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Kids’ Picks is back! with May Cybils Review Linkup, too

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In 2011 we decided to consolidate some of our Tuesday carnival/meme community events. We stuck with What’s on Your Nightstand, because this fourth-Tuesday event has been the most popular, but we decided to ditch the others, and added in the Cybils KidLit Challenge as a substitute for the other children’s reading carnivals.

But we missed Kids’ Picks. We missed it a lot, and we hope some of you did too. Even if you don’t participate this month (but I hope you’ll slap something up to celebrate with us), let us know in the comments if you are happy that Kids’ Picks is back. We’ll keep it in this spot — the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

If you are new to Kids’ Picks, it’s basically an opportunity to share the books that your kids are raving about this month. They might be totally low-brow, brainless, and silly — and that’s okay! On the other hand, if you suggested a more high-brow book and it was a big hit, we want to know that too.

It’s actually a good fit with the Cybils KidLit Challenge, because if you are an adult reading these books, part of the intention of the Cybils is that they are supposed to have high kid appeal.

The idea, as always, is the same. We want to encourage you and your family to read. Hearing what “real live” kids are reading and enjoying is a great resource. I also find that it gives me a great reason to connect with my kids. I know what they’re reading, but to take a moment or two to find out what they like and why they like it is awesome.

When you link up, if you’re doing Kids’ Picks, please let us know your children’s ages, or if you are linking a Cybils review, tell us that as well. For example, I could either link up as “Jennifer, Snapshot (ages 12 and 6)” or “Jennifer, Snapshot (Cybils Poetry)” or whatever. . . . .

Kids’ Picks: December

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We’ve been announcing that we are letting go of most of our weekly carnivals. It’s sad to see them go, but we think it’s for the best. We will still be hosting What’s in Your Nightstand, the 4th Tuesday of each month, so feel free to tell us what your kids have been or will be reading in that post in the future.

We are going to continue to encourage kids (and adults) to read quality kids’ lit (or just to read!!), and one way is by hosting the Cybils Challenge for 2011. You will be able to choose which books you read, and how much you read. Stay tuned for an official signup post, but I do hope you’ll consider joining us as we explore current and past Cybils nominees, finalists, and winners.

But Kids’ Picks isn’t over yet! Link up (or jump in in the comments) and tell us what your kids have been reading and enjoying.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Kids’ Picks — November

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Dawn and I are still knee deep in Cybils nominees — her for Picture Books and me for Middle Grade Fiction. Our children have been enjoying the bounty as well.

What about you? What are your kids digging into this November? Let us know.

Link up below if you have some recommendations to share. Tell us the age of the child who is doing the picking when you link up. Make sure the permalink goes directly to the post, not the front page of your blog.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Kids’ Picks: October

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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our Feedburner feed hasn’t updated since our last Tuesday event! Apparently, one of the feeds (for Google reader I think) updated over the weekend. Read about what’s going on, and take our quick survey, please. You could also let me know in the comments (here or over there) which feed you use if it has actually been updating. My Feedburner one is still down.

And if you haven’t been here since last Tuesday because you haven’t seen a feed update, look around!

But of course, we are here for Kids’ Picks. Boy, have I been reading some books worth picking! As a Middle Grade Fiction panelist for round one of the Cybils, I am slowly making my way through the 144 nominated titles. And they are great. Wonderful. I’ve only read 15, and at least 6 or 8 of them are truly exceptional, and they’ve all been good. Coming up with a list of finalists is going to be a tough job. If you are looking for some kid-friendly titles, look no further than the long list of Middle Grade Fiction titles. And my linkup at Snapshot will feature a title on that list that Amanda especially enjoyed.

So, link up below, if you have some recommendations to share. Tell us the age of the child who is doing the picking when you link up. Make sure the permalink goes directly to the post, not the front page of your blog.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Kids’ Picks – September

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This week we are throwing a Fall Festival of Children’s Books. Be sure that you check out all our reviews, and find out how you can get involved (Your Kids’ Picks post could serve double duty, if they are children’s picture books, so find out how you could use it as an entry to win our Grand Prize).

The beauty for me of reading and loving books is sharing them. That’s why this is probably my favorite Tuesday carnival event — the one in which we invite you to share about the books that your children have loved reading of late. They might not be Award Winners, they might not be fine literature, but if kids love them and read them, then they are wonderful books!

