2020 Cybils Finalists – Middle Grade Categories

January 7, 2021January 4, 2021 | Tasha

The Cybils are the long-running Bloggers’ Literary Awards given to books for children and teens. I’ll be breaking the finalists into three groupings based on reader age. Here are the finalists in the categories that focus on middle grade books: Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels, Middle-Grade Fiction and Middle-Grade Nonfiction.

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE-GRADE SPECULATIVE FICTION

Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe

In the Red by Christopher Swiedler

Mulan: Before the Sword by Grace Lin

Rival Magic by Deva Fagan

Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVELS

Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith

Class Act by Jerry Craft

Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song

Go with the Flow by Karen Schneemann and Lily Williams

The Runaway Princess by Johan Troïanowski

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

MIDDLE-GRADE FICTION

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

The Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

MIDDLE-GRADE NONFICTION

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure by John Rocco

Normal: One Kid’s Extraordinary Journey by Magdalena Newman and Nathaniel Newman, illustrated by Neil Swaab

Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species by Ana Pego and Isabel Minhós Martins, illustrated by Bernado P. Carvalho

STEM in the Final Four by Meg Marquardt

This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illustrated by Drew Shannon

The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth by Wade Hudson (Editor), Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editor)

UK Costa Book Award Winners

January 7, 2021January 5, 2021 | Tasha

The Costa Book Awards are given in the UK in five categories with an overall winner picked later in January. One of the categories is focused on children’s books. Here is the winner as well as the other finalists:

WINNER

Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant

FINALISTS

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff (released in April 2021 in U.S.)

The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

2020 Cybils Finalists – Preschool & Elementary Categories

January 6, 2021January 4, 2021 | Tasha

The Cybils are the long-running Bloggers’ Literary Awards given to books for children and teens. I’ll be breaking the finalists into three groupings based on reader age. This first one is for the youngest readers and includes the finalists for Fiction Picture Books, Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books, and Elementary Nonfiction:

FICTION PICTURE BOOK FINALISTS

The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann

Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Brianne Farley

I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero

The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee, illustrated by Pascal Campion

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade

EASY READERS

The Best Seat in First Grade by Katharine Kenah, illustrated by Abby Carter

Cat Has a Plan by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Fred Blunt

King & Kayla and the Case of the Unhappy Neighbor by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers

See the Cat: Three Stories about a Dog by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

Ty’s Travels: All Aboard! by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Nina Mata (I nominated this one!)

What about Worms!? by Ryan T. Higgins

Yasmin the Gardener by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly

EARLY CHAPTER BOOKS

Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee, illustrated by Dung Ho

Monster and Boy by Hannah Barnaby, illustrated by Anoosha Syed

Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us by Lauren Castillo

Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts

Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem: Tales from Deckawoo Drive by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

ELEMENTARY NONFICTION

Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns

The Fighting Infantryman by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents by Kate Messner and Adam Rex

No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History by Lindsay H. Metcalf (Editor), Keila V. Dawson (Editor), Jeanette Bradley (Editor/Illustrator)

The Story of Civil War Hero Robert Smalls by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Duane Smith

Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery by Meeg Pincus, illustrated by Yas Imamura

2020 Children’s and Teen Choice Award Winners

December 14, 2020December 11, 2020 | Tasha

The winners of the 2020 Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards have been announced by Every Child a Reader. It is the only national book award selected by the young readers themselves. There were seven finalists in each category. Here are the winners and honor books:

K-2nd GRADE

WINNER

The Good Egg by Jory John, illus. by Pete Oswald

HONOR

The Babysitter from Another Planet by Stephen Savage

THIRD-FOURTH GRADE

WINNER

Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illus. by Kadir Nelson

HONOR

Mr. Posey’s New Glasses by Ted Kooser, illus. by Daniel Duncan

FIFTH-SIXTH GRADE

WINNER

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

HONOR

Pandora’s Legacy by Bones Leopard, illus. by Kelly Matthews and Nichole Matthews

TEEN

WINNER

Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita

HONOR

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

2021 Morris Award Finalists

December 11, 2020December 10, 2020 | Tasha

YALSA has selected the five finalists for the 2021 William C. Morris Award, which honors a debut book for young adults. The winner will be announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards ceremony on January 25, 2021. The finalists are:

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

If These Wings Could Fly by Kyrie McCauley

It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

NSTA Best STEM Books 2021

December 10, 2020December 9, 2020 | Tasha

The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) has announced the winners of their Best STEM Books of the year. They define the best as books that “help by celebrating convergent and divergent thinking, analysis and creativity, persistence, and the sheer joy of figuring things out.” Here are the winning titles:

Ada Lovelace by Ben Jeapes, illustrated by Nick Ward

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Tai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

Beastly Bionics: Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature by Jennifer Swanson

Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM by Tonya Bolden

Galileo! Galileo! by Holly Trechter and Jane Donovan

Gnu and Shrew by Danny Schnitzlein

Jumbo: The Making of the Boeing 747 by Chris Gall

Machines in Motion: The Amazing History of Transportation by Tom Jackson

Machines That Think!: Big Ideas That Changed the World #2 by Don Brown

Marie’s Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains Under the Sea by Josie James

Mission to the Bottom of the Sea by Jan Leyssens, illustrated by Joachim Sneyers

Newton and Curie: The Science Squirrels by Daniel Kirk

Numbers in Motion: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg

The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Lisa Anchin

“Smelly” Kelly and His Super Senses: How James Kelly’s Nose Save the New York City Subway by Beth Anderson, illustrated by Jenn Harney

Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy’s Journey to Becoming an Astronaut (Adaption for Young Readers) by Mike Massimino

Who Gives a Poop?: Surprising Science from One End to the Other by Heather L. Montgomery, illustrated by Iris Gottlieb

Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane by Kirsten Larson, illustrated by Tracy Subisak

Work It, Girl: Blast Off into Space Like Mae Jemison by Caroline Moss, illustrated by Sinem Erkas

2020 Ignyte Awards

December 7, 2020November 24, 2020 | Tasha

The winners of the inaugural Ignyte Awards were announced in October. These awards “celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscape of science fiction, fantasy and horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts toward inclusivity of the genre.” The books appear to be 2019 titles. The awards are given in several categories. Here are the winners and finalists in the YA and middle grade categories:

BEST YA NOVEL

WINNER

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

FINALISTS

Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Slay by Brittney Morris

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

BEST IN MIDDLE GRADE

WINNER

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

FINALISTS

Just South of Home by Karen Strong

The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

School Library Journal Best Books

December 4, 2020November 24, 2020 | Tasha

SLJ has announced their list of the Best Books 2020. The lists cover picture books, chapter books, middle grade, YA, nonfiction and graphic novels. You can explore the list via the link in the first sentence or there is also a pdf version done in a really attractive format, if you prefer.

What a joy to see so much diversity represented in a Best Books list! Definitely an impressive collection of titles worth discovering and sharing.

2021 Nonfiction Award Finalists

December 3, 2020December 2, 2020 | Tasha

YALSA has announced the five finalists for the 2021 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award, which honors books published between November 1, 2019 and October 31, 2020. The winner will be announced at the Youth Media Awards on January 25. Here are the finalists: