2012 Cybils Winners!!!!

It is Valentine's Day and you know what that means! BOOKS! This is the day the Cybils are announced and it's International Book Giving Day. I always take my kids to the bookstore and they get to pick out any book they want. Then we go to are local cupcake bakery and get cupcakes. Good day all around.

I was most excited to wake up this morning to see what books had won the Cybils. After months of hard work and reading by so many bloggers the results are in. You can see the full list here.

Here are some I'm particularly excited about!

Fiction Picture Book Winner: A Home For Bird by Philip C. Stead
This makes me so happy. I love this book. My kids love this book. It is just utterly perfect in so many ways. I love Stead's artistic style and the story is the right mix of sweet and humorous.

Nonfiction Picture Book Winner: Mrs. Harkness and the Panda by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Another truly excellent choice. I never knew this story before reading the book and it is so interesting. My daughter loved the book too, particularly as she would like to be a designer some day and she also has a yearning to explore. She read it several times before we returned it to the library and got so much out of it.

MG Fantasy Winner: The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
I like this book a whole lot and my students LOVE it. This was a great choice, if not my favorite of the finalists.

MG Fiction Winner: Wonder by R.J. Palacio
I'm not at all surprised by this and I can see the reasoning even if it is not my favorite.

Nonfiction Winner: Bomb! The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
YES!!!!! I love how this book is winning all the things because it definitely deserves them all.

YA Fantasy: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
I love this book and so am over the moon that it won. Especially since it is the only one on the Finalist list I read. (Not a big fan of the other sub-genres.) I'm particularly happy that an high fantasy with dragons and epic world building is getting so much love and attention. Some of us do still prefer this fantasy to the contemporary, urban, dystopian, or paranormal kind.

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