Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: ALA Youth Media Awards and My Mock Sibert Winner

February 7, 2018 Alyson Beecher

On Thursday, I leave for Denver for the ALA Midwinter Meetings. I am looking forward to book discussions with the other members of the Schnieder Family Book Award Committee. I am also looking forward to listening in on the Children's Notable discussions and finding out about new releases. And well the biggest highlight is always the Youth Media Awards (YMAs)

The 2018 Youth Media Award announcements will take place on Monday, Feb. 12, at 8 a.m. MT from the Colorado Convention Center. Fans can follow 2018 results in real-time via live webcast at http://ala.unikron.com/2018 , or follow hashtag #alayma.

In the fall, I posted several Mock Sibert Posts. You can find them here:
Mock Sibert Info Post | Mock Sibert Early Thoughts | Mock Sibert Part I | Nonfiction A Year in Review

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award goes to the most distinguished informational book published in the United States. Since I did a little more reading, I am going forward and making the following predictions...

Winner:
Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters by Michael James Mahin; Illustrated by Evan Turk (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Honor Books:

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin (Roaring Brook Press)

Hidden Life of a Toad by Doug Wechsler (Charlesbridge)

Life in Surtsey: Iceland's Upstart Island by Loree Griffin Burns (HmH Books for Young Readers)

Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton Reveal'd by Mary Losure (Candlewick Press)

For fun, I am doing a Sibert Giveaway. Here are the rules:

1. You must complete a Mock Sibert post with your own predictions (or the predictions of your class) by Sunday, February 11, 2018 and add the link below and a comment in the comments section.

2. A Winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday, February 13th and announced on Wednesday, February 14th here on the blog.

3. You must be 13 years or older to enter (or have a parent enter on your behalf).

4. You must have a US or Canadian mailing address or if the book is available through Book Depository and they deliver to your country, please feel free to enter.

5. Winner will receive a copy of the 2018 Sibert Winner (or if you already own that book then one of the honor titles).

6. Special prize: If more than one of my predictions are correct, then the winner will receive a complete set of the 2017 Sibert titles (winner and all honor books selected this year).

7. Please do not add personal information like your email or mailing address in the comments.

Link up below to enter the #NFPB2018 Challenge and/or to share your Mock Sibert posts:

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen

January 31, 2018 Alyson Beecher

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen: The Story of Six Novels,
Three Notebooks, A Writing Box, and One Clever Girl
by Deborah Hopkinson; Illustrated by Qin Leng
January 23, 2018 (Balzer & Bray)
Nonfiction * Biography * Literary
Audience: Grades 2 to 4
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers.

But before that, she was just an ordinary girl.

In fact, young Jane was a bit quiet and shy; if you had met her back then, you might not have noticed her at all. But she would have noticed you. Jane watched and listened to all the things people around her did and said and locked those observations away for safekeeping.

Jane also loved to read. She devoured everything in her father’s massive library, and before long she began creating her own stories. In her time, the most popular books were grand adventures and romances, but Jane wanted to go her own way . . . and went on to invent an entirely new kind of novel.

Deborah Hopkinson and Qin Leng have collaborated on a gorgeous tribute to an independent thinker who turned ordinary life into extraordinary stories and created a body of work that has delighted and inspired readers for generations.

Quick Thoughts on the Book:
Jane Austen is one of the authors I most admire. Not only have I admired her writing and loved her books but I really appreciate her boldness given the time period in which she lived and wrote.

Deborah Hopkinson works to capture the elements of Austen's life that influenced the young woman and aspiring author. Her life with a sister and six brothers along with the boys in her father's boarding school would have provided a rich in experiences life.

Jane's father also supported Jane's love of books and writing. He provided her with notebooks, a writing box, and he sent her first stories to a publisher.

Qin Leng's illustrations beautifully match Hopkinson's text and made me feel as if I were in an Austen book. I particularly loved the illustrations like the one at the top where Jane is in her father's library and holding a stack of books. Whereas five hundred books may not seem like a huge library today, given the time period, it would have been a significant collection.

The back matter includes a timeline of Jane Austen's life, followed by a short synopsis of her six books including the most well-known or recognized quotes from each book. Additionally, Hopkinson includes additional resources for learning about Jane.

Fans of Jane Austen will appreciate this beautifully illustrated biography, and those who are just learning about Austen for the first time will be inspired to write their own stories. Look for this book at your independent bookstore or community library.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: What Are You Reading? The Nonfiction Edition

January 24, 2018 Alyson Beecher

At the beginning of a new year, I spend time trying to find those last few past year titles I have wanted to read and begin to dive into the new releases for a new publishing year. Sometimes I find so many interesting books that I just need to share them in a round-up post. Here is what has jumped out of the stack recently.

Excited to finally have read these 2017 Titles....

