MotherReader

The Cybils are here! The CYBILS are here!!! Nominations open today for all categories and remain open for the next two weeks. Go to the individual category on the Cybils website to leave your nomination in the comments section of each post. 

Anyone 13 or older — authors and publishers included — may nominate a book in one of nine genres. But note that there is a one-book-per-category rule for nominations. Books published in English between January 1 and October 15, 2008, are eligible. (Books that come out later than October 15 will be eligible next year.) The books will go through two rounds of judging. Finalists will be announced January 1, 2009. Winners will be announced February 14, 2009.

I’m organizing the category of Fiction Picture Books and serving as a first-round panelist. Hey, I’m even profiled! I feel so America’s Most Wanted. Of course, today I’m highlighting the picture book category with my brilliant — okay, brilliantish — introduction:

A good picture book is a pleasing merger of text and artwork. A great picture book is a celebration of story and illustration, with lasting appeal for kids and/or adults. The best picture books completely excel in art, story, kid-friendliness, and adult appeal.

A Cybils-winning picture book adds that special “It Factor.” In message, in world-view, in connection, in humor, in reach, a book with “It Factor” rises to a higher level. These are the picture books we bring home to show our seventh-grade daughter. These are the titles that we recommend repeatedly to everyone who will listen. These are the ones we buy even if we have no preschool children, and the ones we pull out to read again and again. And at the end of the Cybils judging, these are the books that we hope to share with you.

When I first checked, there were already ten nominations in this category by 10:00 a.m. EST. Keep ’em coming!