Cybils Poetry Shortlist 2016

Happy new year, everyone! 

Time to celebrate the best of the poetry published in 2016. I'll be looking for announcements of all the awards and posting information about any poetry books that are recognized as it becomes available. I'm hoping there will be many poetry books recognized in all kinds of ways because there were many, wonderful poetry books published in 2016. Just look...

FIRST, I was lucky enough to serve as a judge for the Cybils Award in Poetry and we are proud of our "shortlist" too. Here are our choices:

Here is the annotated list of these titles at the Cybils site. You can find the list of ALL the nominated books here. The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day!

Thanks to my fellow Round 1 Judges who were a lovely, thoughtful group. Be sure and check out each of their excellent blogs:

Jone MacCulloch, Chair, Check It Out 

Carol Wilcox, Carol’s Corner

Joy Acey, Poetry for Kids Joy 

Linda Baie, Teacher Dance 

Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Miss Rumphius Effect 

Kortney Garrison, One Deep Drawer

The Nerdy Book Club also announced their choices for the 2016 "Nerdies" for Poetry and Novels in Verse posted by Mary Lee Hahn here. Their list includes:

A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Booked by Kwame Alexander
Moo by Sharon Creech
Applesauce Weather by Helen Frost
Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka
Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science by Jeannine Atkins
Before Morning by Joyce Sidman
When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano
Saving Red by Sonya Sones
The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan
Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes
To Stay Alive by Skila Brown
You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen by Carole Boston Weatherford
American Ace by Marilyn Nelson
Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford (TWO for Carole!)
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words by Margarita Engle

The ALA Midwinter conference is coming up in two weeks and I'm hoping there will be poetry books among their choices too. And I'll be posting my "sneak peek" list for forthcoming poetry set to be published in 2017 very soon. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, head on over to Linda's place (my fellow Cybils Poetry Judge) at Teacher Dance for our Poetry Friday postings.