Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month Year 5!

It's March again, and that means that Lisa Taylor of Shelf-employed and I are once again co-curating Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month, a celebration of books for young people which celebrate notable women. Despite the progress that has been made, schools still spend comparatively little time on women throughout history; fortunately many books have been published for young people of all ages on a range of fascinating figures which can be used by teachers to supplement the curriculum or by parents at home. I hope you will check out this year's blog contributors, who include everyone from African-American ballerina Misty Copeland to award-winning nonfiction writer Sue Macy. You can "follow" the blog, subscribe by e-mail, and also follow the posts on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, if you prefer!  A complete list of this year's contributors is available on the blog as well.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, I believe you can still order tickets for the 35th anniversary celebration of the National Women's History Project, which will take place on Saturday, March 28 at the Autry Museum and offers the chance to meet the 2015 honorees. It's a terrific opportunity to celebrate women's history with others.

Sydney Taylor Award Blog Tour: The Whispering Town, by Jennifer Elvgren, illustrated by Fabio Santomauro (Kar-Ben, 2014)

I am honored to welcome to my blog today author Jennifer Elvgren, the author of The Whispering Town, winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers category, and the book's illustrator, Fabio Santomauro. The Sydney Taylor awards are given out annually by the Jewish Libraries Association for new books for children and teens that "exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience." The Whispering Town tells the story of an ordinary heroine, a young girl named Anett, who together with others from her Danish village community, help hide a Jewish family until they can escape from the Nazis.  The story is illustrated in graphic novel style by Italian illustrator Fabio Santomauro. Jennifer kindly answered some questions for me as part of the Sydney Taylor Award winners blog tour.  The complete blog tour schedule, which runs from February 8 to the 13th, can be found here.  

Author Jennifer Elvgren

Q: The Danish people's heroic efforts to save "their" Jews are one of the few "feel-good" stories from the Holocaust.  What inspired you to create a picture book on this topic? 

A:  Somewhere around late elementary, early middle school, my grandmother gave me her copy of The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, and my mother gave me a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. From a young age, I pondered the bravery of those hidden and the bravery of those who protected the hidden. I carried this interest in Holocaust literature as I grew and started my writing career as a print journalist. When I began writing solely for elementary children after my second child was born, I wondered if there was a way to tell a Holocaust story to a younger set of readers. Around 2009, I read Ellen Levine’s nonfiction book Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews. One Jewish boy recollected his father trying to find the Gilleleje harbor on a moonless night and villagers stood in doorways giving him directions. As I read this, I could see the storyboard in my mind – Anett and her parents hiding a Jewish family and enlisting the village to whisper them to safety.

Q:  Could you comment on the unique challenges of writing a book aimed at young children on the Holocaust?  

A:  For the youngest readers, I wanted to portray danger, not horror. I intended this book to be the start of a lifelong discussion of the Holocaust, focusing initially on kindness and bravery. In early drafts of The Whispering Town, I went too far the other way and watered down Anett’s character. I never had her come face-to-face with Nazi soldiers. After a meeting with my critique group, there was consensus that Anett must face the soldiers. By not doing so, she would have been robbed of her greatest chance to be brave. Now I believe that was the best decision for her. Anett was able to dig down deep, think fast on her feet and face her greatest fear.

Q:  What kind of research did you do for this story?  Is Anett based on a real girl?  

A: In this story, Anett is a fictional character, and I researched the occupation of Denmark and the Danish Resistance, which smuggled almost all of the Danish Jews out of Denmark.

Briefly, on April 9, 1940, at 4:14 a.m. Germany began the invasion of Denmark by land, sea and air. The invasion lasted six hours, which was the shortest operation in WWII. The Danes knew the attack was coming but were denied permission to fight, as the Danish government did not want to provoke the Germans. Denmark cooperated, but did not collaborate. As a result, King Christian X stayed on the throne and continued to live at the palace in Copenhagen. From 1940 to October 1943 resistance to the occupation mostly took the form of bursts of national pride like when King Christian X took his daily ride through the Copenhagen streets to meet throngs of flag-waving Danes, a few scattered acts of sabotage, strikes and a slow down of the workforce.

