UPDATED: Fiction Picture Books – Cybils 2012

sometimes my bio research comes up short. Please do check out the new and improved bio for Myra Garces-Bacsal.

Welcome to the first featured category in our last trilogy of posts about the panelists and judges for the 2012 Cybils.

Beginning last week and continuing through September 30, 2012 we are blogging about each of the Cybils categories as we count down toward our opening day for 2012 nominations: October 1, 2012

We are working our way backwards through the alphabet, so today’s featured Category is Fiction Picture Books and our chair Pam Coughlan, aka MotherReader.

Category: Fiction Picture Books
Category Chair: Pam Coughlan
Pam blogs at MotherReader  and tweets @MotherReader

Pam Coughlan writes the blog MotherReader and administers the website KidLitosphere Central. Two daughters and ten years in the children’s department of public libraries kindled her passion for picture books.

Now managing the schedules of two teenage girls, she appreciates the genre even more for delivering the essence of story and art in brevity. Which is to say, the books are short – much like this bio.

Round 1 Panelists

Laura Given, librarian
LibLaura5 and @liblaura5
K-8 Library Media Specialist, reading for fun advocate and collector of 5s.

Travis Jonker, librarian
100 Scope Notes  and @100scopenotes
I’ve been an elementary school librarian since 2005 and started 100 Scope Notes in the golden days of 2007. In addition to posting children’s literature reviews here, I also periodically straighten my tie and review for School Library Journal. I live in Michigan and am a member of the American Library Association.

Julie Jurgens, librarian, teacher
Hi Miss Julie!  and @hiMissJulie
Miss Julie is a children’s librarian in the Chicagoland area. She likes science fiction, grilled cheese sandwiches, and walking with friends. Before becoming a librarian in 2008, Miss Julie spent six years teaching toddlers and preschoolers  in the field of early childhood education. Her blog focuses on library services and materials for children and teens, with a special focus on babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Rebecca Reid, parent, teacher
Rebecca Reads  and @rebeccarreid
I am originally from Chicago, and I have lived or studied in Utah; Seattle; Bolivia; Jerusalem; and Melbourne, Australia. I’m a homeschooling mom with a son and a daughter. I like to read and reread fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, mostly long-lasting classics but also some newly published works. I also like to dabble in photography and find joy in a successfully cooked meal. My highest priorities are my family and my religion.

Jodell Sadler, parent, author
Picture Book Lunchables  and @picturebklunch
Jodell Sadler explores how pacing and twenty ordinary literary devices help writers craft extraordinary picture books.

Danielle Smith, parent
There’s a Book  and @the1stdaughter
I’m a mother of two wonderful children, just under two years apart in age. I love to read, write, watch movies, play the flute, listen to music and just enjoy life. My love for my children and my love of books has merged and meet here on this site. Since the time I was very little I loved to read. The first book in a long line of favorites was Socks by Beverly Cleary. I remember never wanting to put it down and I have regained that love of books with the birth of my two children. In my endeavor to ensure that I carry this tradition of reading on in our home I will always fill it with books that make you dream, laugh, think and so many more things. This site is designed to help the others of you out there in search of the same thing find what you are looking for. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer

Aaron Zenz, parent, author
Bookie Woogie and @AaronZenz
We love the written word.  We love art.  Children’s books are a place where those two things come together beautifully. Here at Bookie Woogie we pick our favorite books, review them, and create some accompanying fan art. We invite you to participate too: please chime in with your thoughts and comments!

Round 2 Judges

Myra Bacsal, teacher
Gathering Books  and @GatheringBooks
I am a Teacher Educator (specializing in gifted education) in Singapore and a Clinical Psychologist by profession. My heart is in connecting with gifted children and high ability learners (and their families and friends and pets and plants too, if you may) who are looking for kindred spirits. For months now, my teacher-students have been asking me for referrals of possible books that they could feature in their classrooms or use for discussion. Thus, the idea of developing this kind of resource blossomed. And with the help of our IT-and-Blogger Expert Mary Daradar, this new home of Gathering Books is born. Over and above that, I am a celebrified geek who has a deep yearning for good books and celebrates narratives that heal the soul and move one’s sensibilities. I believe that books have the power to change one’s life and allow one to escape in an alternative plane of existence where storytellers, magicians, and witty sharp-tongued children rule the universe. To know more about my involvement in GatheringBooks, click here

Darshana Khiani, parent, author
Flowering Minds and @darshanakhiani
I am a mom to two darling girls, 4 and 6. I love searching for the latest funny, interesting, educational, laugh-out-loud children’s book or rediscovering a classic and would like to share that with you. I mainly review picture books with some easy readers, chapter books, and middle-grade novels. The “Kidlit News & Tips” contain random information relating to books. During the day I am a full time professional working in high-tech, but  the rest of the time I am knee-deep in kidlit stuff. Critiquing my peers’ manuscripts, keeping up with the latest kidlit news, working on my own picture book stories, and of course reading/reviewing children’s books.

Joanna Marple, author, teacher
Miss Marple’s Musings and @joannamarple
Stories enchant me, and the people behind those stories. I enjoy hearing stories, reading stories and telling stories. Words have captivated me since learning to read…I have worked on four continents – from development projects and training to language teaching and librarianship. My interests are as varied as my work experience, but include: a passion for the natural world, a fascination with other cultures and languages and an appreciation of all forms of storytelling (written/theatre/music/art/oral). My desire is to weave stories for children that will celebrate life across the globe and the wonder of the natural and creative world in which we live! I am at present living in the South of France with two quirky felines and a constant flow of friends.

Dawn Mooney, parent, teacher
5 Minutes for Books and  @mteblogmama
Dawn is that kid you saw sitting by herself under a tree with a book at summer camp. Yes, there were thick glasses involved, but thankfully no braces. Now, a few decades later, the glasses have been kicked to the curb by contacts, and the relative loner status has been replaced by Wife to one very cute hubby and Mother to the three kids running amok. The book in her hands, though, is still a constant theme. She is a former preschool teacher, currently trying to master this whole stay-at-home-mom thing in the Maryland suburbs, and she counts among her hobbies (beyond reading, of course!): blogging, consuming chocolate, making lists, vacuuming, and changing diapers. Her reading tastes run the gamut, from best seller fiction to memoirs to parenting resources, with a ton of picture books thrown in for good measure.

Jen Robinson, parent, literacy evangelist
Jen Robinson’s Book Page and @JensBookPage
I live in San Jose, CA, after growing up in Lexington, MA. I’m co-founder of a software company (FabTime) that helps computer chip manufacturers make their products more quickly. I have M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts. I got my bachelor’s degree from Duke University. I’ve always loved books, especially children’s books and mysteries, and I feel strongly that more children should grow up with the opportunity to love books. I also think that more adults should try reading children’s books, and that the ones who do should be able to share their thoughts on children’s books with others. To work towards these ends, I’ve started this blog. I also volunteer for the Foundation and Friends of the Santa Clara City Library.

Historically, the Fiction Picture Books has the most nominations of all of the Cybils Categories, usually in excess of 200 titles, if memory serves.

Pam’s Round 1 team will be reading them all in order to whittle the group to a set of 3 to 5 finalists. Nominations are the recommendations of readers with kids in their lives, just like you! So when you want a quick way to pick  great books for gifts later this year (89 days from today!)  you can stop by the Cybils blog nominations post and Poof! your list of highly recommended options is ready to go!