Archive | September, 2012

Let the fun begin…2012 Cybils!!!

17 Sep

This morning, the 2012 Cybils panelists were announced, and, boy is it exciting! The Cybils are the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards, annually recognizing the best titles in children’s and young adult literature. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the Cybils are akin to the Academy Awards of the children’s/young adult blogging community.

There are several Cybils categories and they include:

I’m please to announce…that I’ve been selected as a Round 1 Panelist for the Book Apps category! Squee!!! I’m so excited to be a part of this particular panel, because one of my favorite things to do is share book apps with my two young sons. Of course, we still enjoy reading picture books, but you can’t deny the magic of a book app. A remarkable app with effective interactive elements has the potential to enhance (not take away from) a beloved print book. In addition, my library was recently awarded a grant to purchase iPads for our children’s room, and we’re looking forward to using them in our programming and services. I. Cannot. Wait!

For the Cybils, there are two rounds of judging, and Round 1 is the preliminary evaluation, occurring between October-December 2012. Round 1 panelists come up with a shortlist of 5-7 titles and submit them to the Round 2 judges at the end of December.  Round 2 judges have the super difficult, but ultimately fun task of picking the winners in February 2013.

Anyone can submit one nomination per genre during the nomination period (October 1-15), using the online form on the Cybils website. Books and apps published between October 16, 2011-October 15, 2012 are eligible for nomination.

Given that so many parents, educators, and librarians are implementing transmedia in their curricula and storytelling, the Book Apps category is such a vital part of the Cybils. As soon as nominations open up, I’m looking forward to hearing about your favorite apps!

Congratulations to my fellow panelists and judges in Books Apps:

Round 1: Carissa, Cathy, Lisa, and Paula

Round 2: Alyson, Sara, Helen, Elisabeth, and Melissa

And a shout-out to our fabulous chair, Mary Ann!

Let the fun begin!