So, link up below, if you have some recommendations to share. Tell us the age of the child who is doing the picking when you link up. Make sure the permalink goes directly to the post, not the front page of your blog.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Kids’ Picks Participants

1. Jennifer, Snapshot (ages 12 and 6)
2. Heather J. (Kiddo, age 8)
3. Sarah @ A Library is a Hospital for the Mind (Farm Animals, Preschoolers)		 4. Dawn @ my thoughts exactly (10, 4, 2)
5. Jen E @ mommablogsalot (age 4)
6. Bluestocking 		7. Jen @ Adventures in Unsell Land
8. Nancy @ Life With My Boys (7 and 3)
9. Brimful Curiosities (5 & 2)

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Kids’ Picks — August

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My kids have enjoyed reading this summer. My daughter (almost 12) has read a handful of books in the last week alone. She’s a machine (oh, how I wish I could stay in bed 2 hours after I awaken and read every morning).

Kyle (6) is finally sitting and reading chapters. I am over the moon!!

I’ll be sharing some books that they enjoyed over at my personal blog, but I wanted to give you a hearty invitation to share on your own blogs or in the comments what books your children have enjoyed over the last month (or over the summer if you’ve been remiss in posting).

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events, from Kids’ Picks to What’s on Your Nightstand, to a Children’s Classics challenge. Join Us!

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Tell us the age of the child who is doing the picking when you link up. Make sure the permalink goes directly to the post, not the front page of your blog.

Kids’ Picks Participants

1. Life With My Boys (7 and 3.5)
2. Jennifer, Snapshot (6 and 12)
3. A Library is a Hospital for the Mind (Read-Aloud or young readers)
4. Heather J @ Age 30 …A Lifetime of Books (8 yr old boy)
5. Katrina @ Callapidder Days (4)		 6. Bluestocking
7. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (girls, ages 6 & 4)
8. Reading to Know
9. Nancy @ Life With My Boys (7 and 3.5)
10. Jen E @ mommablogsalot (4 yr old boy)		 11. Bluestocking correct
12. Janelle@ Brimful Curiosities (5 & 2)
13. Dawn @ my thoughts exactly (2, 4, 10!)
14. Lauren@BaseballsandBows

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Kids’ Picks — July

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Have your kids read any great books that they can recommend to other kids this month? Whether they were forced to read them, enticed by the prizes in summer reading programs, or just happen to love that extra time that summer gives them to read, let us know.

Link up your post (or share in the comments), telling us which books your kids liked. There are other opportunities for you to tell us what you liked, but this is the time that the kids can share. Whatever keeps them reading, right?

We spent a lot of last month on the road, and we definitely stocked up on books. We were glad to be able to check out the Nintendo DSiXL that Nintendo sent us, along with the new 100 Classic Books. She read Alice in Wonderland, and to my surprise, she loved it. She said it’s a great adventure, funny and imaginative. I remember reading it in high school and finding it a bit too dense and symbolic. Maybe I was just being dense and symbolic.

Here are 11-year-old Amanda’s thoughts (unedited) on using this new DS cartridge to read a book:

  • You can read it quickly and easily.
  • You have a lot of options of books to read.
  • It has a built in book light (because the screen is lit).
  • You can take a quiz and see what books are good for you.

Speaking of tween and teen books, Dawn reviewed Fat Boy Chronicles, and we are giving away a few copies as well. It was sent to Dawn, and I picked it up at BEA. I was very interested in reading it, and will, but she beat me to it. So click on over and check it out and enter to win. It seems to me one of those books that will interest some tweens and teens, but also is great for a parent to read to better “get” what their kids are facing every day.

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events, from Kids’ Picks to What’s on Your Nightstand, to a Children’s Classics challenge. Join Us!

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Tell us the age of the child who is doing the picking when you link up. Make sure the permalink goes directly to the post, not the front page of your blog.

Kids’ Picks — June

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My kids are out of school in just a few days. I can already anticipate the “I’m bored’s” that I’m going to have to field day in and day out. Having good books around is more than ever if I am going to encourage them to read instead of just veg in front of the television, computer, or other small screen.

Can you help me out?

What have your kids read that they loved? What would they recommend to other kids their age? Write up a post on your own blog (or join in the comments) and link up to us below. Visit around the others to see what suggestions they can offer.

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Tell us the age of the child who is doing the picking when you link up, directly to your blog post:

Kids’ Picks — May

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We’re turning the corner into summer. Are you looking for some books to keep your library bookbags full with new books you’ll all enjoy? Searching for a new series to suggest to your middle grade reader? Wondering what books other young non-fiction readers are enjoying? That’s what we are here for. The third Thursday of every month, we come together offering up our best “Kids’ Picks.” Ask your kids which books they read last month that they would recommend to other kids their age, then write up a post — or let them guest blog for you — sharing that “pick” with all of us.

