happy Cybils announcement day!

I've been waiting for February 14th for what seems like forever now, and it actually had nothing to do with chocolate. (Although the lovely little Dove hearts that I've been finding hidden all over the house in special places has been pretty sweet!) While we round one panelists completed our role in creating a Cybils finalist list of seven picture books last December, today was to be the day that the round two judges announced which they had deemed the winner. My anticipation was high, because I had one book out of the seven that was by far my favorite-- it had spoken to me from the moment I first opened its pages. It has been one of the kids' favorite read alouds for months. It is the book that I most look forward to reading to my next preschool class when I reenter the working world next fall.

Are you curious? Do you want to--

It's Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein!!

Yippee!  My favorite of the seven finalists, Interrupting Chicken has been chosen as the 2010 Cybils Fiction Picture Book winner! (Last year, I was thrilled when Liz Garton Scanlon's All The World was chosen, as it was my favorite of that year's picks, so now I'm two-for-two.) I really couldn't be happier for the attention being given to this fabulously hilarious book, as it also was named a Caldecott Honor book as well!

If you're interested in finding out which other children and young adult books have been honored with some Cybils love this year, head over to the site to check it out!

In related news, don't forget about the 5 Minutes for Books' Cybils KidLit Challenge! My hope is to read as many of the 2010 winners across the categories as I can. I'm questioning my ability to read graphic novels and sci-fi... but the others are going on my library list, for sure! First up will be a book that was L-O-V-E-D by JAM himself, Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. I'm especially excited for this one, but I'm sure I'm going to be entertained by all the winners.

Happy chocolates-and-flowers-day, and be sure to head out to your own local library or bookstore to share in the awesomeness that is the Cybils winners!


Already looking forward to the next award season,