During the summer of 1943 Danes had grown weary of the occupation and their acts of sabotage became more violent including riots in Copenhagen. In August 1943, the Germans declared a State of Emergency and by September, Hitler approved the deportation of Danish Jews to death camps.

Danes were horrified. People from all walks of Danish life – clergy, government workers, storeowners, farmers, fisherman, teachers, police and the coast guard – protected Jews. The Danes hid Jews in barns, cellars, hospitals, summerhouses, churches and warehouses. They loaned boats and gave money to hire boats to smuggle Jews out of the country to neutral Sweden. The Danes also protected Jews’ houses and belongings until after the war.

Q:  The Whispering Town shows young children the heroism in ordinary people, as opposed to the superheroes that delight so many children.  In this case, the heroes are not Spiderman or Batman, but a small girl, a baker, a librarian, and a farmer.  How did you happen to choose these three professions to represent the Danish people?  (Of course, as a librarian, I am delighted by the choice of a librarian!)  

A: In times of crises, and anytime really, food and words bring comfort, healing and love. When my friends are facing illness or sadness, I deliver homemade food and/or books to their doorsteps. With Carl and his mama so frightened in her cellar, it seemed natural for Anett to bring them her favorite food and books, to feed their bodies and souls.

Q: As an author, how did you feel about the illustrations Fabio Santomauro drew for your text?  With their graphic novel feel, they are quite different from the illustrations in most of the picture books about the Holocaust.

A: When I saw the first pencil sketch, I was surprised at the graphic novel style. I had expected something more realistic. As I scrolled through the rest of the sketches, it dawned on me that this would feel less frightening to children – more accessible – the goal that I had set to achieve with the words. It was a brilliant pairing on the part of Kar-Ben. When I saw the final art – the muted palette, the pops of red, the facial expressions – it was love at first sight.   

Illustrator Fabio Santomauro also kindly offered some insights into his work.

Q:  Fabio, Could you comment on what research, if any, you needed to do in order to illustrate this book?

A: To illustrate a book as "The Whispering Town" I had to make big efforts of graphic research. Both thanks to online images and pictures taken by the editor, I managed to study the places in which the story is set, the typical clothes and features of people in that period. Immersing myself in the colours and feelings of that historical context was amazing.

Q:  Your illustrations seem to come out of your background as a graphic artist, complete with speech bubbles and a comic-book style.  This look seems to make the story less frightening for young children.  Can you comment on your choice of style for this children's book on such a serious topic?  

A: We wanted to achieve a simple graphic design, not too harsh for our young readers, a style which could be appreciated even by very young ones. The final style is something between comics and illustration and it seemed the right choice.

Q:  Can you tell us about your influences as an artist?  I noticed Hobbes on your website; was Bill Watterson a major influence?

Q: Year after year I had many different influences. Comics, illustration, street art.  Watterson and Shultz are among my favourite authors, while, more recently, artists as Gipi, Isabelle Arsenault, Frédérique Bertrand have caught my attention.

Q:  How has your book been received in your native Italy?

A: The book has been recently translated into Italian and published with the title "La città che sussurrò" by Giuntina.

Working often with foreign countries I had few occasions to join book presentations of my works, but now I can enjoy them myself!

The book is gaining its success; even if we are talking about a niche title, it is catching the attention of more and more 'quality readers'.

Thanks so much to Jennifer and Fabio for appearing on my blog and congratulations (auguri!) on your Sydney Taylor honor award. Please check out interviews with other winners throughout this week (see blog tour schedule below).

