Cybils Nominees - Nonfiction Picture Books

Nominations for the Cybils closed one week ago. I am thrilled to be working through the nominees in nonfiction picture books with these amazingly thoughtful folks.

• Andrea (Just One More Book!!)
• Emily (Whimsy Books)
• Fiona (Books and 'Rocks)
• Jennifer (Kiddosphere)

Here is the list of books we are considering as we begin the difficult task of selecting the finalists.

ABC Safari
Written and illustrated by Karen Lee
Sylvan Dell
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Anne Hutchinson's Way
Written by Jeannine Atkins; illustrated by Michael Dooling
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Apples
Written by Jacqueline Farmer; illustrated by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Charlesbridge
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Artful Reading
Written and illustrated by Bob Raczka
Millbrook Press
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Ballerina Dreams
Written by Lauren Thompson; illustrated by James Estrin
Feiwel & Friends
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Bugs Up Close
Written by Diane Swanson; illustrated by Paul Davidson
Kids Can Press
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Campy: The Story of Roy Campanella
Written by David A. Adler; illustrated by Gordon James
Viking
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Capoeira: Game! Dance! Martial Art!
Written and illustrated by George Ancona
Lee & Low
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

City Hawk: The Story of Pale Male
Written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet
Written by Nancy I. Sanders; illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Sleeping Bear Press
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Different Like Coco
Written and illustrated by Elizabeth Matthews
Candlewick
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Dogs and Cats
Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Dolley Madison Saves George Washington
Written and illustrated by Don Brown
Houghton Mifflin
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

First the Egg
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook
Buy from Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Footwork: The Story of Fred and Adele Astaire
Written by Roxane Orgill; illustrated by Stephane Jorisch
Candlewick
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Guess What is Growing Inside This Egg
Written and illustrated by Mia Posada
Millbrook
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Hiromi's Hands
Written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch
Lee & Low
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

A Horse in the House and Other Strange but True Animal Stories
Written by Gail Ablow; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
Candlewick
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

In My Backyard
Written by Valarie Giogas; illustrated by Katherine Zecca
Sylvan Dell
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Let's Go!: The Story of Getting From There to Here
Written by Lizann Flatt; illustrated by Scot Ritchie
Maple Tree Press
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Lightship
Written and illustrated by Brian Floca
Atheneum / Richard Jackson Books
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

A Little Peace
Written by Barbara Kerley
National Geographic
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Living Color
Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer
Written by Bill Wise; illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Lee & Low
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Make Your Mark, Franklin Roosevelt
Written by Judith St. George; illustrated by Britt Spencer
Philomel
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria
Written by Kyra E. Hicks; illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi
Brown Books Publishing Group
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Mary Cassatt: Impressionist Painter
Written by Lois V. Harris
Pelican
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

May I Pet Your Dog?: The How-to Guide for Kids Meeting Dogs (and Dogs Meeting Kids)
Written by Stephanie Calmenson; illustrated by Jan Ormerod
Clarion
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

My Name Is Gabito/Mi Llamo Gabito: The Life of Gabriel Garcia Marquez/La Vida De Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Written by Monica Brown; illustrated by Raul Colon
Luna Rising
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
Written by Sue Stauffacher; illustrated by Greg Couch
Knopf
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Ocean Seasons
Written by Ron Hirschi; illustrated by Kirsten Carlson
Sylvan Dell
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
Written and illustrated by Lita Judge
Hyperion
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Rough, Tough Charley
Written by Verla Kay; illustrated by Alan Gustavson
Tricycle Press
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Sawdust and Spangles: The Amazing Life of W.C. Coup
Written by Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills; illustrated by Giselle Potter
Abrams
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

A Seed is Sleepy
Written by Dianna Hutts Aston; illustrated by Sylvia Long
Chronicle
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Strong Man: The Story of Charles Atlas
Written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy
Knopf
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku
Written by Ellie Crowe; illustrated by Richard Waldrep
Lee & Low
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

The Book of Time Outs: A Mostly True History of the World's Biggest Troublemakers

Written and illustrated byDeb Lucke
Simon & Schuster
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Turtle Summer: A Journal for My Daughter
Written by Mary Alice Monroe; illustrated by Barbara J. Bergwerf
Sylvan Dell
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Vulture View
Written by April Pulley Sayre; illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Henry Holt
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

We
Written by Alice Schertle; illustrated by Kenneth Addison
Lee & Low
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Where in the Wild?: Camouflaged Creatures Concealed ... and Revealed
Written by David Schwartz and Yael Schy; illustrated by Dwight Kuhn
Tricycle Press
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo?
Written and illustrated by Carlyn Beccia
Houghton Mifflin
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Wired
Written by Anastasia Suen; illustrated by Paul Carrick
Charlesbridge
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Young Pele: Soccer's First Star
Written by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illustrated by James Ransome
Schwartz & Wade
Buy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense (your local independent)

Here is a behind the scenes look at what our panel will be doing.

• Each panelist will present a list of his or her 10 favorite books from the long list to the committee. When compiling this list, each person will consider the following:
• Writing (and, if pertinent, illustration)
• Kid appeal (to discuss "kid appeal," click here)
• Is it a book an older child, or even an adult, will rush to finish, before reading it a second time?
• Is the book innovative? Does it surprise you with something new?
• Does the book speak to you as a reader?
• Books that are on everyone's lists will be set aside for further discussion.
• Panelists who have made unique choices will argue their position: Why should this book be on the shortlist?
• Books read by only two members will receive particular attention by those two readers. They should argue why or why not this book deserves to be on the shortlist.
• Panelists will then return to the top-10 lists. When there's clear agreement, we should see it with overlap.
• We will continue debate through our discussion list. At this point, a few more books may have to be read. A few cases may have to be argued.
• Committee organizers must have their lists of finalists (5-7 titles) in no later than noon on Dec. 28. The nominating committee will also write a sentence or two explaining why each book was selected for the shortlist. The shortlists will be posted Jan. 1.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? While you're waiting for our panel to whittle down this list to the finalists, why not check out some of the nominees. You won't be disappointed.