On January 1, 2011, the 2010 Cybils Finalists were announced. These are the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards, and this is the fifth year for award selection. Anyone can nominate a book in October. A group of children’s book bloggers read the nominated books and choose finalists, announced on January 1. Another group of children’s book bloggers read the finalists and select winners, which are announced on February 14th and showered with appropriate readerly love.

My sister-in-law, Barb (you might remember her as one of the book reviewers during the 2010 Bookmark Challenge), works at Powell’s Books in Portland, OR, and shares with me recommendations from the Children’s Room, as well as reviews and lists from indie booksellers. I’m always a little surprised when lists have little or no overlap: different groups have different favorites.

Given the number of books that are published each year (a lot), I probably shouldn’t be surprised. A lot of books + a lot of readers should = a lot of different favorites. I’m glad when it happens, too, because it seems to be evidence that big advertising dollars, hype, and celebrities (ew) haven’t skewed opinions.

Got any favorites in the Cybils Finalists? Discover any you’re eager to read?

If you have time, check out the list of nominations, too. There’s a list by genre in the middle sidebar on this same page.