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

Una La Marche, author of Like No Other
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Lizzie Skurnick, publisher of Isabel's War by Lila Perl
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Pen & Prose

Author Jennifer Elvgren and illustrator Fabio Santomauro, creators ofThe Whispering Town
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

Loic Dauvillier, Mark Lizano and Greg Salsedo, creators of Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At The Interlace Place

Author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock, creators ofMy Grandfather's Coat
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Sandra Bornstein's Blog

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

Author Barbara Krasner and illustrator Kelsey Garrity-Riley, creators ofGoldie Takes a Stand
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Write Kids' Books

Donna Jo Napoli, author of Storm
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Jewish Books for Kids

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Donna Gephart, author of Death by Toilet Paper
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Monkey Poop

Author Jacqueline Jules and illustrator Durga Yael Bernhard, creators of Never Say a Mean Word Again
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky's Blog

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Blog Tour Wrap-Up with All Authors and Illustrators
At The Whole Megillah

Book Review: Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, by Laurie Ann Thompson & Sean Qualls (Schwartz & Wade books, 2015)

Recommended for ages 5 and up.

This inspiring picture book by author Laurie Ann Thompson tells the moving true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, a young man born with a severe disability in rural Ghana who nonetheless bicycled across the entire country, raising awareness for disabled people throughout Africa and around the world.

The book opens with a touching tableau--a beautiful baby boy has been born, but with only one strong leg.  We can see the despair in the father's posture and the fear in the mother's eyes as she looks at the baby's father.  Disabled children in Ghana were not only considered worthless-they were considered a curse, and the baby's father soon abandons the family.  The mother's hope is seen in her naming the baby "Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."

Emmanuel's mother refuses to allow her child to become a beggar, as was the custom for disabled people in Ghana; instead she helps him to become self-sufficient, hopping to school, two miles each way.  When his classmates scorned him, he saves money to buy something no one in the school had--a real soccer ball, and earns their respect by learning to play on just one leg.  When his mother falls ill, Emmanuel moves to the big city to earn money to support his family.  Sadly, his mother dies, but he honors her memory by dreaming up a way to show that disabled people could do anything--a bike ride around his country--nearly 400 miles.  Support for what others deemed an impossible project came all the way from America, along with the equipment he needed.  We see Emmanuel riding across the country, surrounded people cheering, including disabled countrymen.  Thompson concludes this inspiring story as follows:  "He completed his astounding journey...in just ten days. But Emmanuel's success goes even further than that. He proved that one leg is enough to do great things--and one person is enough to change the world."

In her first picture book, author Laurie Ann Thompson admirably succeeds in her mission of teaching children about social justice issues, a campaign she began in her young adult nonfiction book, Be a Changemaker, a how-to book for young social entrepreneurs.  Thompson's tale is enhanced with mixed media illustrations by award-winning children's illustrator Sean Qualls (Before John Was a Jazz Giant and Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat among others).  He uses a "primitive" style of illustration, relying on collage and paint to convey the emotion of Emmanuel's story.

An author's note explains that Emmanuel has continued to achieve great things, competing in major athletic events, carrying the Olympic torch, and starring in a documentary about his life, Emmanuel's Gift, which I will be putting on my Netflix queue.  He continues to work to help disabled people, particularly in Ghana, realize their full potential.

This is a wonderful book to share with elementary school children; for older children it can be paired with viewing the documentary.

Book Review: A Cottage in the Woods, by Katherine Coville (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015)

Release date:  February 10, 2015
Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Jane Eyre meets Goldilocks and the Three Bears in this enchanting tale of Ursula, an impoverished yet well-brought-up young governess hired to take care of adorable young Theodore Vaughn in a creepy, huge manor house in which portraits follow you with their eyes, strange unseen footsteps follow you down the hall, and objects disappear from rooms without a trace. There's mystery, adventure, small town politics, and even romance.  Sound familiar?  But in this book our main characters are all....well, bears.  Filled with tropes from gothic novels, this book draws you into its enchanted world and is hard to put down. It is sure to please tweens and even teens who enjoy fairy-tale mashups, whether TV series such as Once Upon a Time and Grimm or books by Shannon Hale, Adam Gidwitz, Michael Buckley, and others. 