Manjhi Moves a Mountain by Nancy Churnin; Illustrated by Danny P (Creston Books, 2017)

Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai; Illustrated by Kerascoet (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers,2017)

Around the World in a Bathtub: Bathing All Over the Globe by Wade Bradford; Illustrated by Micha Archer (Charlesbridge, 2017)

Robins! How They Grow Up by Eileen Christelow (Clarion Books, 2017)

John Deere, That's Who! by Tracy Nelson Maurer; Illustrated by Tim Zeltner (Henry Holt & Co, 2017)

The Girl Who Ran: Bobbi Gibb, the First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon by Kristina Yee, Frances Poletti; Illustrated by Susanna Chapman (Compendium, Inc, 2017)

Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki; Illustrated by Ellen Weinstein (Museum of Modern Art, 2017)

Here are a few recent 2018 Titles that jumped out of the pile...

A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women's Rights by Kate Hannigan; Illustrated by Alison Jay (Calkins Creek, February 20, 2018)

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood; Illustrated by 13 Extraordinary Women (HarperCollins, January 23, 2018)

Free as a Bird: The Story of Malala by Lina Maslo (Balzer & Bray, January 23, 2018)

Anybody's Game: Kathryn Johnston, the First Girl to Play Little League Baseball by Heather Lang; Illustrated by Cecilia Puglesi (Albert Whitman, March 1, 2018)

You will see and hear more about these 2018 titles during my March Women's History Month posts.

Look for these titles at your local bookstore or community library.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews below...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: January New Releases

January 10, 2018 Alyson Beecher

As part of the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, one of the most popular posts are the round-up posts. Honestly, it is also my favorite post to put together. This may not be a comprehensive list of releases for the month but I hope that it will help us kick of our year of nonfiction reading.

Here are some of the 2018 new releases that I am looking forward to reading. What are you looking forward to?

Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham, Charles Waters, Illustrated by Sean Qualls, Selina Alko (Carolrhoda, January 1, 2018)

How to Make a Rainbow: A Crayola Color Story by Laura Purdie Salas (Millbrook Press, January 1, 2018)

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed, Illustrated by Stasia Burrington (HarperCollins, January 9, 2018)

Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind by Cynthia Grady, Illustrated by Amiko Hirao (Charlesbridge Press, January 9, 2018)

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly, Illustrated by Laura Freeman (HarperCollins, January 16, 2018)

Libba: The Magnificient Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten by Laura Veirs, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Chronicle Books, January 16, 2018)

A Place to Start a Family: Poems about Creatures That Build by David L Harrison, Giles Laroche (Charlesbridge, January 16, 2018)

Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went From the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace, Illustrated by Bryan Collier (Simon & Schuster, January 23, 2018)

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen by Deborah Hopkinson, Illustrated by Qin Leng (Balzer & Bray, January 26, 2018)

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge Begins Seventh Year

January 3, 2018 Alyson Beecher

Welcome to the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge! When I began this journey in 2012, I never anticipated where it would lead me. Can you believe that we are starting our seventh year? Starting this challenge was one of the best things I have done with the blog. I have read many amazing books, met wonderful authors, illustrators, teachers, librarians, and bloggers, and watched others become excited about new nonfiction books that they discovered as a result of my posts and the others that connect through this community. I am thankful for the way this has enriched my life and hopefully yours as well. As we embark on the seventh year, I am inviting you to join once again.

Last week, I did a Year in Review Post, it also includes a collection of links to a number of key posts from 2017 that you might find interesting. Click here to read that post. Stop by next week to learn about new releases that I am anticipating in 2018.

For those of you, who are new to the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, I want to welcome you and encourage you to read the guidelines below.

If you would like to participate in the challenge in 2018, here are the details:

1. Set a goal as to how many nonfiction picture books (or nonfiction MG or YA books) you would like to read over the course of 2018. Maybe you want to read one a month or one a week. Will they all be from 2018 or will you be reading ones previously published? Do you have a gap with a particular area of nonfiction? The important part is to set a goal that will be fun and not stressful.

2. My nonfiction book reviews and posts will be on Wednesdays. There will be a link if you want to connect up one of your reviews or progress towards your goal. If you post on Mondays (Nonfiction Mondays) or Fridays (STEM Fridays), please feel free to link up on Wednesdays with us, we would love to get to know more bloggers talking about nonfiction.

3. There will be interviews, guest posts, giveaways, and new release posts for you to check out.

4. If you would like to participate in this challenge, please link up your blog or GoodReads Shelf using the Widget at the very bottom of the post. Please know that you can join in at anytime throughout the year.

5. If you tweet about what you are reading as part of this challenge, please use the twitter hashtag #nfpb2018.

6. You are welcome to grab the image at the top of the post to use in your weekly posts. Please add a credit to the art (Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen).

On behalf of this community, we welcome your participation and look forward to learning about the books that you have discovered.

Please use the link up widget below to link up a review or your challenge goals.