual, but one of the languages must be English.

•As long as a book has a nomination, it'll be considered. You don't need to try and nominate it over and over. The nomination form will kick it back to you anyway.

Ready to get started? Head over to the blog to put in your nomination!

2009 Cybils Shortlists Announced

Well, that's it folks. The short lists have been announced. And this year has more surprising titles on it than usual (at least in my opinion). As always, some of my favorite books didn't make it, but what can you do? I've been a panelist in this long enough to know exactly what the groups go through to make these lists. And the name of the game is compromise!

Make sure you check out the official post for all the shortlists.

On a quick side note, I am so, so, so, so glad that Catching Fire didn't make the shortlist. I know I'm going to get rotten tomatoes for that comment, but let me explain. As soon as Hunger Games made the list last year it was pretty much a no contest to win. And Catching Fire would have been the same (and you know it!). Catching Fire has gotten so much good press already. Maybe I'm just weird, but there are lots of other books out there besides that one that are just as good and deserve their time in the spotlight. (Incidentally, this is the same reason why Harry Potter never made the Cybils shortlists either.)

What I've Been Up To

In addition to having lots of work and family issues to deal with, there's another thing that's been keeping me away from the blog. It's called the Cybils. Pretty much every night that I'm not working or have another commitment has been spent reading nomniees (and working on my bookshelf). And while I do still have about a month to get through as many of the books as I can, take a look at my to be read pile:


Now, I took this two days ago, so six of these I finished over the holiday, so it's a little out of date. But you get the idea. Good thing those are graphic novels and read fast! And I've already read 23 nomninees including six books that come before in a series so I can understand what's going on. Phew!

Anyway, if you don't hear from me in the next few days, at least you'll know what I've been doing. I feel bad for neglecting my blog but I just don't have enough time in the day lately. Le sigh.

I did also want to point out the new Cybils widget in the sidebar. It's over to the right -----> It displays a new book from one of the nominated categories each time it's refreshed. Neat huh? Normally I say that any of those books would make good Christmas presents, but the truth is there are always a few books in the nominated bunch that just wouldn't make the Christmas cut. Then again, some of those books are absolutely excellent. So it's your decision, I guess.

Anyway, I'm off to go read a few more books before I have to go to work.

Hurry, hurry!

Have you gotten in your nomination for the Cybils yet? I know, I know, I'm beating this topic over the head, but today is you absolute, no more chances, last minute chance to nominate those books you've read from the last year and think deserve and award. Nominations are offically over at midnight tonight. That's when the lists are offically set in stone (metaphorically speaking). Done. Kaput. All over.

This is my fourth year on the Cybils, and I KNOW the book blogging community has exploded in the past year, so I want to see you participate. That's right. YOU! Part of the consideration for the award is kid/teen appeal, and how do we know what you like if you don't speak up?

I'd especially like to see more participation in the graphic novels category. It seems like every year there are lots of graphic novels, but the manga ones kind of get skipped over. Maybe it's just me, but these are the most popular GNs in my hometown. So for those of you who read manga, let you voice be heard! And if you don't, let your voice be heard too.

And I'll even give you a prize for it too.

Happy nominating!

Cybils Contest

So, as I mentioned yesterday, nominations for the Cybils opened yesterday and will remain open until October 15th. If you are new to the Cybils and missed that post, you may want to check it out before reading this.

If you're familiar with the Cybils, then you know that this first part of the awards totally depends on those who participate in the nominating process. Without our nominators, we don't have any titles to read! Or if someone doesn't nominate it, we may miss out on that one book that would have stood out beyond all others.

So you may have figured out this is a contest from the post title, and it is. I'm getting to it now. I'm thanking those of you who help participate in the Cybils this year with a contest. If you win, you can win these 2008 Cybils nominees:

Must Love Black by Kelly McClymer (PB), Kaimira: The Sky Village by Monk Ashland and Nigel Ashland (HC) and Switch by Carol Snow (ARC). Scroll to the bottom of the post to find out more about each book.

How to Enter: Nominate a title that is eligible for this year's Cybils. Then leave me a comment here (or send me an email) and let me know. That's it! Plus, if you nominate a Graphic Novel title (and then let me know about it) I will give you 3 extra entries! Why? Because that's the committee I'm on this year, and I am a little out of touch with the books that were published this year in that particular field. I know at least some of you readers read graphic novels, so if you had one that you particularly liked, go enter it!

Extra Entries: IF you have already entered, then you can also earn extra entries:
+1 Nominating any eligible title (if you have already nominated that still counts, just let me know)
+3 Nominating an eligbile Graphic Novel title (MUST tell me which one you nominated)
+1 Linking to the contest somewhere on the web (leave a link here)
+2 For every person who says they were referred by your link
+1 If you were referred

That's 8 possible entries! Plus, if more than one person is referred by you, then you'll get even more entries.

Misc. Rules: Nominations close at midnight on October 15th, but I will give you until October 16th to tell me what you nominationed. Then the winner will be randomly selected. I also might decide the split up the prize pack or add more prizes depending on how many entries I get. I haven't decided yet. So spread the word and participate!