Our story is set in the Enchanted Forest, populated not only by characters from the Goldilocks tale but also characters from other beloved stories and nursery rhymes such as The Three Pigs, the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe, and the Bremen Street Musicians.  These talking animals live in peace with their human counterparts.  But when a mute, filthy, starving little girl with golden hair is taken in by the kindly bear family, prejudice against the talking animals from the human community comes to the forefront. Will Goldilocks, who becomes a beloved foster child, be able to stay with her new bear family? And what will happen to the kindly governess, Ursula, who has fallen in love with Mr. Bentley, another member of the Vaughn family's staff? The novel is full of bears who know Latin, awkward but well meaning ministers, seemingly menacing nurses; Coville does a marvelous job capturing the formal vocabulary and images of the 19th century period in which the story seems to be set, a time in which even young proper bears must wear corsets and not spend time alone in the company of a young male bear. If you've read Jane Austen and other 19th century novelists these touches are especially endearing.

Note:  Review copy received through Amazon Vine.

Book Review, Giveaway, and Blog Tour: When Otis Courted Mama, by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015)

Recommended for ages 4-8.

Award-winning author Kathi Appelt tackles the tricky subject of stepfamilies in her newest picture book, When Otis Courted Mama. Less than half of US families live in traditional households (i.e. two heterosexual parents in their first marriage), according to a 2014 Pew Research study. Yet most of our picture books still seem to reflect an "ideal family" that's just not the reality for most kids. Books such as When Otis Courted Mama fill a gap for many children who need books that address their own family situations.

Appelt creates an appealing protagonist in the coyote pup Cardell.  He has a "most wonderful life" for a young coyote; he lives with his "perfectly good" daddy and his step-mother and step-brother part of the time, and with his "perfectly good mama" the rest of the time at the opposite end of the desert (who knew coyote families were so complicated?)  In general, Cardell has his mama all to himself, and he likes it that way. He feels loved "through and through" by both his parents, and that's the way it should be. 

Complications to young Cardell's life ensue when Mama's neighbor Otis comes courting, carrying ocotillo flowers in one paw and a bag of cactus candies in the other.  It's clear that Mama's been dating for a while, and some of her prior suitors are comically described in the text and illustrations, but none of them was any real threat to Cardell's close ties with Mama. Otis is the first coyote caller that Mama doesn't send packing. Cardell isn't too happy about this, but his growling at Otis doesn't seem to do any good. In the end, Otis wins Cardell over and the new coyote family lives happily ever after, sticker burs and sand fleas aside.

This book deals sensitively with the many complicated feelings of jealousy that ensue for a child when a parent begins a new relationship.  Cardell learns that although Otis isn't good at the same things as his own daddy, he has other qualities to offer, and in the end he still has a "perfectly good daddy and a perfectly good mama...but now Cardell also had someone else: Otis!" The casting of coyotes instead of humans in this picture book gives what could be a serious subject a playful tone.  The coyotes are more human than animal, however, as they walk on two legs, and engage in decidedly human activities such as making flapjacks, playing instruments, reading books, dancing, and even painting pictures (Cardell's Mama is an accomplished artist). Yet they also engage in coyote behavior such as howling at the moon, and in addition to flapjacks, Cardell's diet includes more typical coyote-like fare such as rats and chuckwallas. Illustrator Jill McElmurry creates very large-eyed coyotes that look more cute than predator-like, and the coyotes are depicted wearing natty accessories like hats, scarves, and flowers in their fur. There's lots of local Southwest color in the story, both in the text and in Jill McElmurry's whimsical images, which make use of a traditional Southwestern palette, and the Southwestern landscape of mesas and cactus reinforces the setting for young readers. 

To download a free, CCSS-aligned curriculum guide, visit http://www.scribd.com/doc/251856381/When-Otis-Courted-Mama-Curriculum-Guide#scribd or Kathi’s website at kathiappelt.com.  You can check out the book trailer at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCcoiOVgxiY&feature=youtu.be  and also find a full-color door hanger and other fun downloadables at http://www.scribd.com/doc/251856096/When-Otis-Courted-Mama-Activity-Pages#scribd.

