Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Mock Sibert Predictions

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award goes to the most distinguished informational book published in the United States. To be honored/win the Sibert Award, the book must include these important elements and qualities:

• Excellent, engaging, and distinctive use of language.

• Excellent, engaging, and distinctive visual presentation.

• Appropriate organization and documentation.

• Clear, accurate, and stimulating presentation of facts, concepts, and ideas.

• Appropriate style of presentation for subject and for intended audience.

• Supportive features (index, table of contents, maps, timelines, etc).

• Respectful and of interest to children.

In addition to the qualities above, you can find further criteria here. This is where things can get tricky. One of the criteria is that the author and illustrator must be a citizen of the United States or maintain a residence in the United States. Sadly, this usually rules out a couple of books each year.

Another important consideration is how the Sibert defines informational book. "Informational books are defined as those written and illustrated to present, organize, and interpret documentable, factual material."

A final consideration that I will highlight is how the Sibert defines "children's literature".

"Children’s literature is defined as the body of books published for an intended and potential child audience. Such books display respect for children’s understanding, abilities, and appreciation. Children range from birth through age fourteen. Books for the entire range are to be considered."

As an aside, this is NOT my Nonfiction Best Of list for the year. Check back later in December for my favorites of the year.

For this list, I looked back over the previous winners to see about any trends and to get a sense for what has been considered excellent nonfiction. I am a bit worried that I have no sense of what will win. Sometimes I think that despite having read over a 100 nonfiction titles this year that I missed the winner or haven’t read it yet. Given the 2017 year's winners were so different from the 2018 year’s winners, I am worried that what I am loving is not viewed the same by the committee. What I am hoping is that I have provided you with a list of fabulous books that you and your students will read and enjoy and compare them to the list of criteria. And hopefully we just might find a winner.

Are you ready? Here are my mock Sibert picks in no particular order...

Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor by Patricia Valdez, Illustrated by Felicita Sala (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, March 13, 2018)

Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock, Illustrated by Katherine Roy (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, June 5, 2018)

What Do You Do With a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Chris Barton, Illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Beach Lane Books, September 25, 2018)

Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation by Patricia Newman (Millbrook Press, August 1, 2018)

Terrific Tongues! by Maria Gianferrari, Illustrated by Jia Liu (Boyds Mills Press, April 3, 2018)

If Polar Bears Disappeared by Lily Williams (Roaring Brook Press, August 28, 2018)

Check in next week for several longer-form nonfiction titles to consider.

For more nonfiction titles to consider…

The NCTE 2018 Orbis Pictus Winners, click here.

NSTA’s 2019 Best STEM Books, click here.

Best Informational Books for Young Readers of 2018, click here.

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Getting Ready for the Mock-Sibert Awards

The ALA Youth Media Awards , the biggest awards in Children's Literature, will be held on Monday, January 28, 2019. Over the past several years, teachers and librarians have been hosting a Mock Sibert group or a Sibert Smackdown at their school or library. This year, some have started earlier with a Mock NCTE Orbis Pictus Group. No matter how you decide to participate, this is a great way to introduce more nonfiction to your students.

If you haven't hosted a Mock Sibert group before, here are some guidelines to help you out.

What is the Sibert Award? The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award goes to the most distinguished informational book published in the United States. To be honored/win the Sibert Award, the book must include these important elements and qualities:

• Excellent, engaging, and distinctive use of language.

• Excellent, engaging, and distinctive visual presentation.

• Appropriate organization and documentation.

• Clear, accurate, and stimulating presentation of facts, concepts, and ideas.

• Appropriate style of presentation for subject and for intended audience.

• Supportive features (index, table of contents, maps, timelines, etc).

• Respectful and of interest to children.

Some years, I have joined with friends to promote great nonfiction titles. This year, Michele Knott/Mrs. Knott's Book Nook, organized a Mock Orbis Pictus event. If you are curious about the Sibert Smackdown, Melissa Stewart wrote an excellent post last year, here. Melissa also shared a three part post on evaluating nonfiction by former Sibert committee member, Melody Allen. You can find the posts here: Part I | Part 2 | Part 3

If you are interested in participating here is what you need to do.

• Decide whether you will do your Mock Sibert predictions as an individual or with students or children from your school or library.

• Go back through the new release posts found at this blog and think about which ones would be eligible (based on the criteria above).

