The Cybils Poetry Award ~ by Christy Mihaly

 

The Cybils Awards for 2021 books are out! These awards for children's and YA works recognize books with "highest literary merit and popular appeal." That's a tough standard, and it's hard to choose just one winner. 

I should know--I was a Round 2 judge this year in the Poetry category. We were tasked with reviewing a diverse field of finalists, and each of these books was truly wonderful in its own way.  I recommend them all!

Aaaand: The Cybils poetry winner is: Everywhere Blue by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz.

Congratulations, Joanne! This middle grade book is a a lovely and lyrical novel in verse. Maddie, the appealing and earnest protagonist, comes from a musical family and the story uses engaging poems to weave together music, mystery (Maddie's brother goes missing), family dynamics, and love for Earth. 

The judges were particularly impressed with the author's sensitive and age-appropriate treatment of difficult topics, including mental health and environmental crises. Beautiful poetry and interwoven musical references make this a truly outstanding work. 

And for more virtuoso poetic works, check out the other finalists: 

Me (Moth), by Amber McBride is a YA fantasy verse novel about grief and loss. It's also a ghost story and a powerful tale of healing, with haunting language and gorgeous imagery, full of myth and music and metaphor, and with a stunning twist. This masterpiece of storytelling was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. 

This book made me cry! Newbery Honor winner Red, White, and Whole, by Rajani LaRocca, is a middle grade verse novel that deals with growing up and grief. Reha lives in two worlds: Indian (her parents are immigrants) and not (as she works to fit in, in middle school). When her mother becomes ill, Reha realizes what's most important, and finds her courage. Beautiful use of metaphor and poetic language.

Snow Birds, by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Jenni Desmond, is a collection of lively poems celebrating the birds that spend the winter in snowy climes. The art is superb, and the book conveys plenty of interesting information about winter birds. A sampling of verse: 

Black Rosy-Finch

Hop! Stop! Hop! Stop! SO MUCH SNOW!

    Check! Peck! Check! Peck! COME ON, LET'S GO!

        Peep! Cheep! Peep! Cheep! WE WANT MORE!

            Till back they bounce through the barn house door. 

In You Don't Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves, Diana Whitney selected works by 68 poets including Amanda Gorman, Margaret Atwood, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Elizabeth Acevedo. The poems, exploring themes of loneliness and longing, seeking and sadness, shame and rage, speak to girls coming of age. Whitney says she wanted to collect voices she wished she'd heard when she was a teen. Here's an excerpt from a poem  by Elizabeth Spires, "Questions for Google": 

What does it mean and why does it matter?

How do I get from here to there? 

Where is the line that cannot be crossed? 

Why is the first time the best? 

Who will be coming and when will they get here? 

How long will it last before it is over? 

Who has the right and why do they have it? 

Who is the most important one?  

Starfish. Lisa Fipps has been garnering well-deserved praise (including a Printz Honor) for this powerful and beautifully written middle grade novel in verse. Ellie faces bullying (about her weight), and tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules. She finds friendship and acceptance, and through therapy finally feels ready to confront her badgering mother. Middle grade (and older) readers will respond enthusiastically to this much-needed title.

Call Me Athena, by Colby Cedar Smith, is an evocative YA historical novel in verse. It tells the story of a girl's coming of age in a Greek-French immigrant family in 1930s Detroit. Told in beautiful poetry with multiple voices and great historical details, this book impressed the judges with deep historical research and comprehensive back matter. 

If you haven't read these, don't wait -- get down to your library or bookstore and check them out. If you have -- what's your favorite? Are there other recent works of poetry you'd recommend? Please share in the comments. And thanks for supporting poetry for kids!

A Vicarious Look at #NCTE16

A Vicarious Look at #NCTE16

by J.G. Annino


Are you busy enough?

                                                  Copyright 2016 JanGodown Annino

When you come in for a landing from your Holiday

prep for a spot of tea and honey,

perhaps you will look at your
2017 To Do Writing Work List.

A SCBWI conference?

You've done that. Congrats!

Perhaps a Highlights Foundation workshop also perches

on that starred list. This link for one just above
leads to a fetching MG mystery opportunity.

Or, you've done that. YAY! (You could go back.)

Perhaps a NCTE convention is boldy underlined on that list.

HuH? What is NCTE?

If you are a teacher & you are find your way to this blog &
this post,you likely know of or even belong to,

the National Council of Teachers of English.

If you are a very very successful children's author, you know NCTE

because you've been invited to this collection of kids' book nerds.

Recently the National Council of Teacher's of English, founded in

December 1911, staged its annual love-in event for literature.

Some of my friends attended from hither & yon. I have only been able

to peek at some columns/blogs/articles about the energy & ideas
shared at this conference.

Here are some highlights from one article.

"Err on the side of love,

Amplify the light.

Hold the space for children to enter in.

Words are bridges.

Develop our empathy muscle as the reflex response.

When we provide poems in our classroom, we get to the heart of our children."

The wise guidelines (above) are from participants in a 
Writing for a Better World Panel.

Picture book author Irene Latham shares from the conference & that panel.

Ideas also poured out from the Risking Writing panel, in which writers demonstrated

writing in front of their audience, on the spot.

Picture Book author Laura Purdie Salas  shares from that.

A great way to armchair visit with the NCTE is to see a list of top
2016 books featured at the award luncheon. I was so pleased to
find that poet Marilyn Nelson received top honors. As it turns
out, I had just carried home from our library, one of the honor
books in the top 2016 nonfiction list announced at  #NCTE16.
It is COMICS CONFIDENTIAL, by Leonard Marcus. I think I'll
be providing an article on it here; the interviews with the talented
author-illustrators are illuminating whether you have ever read
a graphic novel or one of the new comics for younger readers,
or not.

And School Library Journal, which so recently featured

our Group Blog's astounding maker king, Todd Burleson,
was there to interview book creators, for later articles,
including Florida's own Donna Gephart! Yay, D.G.

Finally, a spot-on view into the conference for me is

from editor/anthologist Sylvia Vardell. 
Her NCTE wrap up coincides with my dwelling with
novels-in-verse. I have tidied up & sailed on
as I can at this point in wiggles & giggles
of two picture book manuscripts & I am again living

with the tough times of my novel character, Pru, in her MG
abolition story. (Thank you to G.B./novel-in-verse pal
Marcie Atkins for this S.V. post alert.)

My sense from the #NCTE16 pieces that I've read is that each
& every author who attends is wildly enthusiastic about writing for
young readers, as are the educators. I feel that energy just from
reading their reports.

Appreciations to NCTE for collecting thousands of educators who

link young readers to great new books & also to the keepers among

the past classics such as Shakespeare & many many others.

............

p.s. in the bumble bee photo at the top, if you look to the far right, you can see
a bee coming in for a landing, which I know is how some of us feel right about
now, a bit beelated & beehind.
(hopefully spell wrecker lets me keep the extra e in each word.

As this is my last post in 2016 at Group Blog,  I am sending smiles to you
all in appreciation of your 2016 articles. The tips & energy & love for
our young readers that I find here are so nourishing. Thank  you!