If you are not a blogger, give us your recommendations in the comment section.

Then visit around and see what kinds of suggestions you find for your kids and enter the conversation — perhaps giving that blogger other suggestions that their child might like.

This is my favorite community event here, and I hope that you’ll make it a habit to join in, especially throughout the summer, when our kids either have more time to read and need more good suggestions, or they need a really good recommendation to encourage them to actually read when their brains are in “summer” mode.

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events.

Coming up:

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. Link up, directly to your blog post, or share your thoughts in the comments:

Kids’ Picks — April

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Has the nice spring weather driven your children outside to soak in some natural Vitamin D and breathe in some fresh air? Are they reading less as they engage in more active pursuits? Or like my children, do they manage to combine the best of both — reading outdoors.

I’m certainly not going to criticize good ol’ running and playing. But if your kids read less as they get outside more, then it’s even more important to get a good book in their hands. That’s what the monthly Kids’ Picks carnival is all about. The third Tuesday of every month, we meet here to exchange ideas and suggestions.

Ask your kids which books they read last month that they would recommend to other kids their age, then write up a post — or let them guest blog for you — sharing that “pick” with all of us.

You can write up a blog post and link it up here, or if you are not a blogger, join in the comment section.

Then visit around and see what kinds of suggestions you find for your kids (and if you find a good one, come back here on the first Tuesday May 4, and share your thoughts in the “I Read It!” carnival).

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events.

Coming up:

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. Link up, directly to your blog post, or share your thoughts in the comments:

Kids’ Picks — March

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What book or books have captivated your child or children this month? Be it funny, scary, informative or all of the above — let us know. Other kids and parents are hungry for your suggestions.

Write up your kids’ picks, or let them do a guest review themselves. Read more the detailed guidelines HERE).

For ease in searching, include your child(ren)’s ages or the book title in the link as well.

Sorry this was late today! I thought it was set to go (I figured it out! WordPress has to be manually changed for daylight savings time). The Tuesday posts should go up at 8:00am Eastern each Tuesday, except Nightstand, which alternates between 8:00am and midnight.

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events.

Coming up:

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. Link up, directly to your blog post, or share your thoughts in the comments:

Kids’ Picks — February

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Let the kids tell others which books they loved this month.

You know the drill by now (or if not — read the detailed instructions HERE). I hope you’ll take out some time to write up one or two of your children’s best reads of the month.

For ease in searching, include your child(ren)’s ages in the link as well.

Visit our Join In page to find out all the details about all of our Tuesday community events.

Coming up:

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. Link up, directly to your blog post, or share your thoughts in the comments:

Kids’ Picks — January

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What book did your preschooler beg you to read again and again? What new author did your tween discover? What book made your kid turn off the TV and read this month?

You know the drill by now (or if not — read the detailed instructions HERE). I hope you’ll take out some time to write up one or two of your children’s best reads of the month.

For ease in searching, include your child(ren)’s ages in the link as well.

Things have changed for our Tuesday community events in 2010. Visit our Join In page to find out all the details.

Coming up:

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. Link up, directly to your blog post, or share your thoughts in the comments:

Kids’ Picks: December

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You know the drill by now (or if not — read the detailed instructions HERE).

I hope you’ll take out some time to write up one or two of your children’s best recommendations so that they can give their peers some suggestions of books to snuggle up with over the long winter break.

Things are changing for our Tuesday community events in 2010! Please stay tuned to find out how Children’s Classics is becoming a Children’s Classics Mystery Challenge for 2010 as well as how we are changing up Classics’ Bookclub to allow you to set your own goals and share your thoughts on these classics.

We’re going to move I Read It! from the 5th Tuesday (where reports on the Classics will now reside) to the first Tuesday, so that you can share a book review each month that you were inspried to read by someone. It doesn’t have to be us here at 5 Minutes for Books. Tell us about why you finally picked up that book your sister has raved about — and what you thought about it. Or mention the book blogger who first introduced you to the hot new novel when you give your own review.

What’s on Your Nightstand will stay right where it is — on the 4th Tuesday. We’ve been so pleased, not only at the consistent participation, and the new participants who join in each month, but also the way you visit around to other participants, making it a true community event.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. Link up, directly to your blog post, or share your thoughts in the comments:

Kids’ Picks — November

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Our monthly Kids’ Picks is all about sharing the books that our kids have been reading (and want to recommend). It truly is my favorite monthly event. I love clicking through and reading the books that you and your kids have been enjoying, and I enjoy the feedback when I share the books that my kids love.

So, please join in. Even if you’ve never participated, just write up a blog post with a book or two that your child would recommend to other kids. If you don’t have a blog, leave their recommendations in the comment section.

If you aren’t posting a suggestion, feel free to see what others’ are recommending by reading the comments and clicking through the links.


Make plans to come back the 3rd Tuesday next month for Kids’ Picks. We invite you to participate in our link-up carnivals each Tuesday:

November 24 — What’s on Your Nightstand
December 8 — Children’s Classics — Children’s books you love to give

Jennifer Donovan loves books — reading them, discussing them, recommending them. You can get to know her and her family by following her blog Snapshot.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Kids’ Picks — October

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You know the drill by now (or if not — read the detailed instructions HERE).

This last month we’ve all had a busy schedule here in my house — especially my tween! But we are looking forward to the more laid-back late-fall season perfect for curling up with a book.

What about you? Have your kids been reading up a storm? Or has reading been pushed out for other pursuits?

All it takes is one good book. Write a post (or join in the comments) and let us know what books your kids enjoyed this month.

Join us for our other weekly community events:

We will be posting all of them at 7:00 a.m. Eastern, except for Nightstand, which will adhere to the schedule, linked below.

Join in our other Tuesday community carnivals:

  • October 27 — What’s on Your Nightstand
  • November 3 — Classics Bookclub — any book (your choice) by Louisa May Alcott
  • November 10 –Children’s Classics Celebrate the holidays (any Fall or Winter holiday)

Kids’ Picks — September

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You know the drill by now (or if not — read the detailed instructions HERE).

Just write up a blog post — or leave a comment — telling us about a book that your kid or kids have enjoyed reading this month and would recommend. Remember, this one is all about them. The book can drive you crazy, but if they would recommend it to others their age, spill it!

Join us for our other weekly community events:

We will be posting all of them at 7:00 a.m. Eastern, except for Nightstand, which will adhere to the schedule, linked below.

Kids’ Picks — August

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I know that many of your kids are out of summer and back into school. Do you think that will be good for their reading or not? I know that some kids get so bogged down with activities and the assigned reading that their leisure reading falls way off once school starts.

Amanda used to be that way, indulging in binge reading on the weekends, until she entered intermediate school last year. Her school’s librarian has lobbied hard to incorporate “real reading” into the curriculum. So they are expected to read a lot, and they are given time to read throughout the week at school, and they are largely able to read whatever they want. All that to say that last year she read even more than she usually does because of the time she was given time to indulge in reading while at school.

We still have a few weeks of summer vacation, which means we are still making regular trips to the library, and I’m still reminding the kids to turn off the TV and/or computer and pick up a book.

I linked up my kids’ reviews below, and I invite you to do the same. Share a title that your kid would recommend to other kids. You can write up a review (or do like I did this month and let your kid put it in her own words). If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment with one of your kid’s picks for August.

Join us for our other weekly community events:

Kids’ Picks

Since the What’s on Your Nightstand? carnival has been so popular, and people are always asking for recommendations for their children, so we sort of combined the two to give everyone a chance to share what their children have loved reading that month — whether the child is two or twelve or seventeen.

Your child can guest post for you, or you can write it up yourself. You can focus on one child, or write about all of your children’s picks. Highlight one memorable book or three. It’s up to you.

The goal is to just talk children’s books, and specifically what they like (not necessarily what we like or what we want them to like).

So, join in — either by writing your own post and linking it up, leaving your kids’ picks in the comment section, or reading others’ recommendations.

When you link up, it’s helpful if you include the ages of the children whose selections you are highlighting for future perusal of the recommendations.

Browse past Kids’ Picks carnivals HERE.

Feel free to display the button in your sidebar or on your post:

Kids’ Picks — July

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Is it July already? My daughter was in school through the third week of June, and then we left for a very long journey right before July 4th and just returned. So, while that is definitely a summertime activity, it hasn’t exactly felt like the lazy hazy days of summer.

What about your kids? Have they been reading up a storm? Have you been enjoying a book together as a family? Have they tried to get away from anything vaguely academic, including turning the pages of a novel?

Tell us all about it.

Write a post on your own blog telling us what your kids could recommend this month, then leave a comment linking directly to your post.

If you don’t have a blog, or don’t write up a full post, please leave a comment telling us about it.

Be sure to leave your children’s ages as well. I know that I love hearing about what other little bookworms are enjoying!

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