Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews: Finalists for the 2009 Cybils

Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Finalists for the 2009 Cybils

The finalists for the 2009 Cybil awards are now online on the Cybils blog. Don't know what the Cybils are? Here is a brief description from the Cybils blog:

About The Cybils Awards

Our purpose is two-fold:

Reward the children’s and young adult authors (and illustrators, let’s not forget them) whose books combine the highest literary merit and "kid appeal." What’s that mean? If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussel sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious.
Foster a sense of community among bloggers who write about children’s and YA literature, highlight our best reviewers (and shamelessly promote their blogs) and provide a forum for the similarly obsessed.

We wouldn’t be a real awards if we didn’t have a whole bunch of complicated rules in tortured lawyerese. So maybe we’re not a real awards, because there aren’t any lawyers and only two rules:

You (and you can be anybody, even you) may nominate any book published in the contest year in English;
Only one book per category. We have ways of checking this, so play nice. Nominations open Oct. 1 and close Oct. 15.

After that, here’s what happens:

We place all the authors names into a hat and pass our magic wand over it. After the rabbit pops out, we eat him and announce the winner, whom we have selected at random;
Not really! Just testing you. We have panelists in each category who eat the rabbit. No, er, they read the books. They have until January 1 for that, which we hope and pray will be enough time. On Jan. 1 we’ll post the finalists;
From Jan. 1 to mid-February, a second group of judges will read all the finalists and pick the winners, which we’ll announce on Valentine’s Day.

See? Easy. And no actual rabbits will be harmed in the process.

Take a look at the lists of finalists. There are some wonderful books here. I have not read all of them - as yet - but of the ones I have read these are the ones I would vote for:

Easy reader: Houndsley and Catina Plink and Plunk

Fantasy/Science Fiction: The Carbon Diaries

Fiction Picture Books: All the world

Graphic Novels: The storm in the barn

Mid Grade Fiction: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Nonfiction Picture Books: Keep on! The story of Matthew Henson

Nonfiction Middle Grade and Young Adult: Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith

Poetry: The Monsterologist: A memoir in Rhyme