For more on Cardell, Otis, Mama, and Kathi Appelt, check out the other blog tour stops:

date	blog	blog URL
Mon, Jan 5	5 Minutes for Books	http://www.5minutesformom.com/category/feature-columns/5-minutes-for-books/
Tues, Jan 6	Cracking the Cover	http://www.crackingthecover.com/
Wed, Jan 7	Sharpread	http://mrcolbysharp.com/
Thurs, Jan 8	Unleashing Readers	http://www.unleashingreaders.com/
Fri, Jan 9	Once Upon a Story	http://mariaburel.com/
Sat, Jan 10	Booking Mama	http://www.bookingmama.net/
Mon, Jan 12	Geo Librarian	http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com/
Tues, Jan 13	The Late Bloomer's Book Blog AND NC Teacher Stuff	http://www.thelatebloomersbookblog.blogspot.com http://ncteacherstuff.blogspot.com/
Wed, Jan 14	Teach Mentor Texts	http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz3DP0vkvgi
Thurs, Jan 15	Kid Lit Frenzy	http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/
Fri, Jan 16	The Fourth Musketeer	http://fourthmusketeer.blogspot.com/

Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of WHEN OTIS COURTED MAMA by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (U.S. addresses only)

Cybils Finalists announced on January 1, 2015!

Over the last month or so, I have not had much time for my blog since I have been very busy reading over 100 titles as a first-stage judge in the Nonfiction for Early and Middle Grades category of the Cybils awards.  Growing up in the 1960's and 1970's, when there was a lack of attractive nonfiction books for kids, I found a special delight in reading so many fabulous nonfiction books for kids on every conceivable topic, from history, biography, astronomy, animals, archaeology, and much much more.  There is a book out there for every young reader, and for many it might be one of these excellent nonfiction titles.  A list of the seven titles picked as finalists follows, along with blurbs by the committee members:

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain

by Russell Freedman

Clarion Books

Nominated by: Jenna G

While Ellis Island is frequently written about in literature for young people, few Americans are familiar with its West Coast equivalent, Angel Island, off the California coast, which processed about one million immigrants from Japan, China, and Korea at the beginning of the 20th century. Using original source documents, including memoirs, diaries, letters, and “wall poems” written directly on the walls of the facility, master nonfiction writer Russell Freedman brings the moving story of this little-known facility to life. The book is abundantly illustrated with archival photographs and includes extensive back matter.

Margo Tanenbaum, The Fourth Musketeer

Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cat (Scientists in the Field Series)

by Sy Montgomery

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Nominated by: Christopher Leach

This book chronicles the efforts of Laurie Marker and the Cheetah Conservation Fund to save the endangered cheetahs of Namibia through unique collaborations with the local farmers. Like most Scientists in the Field titles, it includes the story of the main scientist’s life, involvement and viewpoints of locals, and stunning photographs. This is a perfect blend of inspiration and science, encouraging kids to dig deeper and think about a popular topic. A great book for strong middle-grade readers to enjoy on their own or to read together as a family or class.

Jennifer Wharton, Jean Little Library

Feathers: Not Just for Flying

by Melissa Stewart

Charlesbridge

Nominated by: laurapurdiesalas

This unique look at a bird’s most obvious characteristic, its feathers, compares the many different uses of feathers to familiar items like a blanket and an umbrella. The text is layered with simple, declarative sentences and more complex factual captions and statements. Stunning artwork creates a scrapbook effect out of illustrations, with a skillful use of shadows to create a three-dimensional effect. This lovely and useful book will catch the interest of preschool through early elementary students who will pore over the art, be drawn into the text, and possibly inspired to start their own nature notebooks.

