Cybils finalists!

Happy new year everyone! While we all celebrate new beginnings today, we kidlit lovers and bloggers also feel joyful on January 1st every year for the Cybils announcements get released! I've been spending my fall surrounded by the nominated titles in the fiction picture book category. Late last month, the other round one judges all got together online, and we heartily discussed the titles and our favorites among them. We fulfilled our herculean effort in that we winnowed down over 260 books to a list of seven finalists. Yup, you heard that right- just seven books.

As announced today on the Cybils site, here are the seven picture books that rose to the top. Many thanks to everyone for nominating books this year, and high fives to the folks who nominated these jewels. (And, let me assure you that having a book one has nominated be chosen as a finalist is a FABULOUS feeling. For reference, you could have seen my face when I read the list of nonfiction picture books!)

These are the seven books that we will be asking the round two judges to read, dissect, and generally live and breathe for the next few weeks, until they can select a winner. I'll be waiting anxiously for February 14th's announcement of the best of the best.

The Cybils 2011 Fiction Picture Books Finalists:

Blackout
by John Rocco
Hyperion
Nominated by: Jennifer Donovan

When all the lights in Brooklyn go out one summer night, families are suddenly not busy, much to the delight of a young child. Without power, the family can't dotheir many insular electronic tasks and have time to play games together, socialize with their neighbors and even look at the stars from the roof. With top-notch paneled illustrations and limited text, Blackout’s comic-like setup adds to the progressing action. It’s when the lights go out that the evening’s action begins, and the reader enjoys Rocco’s details of the character’s facial expressions and the community’s joint adventure on the streets and roofs of the city. Like the young boy and his family at the center of the story, one doesn’t want the evening in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge to come to end.
-- Rebecca Reid
** Read my review from 5 Minutes for Books



Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?
by Susan A. Shea
Blue Apple Books
Nominated by: Susan Gauthier
With tongue firmly in cheek, Shea challenges young children to compare living and nonliving things through a series of silly, rhyming questions. While lifting page flaps will show a stool "growing" into a chair, series of answers in rhyming couplets reinforce the basic concept. Relationships between inanimate objects small and large are established in creative ways, subtly encouraging critical thinking when kids are too busy giggling to even notice. No doubt about it, children will joyfully answer these questions with a resounding "NO!" at each page turn.
-- Dawn Mooney
** Read my review from 5 Minutes for Books



I Had a Favorite Dress
by Boni Ashburn
Abrams for Young Readers
Nominated by: Maggie Lehrman
When a girl's favorite dress gets too small, turning it into a new top is just the beginning as this special item of clothing continues to change through seasons, styles, accidents and growth spurts. Lyrical language plays with rhyming and repeated words and reflects the voice of an inventive child. Soft watercolor tones are perfect in capturing the pinks of the dress and soft browns of the girl, while line drawing and actual stitching incorporated into the pictures add whimsical touches. While readers will relate to the life cycle of one dress, the book works on multiple layers with the themes of growing up, problem-solving, and resourcefulness served in an engaging way.
-- Pam Coughlan
** Read my review from 5 Minutes for Books



I Want My Hat Back
by Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press
Nominated by: Joanna Marple
Having lost his beloved hat, a bear seeks help from a variety of other animals before finally rediscovering it. Readers may be one step ahead of the bear in finding the hat, but author remains a step ahead of the reader with a surprise ending. The reactions of the culprit and the bear display a dark, sophisticated humor. Minimalist and muted, with careful use of color to highlight what’s important, the artwork is nicely integrated with the mood and the text. The memorable book becomes a standout with its spare illustrations, dry humor and unconventional storyline.
-- Jen Robinson
** Read my review from 5 Minutes for Books



Me . . . Jane
by Patrick McDonnell
Little, Brown
Nominated by: Kerry Aradhya
A picture book biography in the truest sense, McDonnell has created an introduction to the life of primatologist Jane Goodall that keeps the K-2 audience firmly in mind. Themes of following your interests and achieving your dreams are woven into the story of Goodall's childhood spent indulging her curiosity in the natural world. Expertly combining ink, watercolor, stamps, and one perfectly placed photograph, Me…Jane is as artistically ambitious as it is heartfelt.
-- Travis Jonker
** Read my review from 5 Minutes for Books
 


Press Here
by Herve Tullet
Chronicle Books
Nominated by: Deb Marshall
Open the book. Start reading. Watch the children listening to this magical book. Watch the children as the book works its spell on them, mesmerizes them, compelling them to press the dots, to tilt the page, to blow on the dots, to shake the book. Observe the children as they press and tilt and blow and shake. Look into the eyes of the children. See the enchantment in their eyes. Listen as the children cry, "Again!" as you reach the end of the book. Go back to the beginning of the book. Read this whimsical book again. And again and again and again ...
-- Debbie Nance
** Read my review from 5 Minutes for Books
 


Princess and the Pig, The
by Jonathan Emmett
Walker Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Becky
A farmer hauling a little piglet in his cart stops for a break underneath a castle tower. Happenstance --and a very neglectful Queen--finds the piglet flying up to the tower and the newborn princess trading places with it. But no one is shocked with the switch since, "it's the sort of thing that happens all the time in books." Younger kids will enjoy the silly story and funny pictures, while plenty of references to classic fairy tales will captivate school-age kids. With a strong plot, an unexpected ending and vibrant illustrations, The Princess and the Pig is a delightful read-aloud.
-- Natalia Ortega-Brown 
** Read my review from a friday's five blog post


Many advanced thanks to the round two folks listed below, and good luck choosing among these fabulous titles!

Eliza Brown, Shop Talk of Carle Museum
Camille Parker, A Curious Thing
Jonathan Kemmerer, Picture Books Review
Susan Kusel, Wizards Wireless
Kristen Remenar, Kristen Remenar



Happy new year and happy reading,