Recently, the American Library Association held it's annual Midwinter Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Various book award committees met at the beginning of the weekend to discuss books and award the best of the best with shiny medals. Though I managed to pick two of the Sibert books correctly, I was surprised to see that Some Writer! by Melissa Sweet did not win. I wonder if it was a casualty of time? I have no concrete evidence of this but six out of the nine winners listed below deal with significant historical events dealing with World War II, Civil Rights, Immigration, or biographies of presidents and other activists. Given our current political climate I wonder if readers are looking for answers in the past? Even if it is unintentional. The other thing I noted this year is that there is only one picture book on this list resulting in lots of reading for older readers. Regardless of the reasons behind the decisions, I would like to thank the Sibert Award Committee and the YALSA Nonfiction Committee on their hard work and selection of fabulous books.
Here are the winners of the two nonfiction award categories:
Winner:
March Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin; Illustrated by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions.
Honor Books:
Giant Squid by Candace Fleming; Illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook Press)
Sachicko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story by Caren Stelson (Carolrhoda Books)
Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II by Albert Marrin (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman (Clarion Books)
Winner:
March Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin; Illustrated by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions.
Honor Books:
Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History by Karen Blumenthal (Feiwel & Friends)
In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives by Kenneth C. Davis (Henry Holt & Co.)
Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner; Illustrated by Gareth Hinds (Charlesbridge Publishing)
This Land is Our Land: A History of American Immigration by Linda Barrett Osborne (Harry N. Abrams)
Winner Information:
Linda Baie has won the Mock Sibert Giveaway. I assigned a number to each person who left a link with a Mock Sibert post. With the use of a random number generator, the number generated was how the winner was selected. I will be emailing Linda to work out details.
Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen, 2017
Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews....