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December 6, 2010 by Travis Jonker

Epic Cybils Book Battle: Week I

December 6, 2010 by Travis Jonker   7 comments

*Disclaimer* The process described below is one method for informing Cybils evaluating. It is not, I repeat, not how the Cybils shortlists are created.

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I’m honored to be a panelist on the fiction picture book committee of the 2010 Cybils awards. Since “kid appeal” is part of the award criteria, I though it wise to hit up honest-to-goodness youngsters for their opinions. While I can make predictions on what will float kids’ boats, you can never know for sure until you see the boats actually floatin’.

Here’s my plan:

A book battle of epic proportions. Two schools, eight classrooms, one winner. Well, actually, two winners (but that last sentence sounded so much better with “one winner”). I’ll add these two final student choices to the list of books I’ll be fighting for when our committee gathers to create a shortlist.

Week 1 is a straight-up battle. Each classroom gets two books, they read both and pick their favorite. Scientific? Nay. But a way to gather some useful information.

I feel like it would be slightly unfair to show which books lost, as all have been nominated and are still under consideration. So let’s take a look at the winning books for week one. Each and every title has been classroom approved:

Sneaky Sheep by Chris Monroe

The illustrations in Sneaky Sheep were a high point for students. The humorous story was also a winner.

Hot Rod Hamster Cynthia Lord & Derek Anderson

Students enjoyed the rhyming text and humor of Hot Rod Hamster.

Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer & Scott Magoon

Students noted the artwork in Mostly Monsterly as excellent. They also enjoyed the original story.

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown

Humor takes the cake. Children love the absurdity of this story and the fact that the boy’s only communication is “squeak”.

Spork by Kyo Maclear & Isabelle Arsenault

Students like Spork‘s unusual illustrations and loved the originality on display. They use sporks at lunch, so they can relate the utensil. The giant baby featured in the climax was also a big hit.

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

My Garden won the day for two reasons: the creativity of the story and the outstanding illustrations.

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson & Marcellus Hall

Students enjoyed the rhyming words, setting, and concept of The Cow Loves Cookies.

The Thingamabob by Il Sung Na

One student was quoted as saying “short, but hilarious” to describe The Thingamabob.

For round two, I’ll match these winning books up with a fresh batch of excellent titles and students will rate them on a scale of 1-10 for pictures, story, and overall appeal. I’ll share these results as soon as the resultifyin’ is wrapped up.

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jules says

    December 6, 2010 at 9:58 am

    How did I miss The Cow Loves Cookies this year?

    I love the artwork of Isabelle Arsenault.

    Looking forward to the results!

    • Travis says

      December 6, 2010 at 11:11 am

      A couple of these definitely flew under the radar, including Cow Loves Cookies. I feel like The Thingamabob didn’t get a ton of notice either, so it’s cool to spread the word on these titles.

  2. Rebecca says

    December 6, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    I love this idea! And you’re right: as school librarians we think we have a pretty good feel for what will float the kids’ boats, but to hear it from the source is fantastic. Thank you for this.

  3. Pussreboots says

    December 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    I can’t wait to see the next round!

  4. Jet says

    December 7, 2010 at 11:08 am

    An epic battle!!!! Very cool . . .

    Janet

  5. Ed says

    December 7, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    Need real live kid responses to books? Talk to me! Fabulous responses to INTERRUPTING CHICKEN, MOSTLY MONSTERLY, HIP POCKET PAPA….

    • Travis says

      December 8, 2010 at 5:31 am

      Good to hear we’re getting the same response for Mostly Monsterly. I read Interrupting Chicken to a class earlier this year and it went over well, so I’m interested to see if that is the case with the class that is reviewing it this week.

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