The 2016 Cybils Winners! (And My Personal Runner-Ups)

Guess what?? Cybils, that's what. I had the awesome, amazing opportunity to be a Round 2 judge for the Cybils Awards again! Last year, I did the Easy Reader and Early Chapter Book category. But for 2016, I shook things up a bit and helped nominate the winner of the Board Book and Fiction Picture Book category. And on Tuesday, our decisions were finally announced!

Check out all the winners here!

Like last year, I thought I'd take the time to highlight a couple (personal, individual, outside-of-the-contest) runner-ups in my judging category.

Being a Round 2 judge means that you get to select the winning title from a group of finalists picked in Round 1. Well, let me tell you, all of the books are finalists for a reason! They were all so good. (You can see all the finalists on the home page). So really, pick them all up if you can. But here are my personal favorites:

My Favorite Books Published in 2016

Happy New Year! A time to reflect...on favorite books. Right? Right. So here it is! My list of favorite books published in 2016. And really, there's no rhyme or reason to this list; these books are just my straight up favorite favorite. Personal bias all the way!

Let's cover every age group, shall we?

Favorite Books From My Childhood

Warning: nostalgic content ahead. Yep, it's one of those posts where I reminisce and celebrate my own fond memories.

Okay, really, it's not going to be sappy or anything. It's just a list of some of the books that were my favorite favorite growing up. You see, sometimes, when you stumble upon a collection of your old books at your parent's house, you can't help but be nostalgic, right? Right. Yeah, I've got you thinking about your own childhood favorites, huh?

Here's mine...

The 2015 Cybils Winners!

Guess what?? Cybils, that's what. I had the awesome, amazing opportunity to be a Round 2 judge for the 2015 Cybils Awards in the Easy Reader and Early Chapter Book category. And yesterday, our decisions were finally announced!

Check out all the winners here!

But of course, I'm going to highlight the easy reader & chapter book winners here, as well as my (personal, individual, outside-of-the-contest) runner ups.

Favorite Board Books for Baby

It's pretty baby-heavy around here nowadays. Which made me realize that for some crazy reason I haven't ever talked about board books.

What?? I know! Totally crazy. Especially since I was doing Baby Time at my library and everything.

So, without further ado, I present my favorite board books. (Which makes a lot of sense, now that I actually have a baby...)

My Favorite Books of 2015

I know, hopefully you have the same attitude I do: better late than never! I mean, technically we're only a month into the new year. This post is still relevant...right?

Whatever. If anything, I'm doing it for myself. So there. Here's my totally and completely biased, I-don't-care-if-they're-award-winners-or-not-I-just-love-them book list--my favorites from 2015!

And maybe if you trust my opinion, you'll like these, too.

My Favorite Books of 2014

It's New Year's Eve! We're only hours away from 2015. Did anybody else feel like this year went by pretty fast?

So, I thought I'd go ahead and give a totally biased favorites post about the best books published this year for each age group (teen, middlegrade, kids, early readers, and picture books). The choices aren't based on any awards they should win or professional critique, just pure and simple favoritism.

And if you trust my opinion, you may just like these, too.

20 of the Best Kid's Books

So it turns out that Amazon has a list. Amazon has a lot of lists, but this one specifically is, "100 Children's Books to Read in a Lifetime." In a word, they have selected the 100 best kids books. Anything for those aged 12 and under. Which, of course, I take a special interest in. But is Amazon right?

As far as I can tell, Amazon does not explain their selection criteria or method behind the madness. Because let me tell you, there are a lot of good books out there--how can anyone choose? Amazon has got classics and award winners, new favorites and the popular. But still. They're not perfect in my mind. So, to help you narrow down from the 100, and perhaps be exposed to a few unexpected titles, here is my response to their list...

Twenty of My Favorite Children's Books

and so I think you should read them

I've split it into 10 picture books and 10 chapter books. First, I'll list the ones that weren't on their list. Three each.

Anxiously Awaited Sequels

I have some favorite series that are still incomplete (don't we all?). This list consists of the sequels that I am DYING to have. Like now.

So you can take this list one of two ways: get off your butt and read these AMAZING books right away!! Or...you can be lame and wait for the whole series is out because you might turn into a hair-pulling, author-stalker, book-caresser like me.

And they're simply in order of release, because how can I choose a favorite? (Except the Throne of Glass one. That is my favorite.)

Heir of Fire
(Throne of Glass #3)
Sarah Maas

Release: September 2, 2014 (pre-order!)

Celaena has just escaped to a foreign land, but knows the battle against evil is far from over. With an INCREDIBLE bomb of information dropped on the last page of the previous book, I must say that this is my most eagerly awaited sequel. My one pain/joy (it's rather paradoxical) is that this is not the end. And so I will be pining for this series once again by September 3rd.

See my reviews for Book 1, Book 2, and Book 0.5

The Whispering Skull
(Lockwood & Co #2)
Jonathan Stroud

Release: September 16, 2014 (pre-order!)

This will be the continuing adventures of Lockwood & Co., an intrepid band of young teens who take on ghosts, phantoms, and other dangerous spirits. The first was terrifyingly fantastic (and cliffhanger-less, so read it) so I anticipate something even better with this (Stroud other series, Bartimaeus got better with each book). Plus, I anticipate clean content (no language or sex).

See my review for Book 1

Firefight
(Reckoners #2)
Brandon Sanderson

Release: January 6, 2015 (pre-order!)

The Reckoners will be continuing their fight against Epics. David may have won the last battle, but there are still tyrannical Epics to destroy. The first was so action packed, I couldn't put it down. And it had a satisfying ending, so read it. Again, it's a fantastic author and clean content, so I am rooting for this one all the way.

See my review for Book 1

Fairest
(Lunar Chronicles #3.5)
Marissa Meyer

Release: January 27, 2015 (pre-order!)

With each book in the Lunar Chronicles, Meyer expertly ties together a fairytale retelling set in the future. Presumably, this will cover a sort of Snow White background story on the evil Queen Levana. It's a prequel of sorts, before Meyer officially finishes the series with Winter in November 2015 (GAH an even longer wait...). They're clean, exciting, romantic--everything! (I haven't reviewed the first three books on here because I fail... But believe me, they're GOOD.)

The Black Reckoning
(The Books of Beginning #3)

Release date: March 14, 2015 (pre-order!)

This is VERY much eagerly anticipated because SOMEONE (not cool, Stephens!) decided to end the second book with a TERRIBLE cliffhanger. Ugh. But it's a good series, targeted towards pre-teens with three siblings on an epic adventure to locate the three Books of Beginning, giving them various magical powers. The first was a little slow, but it just kept getting better. Plus, this will finish off the series. So I won't have to keep dying of a heart attack. (And sorry, no previous reviews again because I read the first two SO LONG ago. Man this has taken forever...)

So there you have it. Some super fantastic YA series that are incomplete--and therefore, so is my heart. But the sequels are coming! So prepare yourselves!

You know, this also makes a good Christmas wishlist... Any Santas out there?