Jennifer Wharton, Jean Little Library

Handle With Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey (Nonfiction – Grades Prek-4) (Junior Library Guild Selection)

by Loree Griffin Burns

Millbrook Press

Nominated by: Beth Mitcham

The Very Hungry Caterpillar gets a literary partner for older children in Handle With Care, which takes readers on a visual tour of a butterfly farm in Costa Rica to further explore the miracle of metamorphosis. Accurate but restrained text complements the crisp photos popping with color. Sometimes the photos are a single, detail-revealing close-up, while others use fascinating multiples & patterns: caterpillars in a bucket, pupae sorted into piles for shipping or lined up in neat rows. Generous use of white space keeps the focus trained on the miracle – the life cycle of butterflies. More than a simple documentary of the process, Handle With Care sets the understanding of metamorphosis in the larger context of our living, global ecosystem. It introduces the more challenging concept of the values and beliefs that drive the acquisition and application of scientific knowledge. Useful across several age levels, opportunities abound to enrich school curriculum in science as well as social studies. The title skillfully spotlights the larger message that, when handled with care, the earth and its inhabitants can flourish together.

Carrie Waterson, The Indianapolis Public Library Kids’ Blog

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

by Duncan Tonatiuh

Harry N Abrams

Nominated by: Tasha

Most school-aged children can tell you about Ruby Bridges. Far fewer, however, maybe almost none, know about Sylvia Mendez, and yet it was Mendez and her family who actually paved the way for desegregation in California in 1947, seven years before Brown vs. the Board of Education and over a decade before Ruby Bridges attended school in New Orleans. Duncan Tontiuh’s picture book, Separate is Never Equal, chronicles the story of Mendez vs. Westminster in a way that is understandable to very young children, and yet appealing to young adults. Tontiuh was born in Mexico City, and his desire “to create images that honor the past, but that address contemporary issues that affect people of Mexican origin on both sides of the border, ” is clearly reflected in his style, which draws heavily on the ancient Mixtec Indian tribe. End matter includes a note from the author, photographs of Sylvia, her parents, and the schools she attended, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index. A book that should be read in every classroom!

Carol Wilcox, Carol’s Corner

The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats: A Scientific Mystery

by Sandra Markle

Millbrook Press

Publisher/ Author Submission

Bats might seem a bit frightening, but they actually do all of us a huge favor. They eat about half their bodyweight in insects – roughly the equivalent of a thousand mosquitoes – each night! This means they help limit the spread of disease and protect crops. Little brown bats were once one of the most common bat species in North America, but a few years ago scientists noticed that the bats were behaving oddly and dying out in huge numbers each winter, struck down by a mystery killer.

Markle walks us carefully though the mystery, first by explaining the lifestyle of little brown bats and the important role they play in the ecosystem. Next she introduces us to a variety of scientists from different disciplines, all of whom are working together to solve the mystery and save the bats. With attractive layouts and amazing photographs, The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats neatly lays out the steps that scientists take to solve the problem – developing a set of hypotheses to investigate, collecting data in order to test each one, zeroing in on the culprit and finally proposing a range of possible solutions. This book is a wonderful introduction to problem solving for middle grade students, animal lovers, and budding scientists.

Elisa Bergslien, Leopards and Dragons

When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses

by Rebecca L. Johnson

Millbrook Press

Publisher/ Author Submission

If a good defense is the best offense, then When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses by Rebecca L. Johnson shows just how offensively awesome some animals and plants can be when it comes to protecting themselves from predators. The photography, which utilizes a combination of well-timed traditional and underwater photography, x-ray technology, and visuals captured with a scanning electron microscope, amplifies the reader’s understanding of how each animal employs its unique defenses. When Lunch Fights Back is an incredible highlights reel of gross facts about the techniques animals use to survive to fight another day. Johnson has created a compilation that will be stalked by kid-predators looking to devour the facts inside and fortunately, this book will not fight back. When Lunch Fights Back is well documented with source notes, photo acknowledgements, a selected bibliography, and a number of sources to continue to explore the topic further.

Ellen Zschunke, On The Shelf 4 Kids

For a complete list of the Cybils finalists in all 12 categories, please follow this link.  I know the second half of the committee has a hard time ahead of it choosing a winner from these 7 outstanding titles.