The Cybils Awards Now Taking Nominations

The Cybils Awards are now taking nominations for children’s and young adult books. What are the Cybils? They are the Childen’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards. You can nominate books that were published anytime between October 16, 2008, and the close of this year’s nominations, which is October 15. There are lots of categories to nominate in, including:

• Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books
• Fantasy and Science Fiction—middle/elementary
• Fantasy and Science Fiction—teen
• Fiction Picture Books
• Graphic Novels—middle.elementary
• Graphic Novels—teen
• Middle Grade Fiction
• Non-Fiction Picture Books
• Non-Fiction—middle/teen
• Poetry
• Young Adult Fiction

Head on over to the Cybils site to place your nominations.

Web sites that let you trade books

I’ve just been introduced to two sites that let you trade paperback books with other readers. They are called paperbackswap.com and titletrader.com. You do have to pay for the postage to send your books out, but then the books coming to you are postage paid, so in most instances you can get a book for around $2.50 in postage.

I see several advantages to using these kinds of sites:

• If you don’t live near a library, you can still access low-cost books
• If you want to keep a title on your shelf for others in your family to read you don’t have to worry about whether you can renew it at your library or not.
• Both sites seem to have lots of available titles, so if you have books you’re willing to list and send to someone requesting your copy, you have lots of titles to choose from.

I’ve never used either of these sites myself, so this is not an endorsement. And those of you who read my site regularly know that I don’t accept any compensation from companies for the books or services I talk about.  But I do like to pass along information that may help readers connect with books through a variety of ways.

GuysRead.com

I just ran across an interesting Web site that may be useful for  moms (and dads) looking to find good books for boys. It’s called Guys Read.com, and it’s got lists for young guys middle guys and older guys. The site has an edgy look, and should further appeal to guys who are looking for books on their own as well as their parents. Here’s Guys Read’s stated mission:

Our mission is to:
1.	Make some noise for boys. We have literacy programs for adults and families. GUYS READ is our chance to call attention to boys’ literacy.
2.	Expand our definition of reading. Include boy-friendly nonfiction, humor, comics, graphic novels, action- adventure, magazines, websites, and newspapers in school reading. Let boys know that all these materials count as reading.
3.	Give boys choice. Motivate guys to want to read by letting them choose texts they will enjoy. Find out what they want. Let them choose from a new, wider range of reading.
4.	Encourage male role models. Men have to step up as role models of literacy. What we do is more important than all we might say.
5.	Be realistic. Start small. Boys aren’t believing that “Reading is wonderful.” Reading is often difficult and boring for them. Let’s start with “Here is one book/magazine/text you might like.”
6.	Spread the GUYS READ word. Encourage people to use the information and downloads on this site to set up their own chapters of GUYS READ, and get people thinking about boys and reading.

The site it run by Jon Scieszka, a former elementary school teacher and author of books that are great for guys to read too, like The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Of course, my girls love those books as well, but good books often transcend gender and appeal to everyone.

While I keep a list of good books for boys here too, with titles recommended by boys, parents and librarians, I love the idea of a site dedicated just to boys. Check it out! Guysread.com.

Rent Books at Book Swim

I just found out about a new service called Book Swim where you can sign up to rent so many books a month for a set price. The books come to you in the mail, and you send them back in the mail. It sounds just like a movie rental program although with books.

While I live only a few miles from two different libraries and many bookstores, I can see that this service would be helpful if you were further away. Or if you wanted the convenience of getting your books delivered to you instead of going to pick them out. It seems they have textbooks too. Hmmm, I may be checking that plan out with Madeleine come September when college starts.

Sign Up for Summer Reading

Wherever you live, most likely your public library is taking sign-ups for a summer reading program. If you read a lot anyway, you may wonder why it’s still important to sign up for  program like this. I believe there are several reasons. For one, you’ll be encouraged to visit your library more often so your kids can claim the prizes they are earning. And that could have you choosing books out of your normal pattern. I know when my kids and I are in the library, we end up browsing books we would not be exposed to otherwise, and we check out titles that are totally new to us.