About the Books (from Amazon.com)
Kaimira: The Sky Village: "High over China, the Sky Village, an intricate web of interconnected hot-air balloons, floats above the troubled landscape, where animals battle machines for control. Mei's mother has been kidnapped, and she has been left in this strange place by her father.

Half a world away, thirteen-year-old Rom struggles to survive in the ruins of Las Vegas. When his young sister is taken by a pair of demonic creatures, Rom has no choice but to follow her into a shadowy world below ground. There, he becomes engaged in gladiator-style fighting in an arena where mehanical-beast demons do battle for the entertainment of a chaotic community of gamblers.

Mei and Ron have never met, but they share a common journal, a book that mysteriously allows them to communicate. It also reveals that each of them carries the strange and frightening kaimira gene and that aspects of beast and mek qualities are entwined in their very DNA.

In this thrilling, intricately plotted novel, the first in a five-book series, Mei and Rom must overcome the forces that seek to destroy them and find the courage to balance the powers that lurk within."

Must Love Black: "NANNY FOR 10-YR-OLD TWINS. MAINE COAST. OWN ROOM & GENEROUS SALARY. MUST LOVE BLACK. "Must love black?" Sounds like a coffee-loving, seclusion-seeking goth girl's dream job. Philippa isn't fazed by the fog-enshrouded mansion on a cliff, the weirdest twins on the planet, or even the rumors about ghosts, 'cause when she meets the estate's hot gardener, Philippa's pretty sure she's found her dream boy, too. Too bad Geoff's already taken--by a girl whose wardrobe is head-to-toe pink. Still, Philippa can't get Geoff out of her head. What will it take to lure him to the dark side?"

Switch: "Claire Martin has some serious body issues.

Ever since Claire hit her teens, electrical storms have been making her switch bodies. Usually she's back to her old self in no time. But when something goes terribly wrong, she finds herself stuck in the fabulous body—and life—of Larissa, the icy blonde beauty who has caught the eye of Nate, Claire's longtime crush.

Will Claire ever figure out how to get her old life back? And, more importantly, will she even want to?"

What's Missing?

Here's one of the Cybils posts I promised yesterday. It's kind of a tradition for me to post my own "what's missing" post near the end of the Cybils nominations. But I thought I'd do something a little different this year. I'm going to share the process.

But to do that I need your help. What books that were published this year (any category) do you want to see nominated? Leave me a comment and let me know. This post will (hopefully) turn into one big "what's missing" list!

Maybe you had three favorites in one category and only could nominate one? Then tell me the other two and I'll them to this list. And if you haven't used your nomination in every category, you can check this list for ideas (and help another person out in the process). Plus, if you nominate something for the Cybils this year, you can win a bunch of books from this contest too. It's a win-win situation. :-)

So start leaving me comments (or emailing me) your suggestions. I'll keep updating this list until nominations close, so keep checking back!

*Disclaimer* I've tried to separate these and double check that they are in fact eligible as I put them on the list, but please take note that I might make a mistake too!

Young Adult

Fantasy/Sci Fi
The Runaway Dragon by Kate Coombs
Flight of the Phoenix by R. L. LaFevers
The Faceless Ones (Skulduggery Pleasant) by Derek Landy
Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley


Graphic Novels
Hyperactive by Christian Sava
The World of Quest, Vol. 2 by Kruse
Kat & Mouse Volume 4 by Alex De Campi
The Faerie Path: Lamia's Revenge #1: The Serpent Awakes by Frewin Jones
Pixie Volume 1 by Mathieu Mariolle
Return to Labyrinth Volume 3 by Jake T. Forbes


Middle Grade
Alice's Shooting Star by Tim Kennemore
Alien Expedition by Pamela Service
The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank
Strawberry Hill by Hoberman

Poetry

Non-fiction MG/YA
Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species by Sneed Collard
Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy: Alaska's First Naturalist: Georg Wilhelm Steller by Ann Arnold

Early Readers/Short Chapter Books

Fiction Picture Books
Duck and Cover by Jackie Urbanovic
Trudy by Henry Cole
Millie in the Snow by Alexander Steffensmeier
Snow Day by Sakai
Footprints in the Snow by Matsuoka
Welcome to the Zoo! by Alison Jay
It's Picture Day Today! by McDonald
Sergio Saves the Game by Edel Rodriguez
Do Not Build a Frankenstein! by Neil Numberman
On Our Way Home by Sebastien Braun
Panda and Polar Bear by Matthew Baek

Non-fiction Picture Books

Suggested and already nominated: A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott, Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger, Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon, The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks, Spellbinder by Helen Stringer, Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel, NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley, Melonhead by Katy Kelly, Which Way to the Wild West? by Steve Sheinkin, Cork and Fuzz: Finders Keepers by Dori Chaconas, Dessert First by Hallie Durand, There Are Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz, Avalon High: Coronation #3: Hunter's Moon by Meg Cabot