Middle Grade Fiction – Cybils 2012
Welcome to the “middle” of our second 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 Middle Grade and our new chair Karen Yingling.
Category: Middle Grade Fiction
Category Chair: Karen Yingling, aka Ms. Yingling
Karen blogs at Ms. Yingling Reads and tweets @MsYingling
A middle aged, middle school librarian from the Midwest, I’ve been blogging since 2006. I was on the Cybils’ middle grade fiction panel in 2011, the middle grade science fiction/fantasy panel in 2010, and review for Young Adults Books Central. When I’m not reading, I’m coaching middle school cross country and planning travel based on books. Prince Edward Island is my next stop, since a phantom tollbooth has never been dropped into my living room!
Round One Panelists
Kyle Kimmel, teacher
The Boy Reader and @theboyreader
No bio to find ;-(
Jill, teacher
Owl Reads and @justkeepreading
I’m a 5-8 English teacher. I’ve found that no matter who I teach I have to fight to get my students to become avid readers! This blog became an extension on that pursuit.
Amy Koester, librarian
The Show Me Librarian and @amyeileenk
My name is Amy Koester, and I am a professional children’s librarian and recreational blogger. After a few years of occasional blogging that involved even-more-occasional book reviews, I decided to start this blog devoted to children’s librarianship in March 2012. I get lots of inspiration and ideas for programs from other librarians out in the blogosphere, and my goal is to share details of my successes and learning moments in the hopes of assisting other librarians in their work. We’re a community of sharers, and I am excited to get to contribute.
Karen Yingling, librarian
Ms. Yingling Readsand @msyingling
I am a middle aged, middle school librarian from the Midwest who has been blogging since 2006. . My students are impressed that I’ve read every hardcover fiction book in our school library, but it was really an evil plan to be allowed to read to my heart’s content and be able to tell people to stop bugging me because I’m WORKING.
Ali Breidenstein, teacher and parent
Literary Lunchboxand @AliBreidenstein
I am a teacher, a mom, a wife, a friend, a business owner, a reader, a writer, a coach and a designated driver.
Deb Marshall, librarian
Just Deb: Reading and Writing for Children and Teens and @debamarshall
Former Librarian and Assistant Manager [Youth Services and Programming]. Love to read, write and talk books for children and teens! 25 plus years in public library youth services and in love with all things children and teen literature.
Art Spencer, librarian, teacher
Book Voyages and @bookvoyages
Book Voyages is a blog about children’s literature from the perspective of a school library media specialist.
Round Two
Michael Gettel-Gilmartin, author
Middle Grade Mafioso and @MGMafioso
There have been reported sightings of me in Portland, Oregon–always with my trusty fedora. I write “tween” middle grade, spend way too much time online, and occasionally bay at the moon. Don Vito Corleone is my silent partner in this enterprise. My wife and three sons (just like in The Godfather!) describe themselves as long-suffering.
Jennifer Donovan, parent
5 Minutes for Books and @5M4B
5 Minutes for Books Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan grew up reading. She took books with her to sporting events, in the car, and when she went out to eat with her parents. In college she read and wrote her way to earning a degree in English. A few years ago, she realized that she had strayed from her love of books. Her hobby welcomed her back with open arms. Recently she’s explored different types of non-fiction and especially enjoys memoir, along with a steady steam of fiction.
Cameron Kelly Rosenblum, teacher
Feeding the Flashlight and @ckellyrose
All my life I have been a lover of words and books. I can still remember the books that hooked me in third grade: How to Eat Fried Worms, Soup & Me, James & the Giant Peach, and later, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Oh yes, I did read with a flashlight under the covers. I’ve been a teacher for longer than I wish to admit publicly, and I’ve been running book clubs for kids ages 8-12 for several years now. I have developed quite a mental treasure trove of books to share. If we want kids to develop as readers, it’s not rocket science. It’s all about the books we put in their hands. Hard as it is to admit, they are not (most often) going to get hooked by the books we loved when we were little. Sniff sniff. The times they are a changin’.
Andi Sibley, librarian, parent
a wrung sponge and @AndiSibley
I’m a librarian posting about multiculti kid’s books & poetry.
Freya Hooper, parent
One Great Book and @onegreatbook
I’m a mom of three with a passion for kid’s literature! No matter what book series our kids devour, as they come to an end, we as parents ask the inevitable question, “what’s next?” I am ever on the job, trying to answer that question. I try to do it with a variety of books. Some are silly, some true to life, some pure fantasy, but in the end I hope they make my children love words, explore new ideas, and laugh!
Reaching a middle grade reader is challenging, but a guaranteed “YES!” when you hook one! The panelists and judges for this category have been reading and blogging about middle grade fiction (and more) for a mighty long time. If you need help reaching a reader, then these folks should be among your very best friends when it comes to middle grade fiction.