• Read, read, read. Either by yourself or with students and begin to create a top 5 list.

• Post about your top 5 books and if you have students participating in your Mock Sibert indicate which ones they would like to see win.

• By January 23, 2019, share with everyone which of your favorites that you think will walk away with the "gold". If you share your posts via social media, please use the hashtag #mocksibert2019

• If you need to tweak the above suggestions in order to participate, please do. Make this fun and no stress.

On Wednesday, January 30 2019, I will post the winners of the Sibert Award announced on Monday, January 28, 2019.

Please indicate in the comments if you think you will be participating in the 2019 Mock Sibert event or a Sibert Smackdown event. And I do hope to see many of you participating this year.

Don't forget to check my Early Thoughts post on Mock Sibert book selections. After Thanksgiving, I will post another list of books for teachers and librarians to consider.

Artword by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Nonfiction News

Preparing to vote (California had a lot of propositions on our ballot) and preparing for NCTE ‘18 has limited my time to pull together a Mock Sibert/Mock Orbis Pictus post. Plus there are a few books I am still looking to read. This is a common issue. I am always afraid of missing a title and not reading the book that is going to be the winner. So while you wait for my post…it’s coming. I promise. I am sharing some blog posts and reviews to check out.

Here’s what you might have missed…

This post in the New York Times is timely given yesterday’s election and the need for teachers and librarians to keep sharing important parts of history with children. There are some good titles listed in Amy Chozick’s How Do you Talk to Children About Politics These Days? Try These Books

Have you read Deborah Heiligman’s Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep Post on Melissa Stewart’s blog? Learn about Heiligman’s theme “only connect” and how it has shaped her as a writer and who was the person that influenced her theme.

Are you going to NCTE ‘18 in Houston? I am excited to be on four different panels with some amazing educators and nonfiction authors. If you are looking for panels to attend, I hope you might consider one of the above. And please say “hi” if you see me wandering around the conference. I tend to get a bit shy or at time a bit overwhelmed. So I do appreciate if you get in my path and say hello.

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: The Season of Lists

My favorite time of year is fall, especially when I lived in New England. Unfortunately, California does not really have a fall. So, though I can’t enjoy the changing of leaves and cooler temperatures, I can look forward to all of the “best of” lists and the announcement of book award finalists. To help you keep up, I have included a number of lists and links to those lists that you might want to know about.

Here are some of my favorites…

Last week, I shared about the 2019 finalists of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Children’s Science Picture Book Awards. Here are the links for the finalists in the following categories: Picture Books | Middle Grade

This week, I saw an announcement about the California Reading Association 2018 Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Awards.

If you follow the CYBILS Awards, then you may know that nominations for each category have been featured on their website. Here is the list of eligible Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction. The Round 1 Judges for this category will read through the eligible books and hand off a shorter list for the Round 2 Judges to consider and select the winners. I am excited to be one of the Round 2 Judges.

Michele Knott has is doing a Mock Orbis Pictus this year. She has created several blog posts to help teachers do their own Mock Orbis Pictus. Check out Part I and Part II for more details. You can also check out this great post over at the NCTE website about Mock Book Awards, here.

Keep an eye out for my Mock Nonfiction Book Award list which I will be sharing next week. Regardless of whether you call it a Mock Sibert or a Sibert Smackdown or a Mock Orbis Pictus, it is time to celebrate the fabulous nonfiction from 2018.

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to post your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence

Since I am traveling this week, I am doing a short post to share the 2019 finalists of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Children’s Science Picture Book Awards.

Congratulations to the six finalists….

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs: The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation by Kate Messner, Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe (Chronicle Books, April 2018)

A House in the Sky: And Other Uncommon Animal Homes by Steve Jenkins, Illustrated by Robin Gourley (Charlesbridge, May 2018)

What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz, Illustrated by Allison Black (Beach Lane Books, June 2018)

Living Things and Nonliving Things (A Compare and Contrast Book) by Kevin Kurtz (Arbordale Publishing, September 2017)

Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet by Elizabeth Suneby, Illustrated by Rebecca Green (Kids Can Press, May 2018)

Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies, Illustrated by Emily Sutton (Candlewick Press, 2017)

The winner will be chosen in December from one of the six finalists listed above. Look for each of these books at your local indie bookstore or community library.

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…