Ship in a Bottle by Andrew Prahin

Mouse lives with Cat until one day she takes the ship in a bottle and sets off to find a new home. Finding a new home and friends isn't easy, but Mouse is persistent. 

Thoughts: What a fun adventure of a book. Mouse's story reminds me a little of the Borrowers series by Mary Norton and the Clock family's adventures sailing in a teapot and a wooden knife box. The illustrations are detailed and gorgeously colored. I love the pinks, blues, and greens Andrew uses.  Definitely enjoy gingersnaps and French fries after reading Ship in a Bottle. 

Themes: Boats, Mice, Friendship

Other Books by Andrew Prahin

• Brimsby's Hats
• Elbert: The Curious Clock Tower Bear

(G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2021.)

2021 Cybils Awards Finalists

The 2021 Cybils Awards winners will be announced Monday, February 14th. This year I've served as the Category Chair for Poetry and as a Round 2 Judge in Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction. While you wait for the winners announcement, here are the finalists in each category. 

Board Book Finalists

• Animals Go Vroom! by Abi Cushman
• Big Bear, Little Bear by Marine Schneider
• Caution! Road Signs Ahead by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by Chi Birmingham
• Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins
• Comparrotives by Janik Coat
• This Is Still Not A Book by Jean Jullien
• Turn Seek Find: Habitats by Ben Newman

Fiction Picture Book Finalists

• Arlo Draws an Octopus by Lori Mortensen, illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.
• Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
• Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Loren Long
• Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
• Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Loren Long
• The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio
• Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

 

Easy Reader Finalists

• Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf by Sam Wedelich
• Fox at Night by Corey R.Tabor
• Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too! by Maggie P. Chang
• Kitty and Dragon (Volume 1) by Meika Hashimoto, illustrated by Gillian Reid
• See the Dog: Three Stories About a Cat by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
• Yasmin the Librarian by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly

 

Early Chapter Book Finalists

• A Long Road on a Short Day by Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney,  illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
• Audrey L and Audrey W: Best Friends-ish by Carter Higgins, illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann
• Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World by Jacqueline Davies, illustrated by Deborah Hocking
• Too Small Tola by Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu
• Yasmin the Scientist by Saadia Faruqi

 

Elementary Nonfiction Finalists

• Bartali’s Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy’s Secret Hero by Megan Hoyt, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
• Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars
• by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Brooke Smart
• Mimic Makers: Biomimicry Inventors Inspired by Nature by Kristen Nordstrom, illustrated by Paul Boston
• Sakamoto’s Swim Club: How a Teacher Led an Unlikely Team to Victory by Julie Abery, illustrated by Chris Sasaki
• The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship by Kim Tomsic, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
• The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest by Heather Lang, illustrated by Jana Christy
• We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac

 

Middle Grade Nonfiction 

• Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Natasha Donovan
• Mightier Than the Sword: Rebels, Reformers, and Revolutionaries Who Changed the World Through Writing by Rochelle Melander, illustrated by Melina Ontiveros
• The Curse of the Mummy: Uncovering Tutankhamun’s Tomb by Candace Fleming
• The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin
• The World’s Most Pointless Animals: Or are they? by Philip Bunting
• Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
• Welcome to Your Period! by Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang, illustrated by Jenny Latham

 

Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Finalists

• Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston
• Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
• Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna
• The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
• The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
• Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

 

Middle Grade Fiction Finalists

• A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
• Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh
• Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden
• Linked by Gordon Korman
• Many Points of Me by Caroline Gertler
• Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas
• Violets Are Blue by Barbara Dee

 

Poetry Finalists

• Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith
• Everywhere Blue by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz
• Me (Moth) by Amber McBride
• Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
• Snow Birds by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Jenni Desmond
• Starfish Lisa Fipps
• You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves edited by Diana Whitney

 

Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novel Finalists

• Borders by Thomas King, illustrated by Natasha Donovan
• Chunky by Yehudi Mercado
• Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby
• Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani
• Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte, illustrated by Ann Xu
• Salt Magic by Hope Larson, illustrated by Rebecca Mock
• The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

 

Young Adult Graphic Novel Finalists

• Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre
• by Alverne Ball, illustrated by Stacey Robinson, Reynaldo Anderson (Contributor), Colette Yellow Robe (Contributor)
• Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, illustrated by Val Wise, lettered by Oscar O. Jupiter
• In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years after the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown
• My Body in Pieces by Marie-Noëlle Hébert, translated by Shelley Tanaka
• My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley
• Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney, illustrated by Robyn Smith
• The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

 

High School Nonfiction Finalists

• Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition by Anton Treuer
• In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race by Amy Cherrix
• Punching Bag by Rex Ogle
• The Power of Style by Christian Allaire
• The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Adapted for Young People by Jeanne Theoharis, adapted by Brandy Colbert and Jeanne Theoharis

 

Young Adult Fiction Finalists

• A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
• Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
• Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
• In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner
• Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
• The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
• Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

 

Young Adult Speculative Fiction Finalists

• Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis
• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
• The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
• The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
• The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
• The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
• Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

House Mouse by Michael Hall

The story of how one mouse became a house mouse. 

Thoughts: What a sweet story! I love the pacing of the story and how the house evolves one piece at a time. The illustrations are great. I love the soft colors and the use of painted and cut paper collage. Hall's mice remind of Leo Lionni's mice and that, of course, is a good thing. I wouldn't mind trying my hand at making my own mouse. House Mouse will be a great addition to storytime in a lot of themes which is always helpful. Find an activity guide from the publisher here.

Themes: Houses, Mice, Soup, Construction, Tools, Friendship

Other Books by Michael Hall: 

• My Heart Is Like a Zoo
• Perfect Square
• Cat Tale
• It's an Orange Aardvark! 
• Red: A Crayon's Story 
• Wonderfall
• Frankencrayon
• Little i
• Monkey Time 
• Swing

(Greenwillow Books, 2021.)

There's A Mouse in My House by Ross Collins

A bear's house is invaded by a mouse. No matter what the bear tries, the mouse won't leave. What's a bear to do? 

Thoughts: To funny! I love the droll way the bear narrates the story. His relationship with the mouse puts me in mind of a few other such relationships in picture books. Pair There's a Mouse in My House with A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker and Those Pesky Rabbits by Ciara Flood. The illustrations are colorful and engaging. I love the personality expressed by the bear's and the mouse's faces. The mouse's sweater is too cute. 

Themes: Bears, Mice, Friendship

(Nosy Crow, 2020; US Edition 2021.)