There has also been research conducted on summer reading programs. The New York State Library’s Web site, http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/summer/research.htm, has posted research results of studies conducted on summer reading. Here are some of the results cited:

Celano, Donna and Susan B. Neuman. The Role of Public Libraries in Children’s Literacy Development: An Evaluation Report. [.pdf file] Pennsylvania Library Association, 2001.

In this 2001 LSTA-funded report, Drs. Donna Celano and Susan Neuman describe the ways in which public libraries foster literacy skills through summer reading programs and preschool programs. Recent literature they studied showed:

• Libraries continue to play a major role in fostering literacy, especially among those most needing assistance in developing literacy skills (e.g., preschool and elementary school children).
• Children who have been exposed to library preschool programs showed a greater number of emergent literacy behaviors and pre-reading skills than those in a control group.
• Children who participate in summer reading programs benefit from the many literacy-related activities offered, aiding significantly in literacy development.
• Public Library preschool and summer reading programs encourage children to spend a significant amount of time with books.

I’m headed down to my library today, and I hope to be surprised by what the librarians are featuring on the display shelves.

New Teen Book Blog

The Cedar Mill Community Library is just a few miles down the road from my house. It does a great job of connecting to what people in the community want, and now it’s introduced a new blog about teen books.

The site can be found at wordsofwiser.wordpress.com, and already I’ve enjoyed checking out the nominees for the Young Readers Choice Awards posted there and a book review for Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I’m adding a link to it in my resources section on this blog, and I plan to check it out often. See what you think!

2009 Newbery Award Winners

The American Library Association has announced it’s winners for 2009’s Newbery Medal and Honor books.

Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book was awarded the Newbery Medal. Madeleine and I loved his book Coraline when we read it several years ago for our book club. The Graveyard Book is being described as “a delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing.” I can’t wait to check it out.

Newbery Honors books are:

• The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
• The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
• Savvy by Ingrid Law
• After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

I’ve previously reviewed Savvy and can wholeheartedly recommend it to mother-daughter book clubs. It will be fun to discover the other titles.

Cybils Award Winners Announced

The Cybils Awards winners were announced a few days ago. Cybils stands for Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Awards. Anyone can nominate a book, and a panel of judges narrows it down to finalists before choosing the winners. Categories go from picture books and easy readers to middle grade and young adult. There is also a categoy for graphic novels and another for poetry. You’ll find fiction as well as non-fiction on the list.

I haven’t heard of many of the books that won, and I welcome the opportunity to find about good books that I may otherwise not be exposed to. This is a good place to look for a book to recommend for your mother-daughter book club.

LidLitosphere Central – New site for finding info on kids’ literature

There are so many great bloggers writing about children’s literature, and now there’s a central Web site that names a lot of them and provides links to the sites. It’s called KidLitosphere Central.

What can you expect to find at KidLitosphere Central? Here’s an excerpt from the description on the Web site:

“The ‘KidLitosphere’ is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children’s and young adult literature. In writing about books for children and teens, we’ve connected with others who share our love of books. With this website, we hope to spread the wealth of our reading and writing experience more broadly. Bloggers cover everything from picture books to young adult titles, writing process to publishing success, personal news to national events.”

You’ll find a slew of listings for author and illustrator blogs, and my blog is listed under the bloggers in children’s and young adult literature category. There’s also a page highlighting the latest news in kid’s literature. I’ve been having fun visiting some of the blogs, and I hope to get more involved in the discussions that go on with certain topics.

Check it out when you get the chance. –  Cindy

Readergirlz New Blog

Readergirlz has a new blog that looks great. For those of you who don’t know about readergirlz, you may want to check out the blog and their Web site. You can find author chats, month-long book chats about a selected book, and a Facebook page. Readergirlz is also on YouTube, where you’ll find videos of author interviews and this explanation of what readergirlz is all about:

“Linking girls with great books so they can read, reflect, and reach out! Readergirlz is an online book community celebrating gutsy girls in life and lit. We read, reflect, and reach out. The readergirlz divas are: Lorie Ann Grover, Justina Chen Headley, Dia Calhoun, and Mitali Perkins.