Cybils Superlative: Minnesot-iest

I love that I live in an area where there is an amazing community of book lovers and book creators,

So today, I give you the most Minnesotan (or the Minnesot-iest) of the Cybils Fiction Picture Book nominees.

Cookie the Walker
by Chris Monroe

Cookie the dog gets extra special attention after deciding to life life walking on two legs.


Minnesota author, illustrator and syndicated cartoonist, Chris Monroe, is also the mastermind behind the Monkey with a Tool Belt picture book series.

Click the image and scroll down to watch the video.

 
Alan and his Perfectly Pointy Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky
by Justice Page and his daughter Kamie Page
illustrated David Geister

This book should have a home in every Minnesota elementary school library.






A Day at the Lake
by Stephanie Wallingford & Dawn Rynders 
Illustrated by Erica Pelton Villnave

This book totally captures the feeling of summer lake life in Minnesota.
Right about now with cold weather advisories and icy roads it's good to be reminded of warmer times.

Check out this interview with authors Stephanie Wallingford & Dawn Rynders on Colby Sharp's Blog.



One Frozen Lake
by Deborah Jo Larson
illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

This book is seasonally appropriate for Minnesota right now. The lakes are freezing and are soon to experience a population boom for ice fishing. For those who live in an area where it would seem completely impossible to drive across the top of a lake in a pick up truck, One Frozen Lake is a window into another world.

Fishy Fun Coloring Pages

Cybils Superlative: Snowiest

In honor of yesterday afternoon's gigantic flakes (here in Minnesota), I give you the snowiest books of the Cybils Fiction Picture Book nominees.

Big Snow
by Jonathan Bean

Check out this slide show of images from Big Snow.

The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever!
Written by Rebecca Rule
Illustrated by Jennifer Thermes

Once Upon a Northern Night
Written by Jean E. Pendziwol
illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Cybils Superlatives: Widest

In my reading of piles of fiction picture books as a first round judge for the Cybils, I have enjoyed many fabulous and unique books. 

As a way to share a few of these titles, I give you the first of my "Cybils Superlatives": the widest book I have encountered among the nominees.

This gentle story about a sheep who doesn't feel like he fits in trying to find his way to a place that feels like home is visually striking at over 18 inches wide and only 7 inches tall.

The size alone intrigued my children, and as soon as I opened it to start reading, they were instantly by my side asking what it was about.

Digby the sheep has distinctive red and white stripes, and my 4 year old loved looking for the other things in each illustration that matched Digby.

The format forces the reader to slow down and get fully involved with the book. You have to move your arms and turn your head much more just to read and turn the pages.

A trim size that stands apart definitely fits with a character that stands apart.

Stay tuned for more Cybils Superlatives as my reading continues.