Category Description and A Few Possible Suggestions for Elem/MG Spec. Fiction Nominations for Cybils 2018

It must be Fall because our temperatures are a cold 35 degrees today.   Fall also means that Cybils book nominations opened and I love seeing all the books that get nominated.   I hope you'll consider nominating your favorites in children and YA published in the U.S. or Canada between October 16, 2017, to October 15th, 2018 (one book nomination per Category per person).  Nominations will only stay open until October 15th, so don't delay.     

 There are lots of different categories to choose from and you can get more information here.    I've got my coffee and am quickly getting my holds in for the books nominated thus far. 

I'd especially love to see more nominations in the elementary/mg speculative fiction category!  Here's the category description from Charlotte Taylor:

This past year has seen another excellent crop of wonderfully inventive speculative fiction books for kids! Along with the expected spells and space rockets and aliens, this is the category for books with talking animals, time-travel, ghosts, and paranormal abilities, and all the other books that might not have obvious magic on every page, and which are set here on Earth, but which push past the boundaries of daily life into what is almost certainly impossible. The two main criteria of the Cybils are excellent writing and kid appeal, and these come first and foremost when we assemble our shortlist. These books will be ones whose creativity, world-building, and characters fly off the rapidly turning pages and into our hearts and minds.

This category is for both Elementary and Middle-Grade books; that is, books written for eight- to twelve-year-olds. Some will be just a small step up from easy chapter books, perfect for the younger end, and others will fall into the “tween” category of books perfect for middle school kids not yet interested in full-blown YA books.

The two main criteria of the Cybils are excellent writing and kid appeal

With that in mind, might I make a few suggestions of books that haven't been nominated yet.  Some I've read and others I would like to read, or better yet, nominate your favorite!