Cybils Finalists: Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books

The Cybils finalists have been announced, so at long last, I and my fellow round one judges in the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Book category  - Caroline Flory, Maggi Idzikowski, Mike Lewis, Kimberley Moran, Debbie Nance, and Melissa Taylor - are able to share with you our shortlists. These lists are the end result of hours of reading, reviewing, and discussing, and they represent the best-written books published this year that beginning readers will love to read. 

Easy Readers

• Extraordinary Warren: A Super Chicken by Sarah Dillard (Aladdin)
• Okay, Andy! by Maxwell Eaton (Blue Apple Books)
• Clara and Clem Under the Sea by Ethan Long (Penguin USA)
• Pigsticks and Harold and the Incredible Journey by Alex Milway (Candlewick Press)
• The Ice Cream Shop: A Steve and Wessley Reader by Jennifer E. Morris (Scholastic)
• Inch and Roly and the Sunny Day Scare by Melissa Wiley (Simon Spotlight)
• My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion)
  

Early Chapter Books

• Violet Mackerel's Possible Friend by Anna Branford (Atheneum)
• The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure by Doreen Cronin (Atheneum)
• The Lion Who Stole My Arm by Nicola Davies (Candlewick Press)
• Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon (Dial Books)
• Lulu and the Rabbit Next Door by Hilary McKay (Albert Whitman & Company)
• Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake by Julie Sternberg (Abrams Books for Young Readers)
• Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst (Atheneum)

View this list, along with our blurbs, on the Cybils website. 

Starting today, these books will be handed over to the round 2 judges: Narineh Ferderer, Amanda Furman, Catherine Nichols, Mia Wenjen, and Matthew Winner. They will choose one winner from each subcategory, which will be announced on February 14.