The Sibert Award and Honor Awards are presented to the authors of the most distinguished informational children's books published the previous year.

Award Terms:

Award Criteria:

Things We Found Interesting about the Sibert Award

While reading our books for this award, we noticed a few common factors to their classification as Sibert Honor Books and Medal Winners. Essentially, all of these books can be categorized as informational books. Yet one thing that caught us off guard, was that each book had a story to tell. Each work had a plot and obstacles to overcome. While some of the books on the Sibert list seemed daunting and a bit boring at first, each book was enthralling, and we found ourselves becoming engrossed in reading each of them. Some of us read more of the books just for fun! Many of the books can be placed in their own genres, such as autobiography, history, science, and art. The common link between these genres, however, was the historicism behind each piece. Each piece had a true back story, one that helped develop the main characters of each work, and each of the back stories were based on historical fact. Also, one key link between the science based books was that in each one, there were diagrams, detailed photos, and charts, making it easier for young readers to understand the material. As they were informational, each book was filled with definitions unlike typical textbooks. The writers would say a concept, or a technical term, and then define it within the context of the work. This technique made each book exceptionally easy to read.

While reading each of the award winning books, we found that the award generally showed privilege to those books that shared a theme of overcoming racism. Some examples of this include, Freedom Riders, Claudette Colvin,.... In each of these books we found that the main characters, as well as the overall plot of the story, was to shine light on the obstacles that were to be overcome despite the odds against them. In Freedom Riders, part of the overwhelming power of the story was the relationship between a black man and a white man during the civil rights movement. Not only was this a time turmoil for blacks but the book also showed the trials faced by those whites who were against the segregation of public facilities.

Award Winning and Nominated Books My Season with Penguins

By Sophie Webb

2001 Honor Book

My season with Penguins is a compilation of an artists journey. Sophie Webb travels to the cold climate plain of Antartica. Throughout her two-month stay she observes, records and draws her new found animal friends.

The Brooklyn Bridge

by Lynn Curlee

2002 Honor Book

Brooklyn Bridge provides detailed information on the process of how the Brooklyn Bridge was built. A fourteen-year project now stands as on of the most popular world landmarks.

Hole in My Life

by Jack Gantos

2003 Honor Book

After being imprisoned at a young age, Jack Gantos re-tells his story of how he turned his life around and became the man he is today.

To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel

written by Siena Cherson Siegel, artwork by Mark Siege 2007 Honor Book

This is a story of Siena Siegel, her dream of becoming a prima ballerina, and how she overcame her obstacles to make her dream a reality.

What to Do About Alice

by Barbra Kerley

2009 Medal Winner

This is an entertaining bibliography about Alice, President Theodore Rooesevelts daughter and their chaotic life in the WHite House.

Team Moon:How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

by Catherine Thimmesh

2007 Medal Winner

This is an in depth behind the scenes look into the first Apollo moon landing, from the first ideas to the final landing.

Sequoyah

by James Rumford

2005 Honor Book

In 1958 a crippled Sequoyah struggles to create the Cherokee writing system.

The Tararantula Scientist

by Sy Montogomery

2005 Honor Book

This is a documentary of Sam Marshall's research and findings, dealing with the tarantula.

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

by Jim Murphy

2004 Medal Winner

Yellow Fever epidemic in 1793 was a deadly outbreak of influenza in Philadelphia that killed thousands of people, and forced President Washington to flee the city in its time of need.

Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929

by Karen Blumenthal

2003 Honor Book

A compilation of stories from people who seen the effects of Black Tuesday and the Crash of '29

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

2002 Medal Winner A historical account of the mid-19th century mystery that rendered the staple diet of the Irish inedible, killing one million and sending two million refugees abroad.

Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

2006 Honor Book

The recounting of growing up in Nazi-Germany, and the excitement and fury surrounding the notorious Hitler Youth. It explores the memories of those who lived during the Third Reich's rise to power and its ultimate demise.

Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps

by Andrea Warren

2002 Honor Book

Jack recounts surviving Hitler's rise to power and the horrible atrocities of the death camps

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley

by Sally M. Walker

2008 Medal Winner A scientific and historic exploration of the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley, the first sub to destroy an enemy ship, and also the search and reclamation of the Hunley after its discovery in Charleston Bay in 1995.

I Face The Wind

written by Vicki Cobb, illustrated by Julia Gorton

2004 Honor Book

This book introduces the wind, how it works and functions, through a series of hands-on activities it teaches how to understand something you cannot see.

The Wall: Growing Up behind the Iron Curtain

by Peter Sís

2008 Medal Winner

A young Czechoslovakian boy must creatively express himself in order to deal with the chaos of the Cold war. Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss and What I Learned</strong

By Judd Winick

2001 Honor Book

Pedro and Me is a tale about a young man's journey to bring health awareness to young people.

Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America

By Jim Murphy

2001 Honor Book

The Longitude Prize

By Joan Dash

2001 Honor Book

Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado

By Marc Aronson

2001 Medal Winner Vincent Van Gogh

By Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

2002 Honor Book

When Marian Sang

By Pam Muñoz

2003 Honor Book

Marian must break down the walls of racism by using, the only weapon she has, her voice.

Action Jackson

By Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

2003 Honor Book

Walt Whitman: Words for America

By Barbara Kerley

2005 Honor Book

Walt Whitman, a proud American writer, does his part to honor the voice of America and its president, Abraham LIncoln, during the Civil War and time immediately following.

The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights

By Russel Freedman

2005 Medal Winner

Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea

By Sy Montgomery

2007 Honor Book

Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement</em

By Ann Bausum

2007 Honor Book

John Lewis and Jim Zwerg, a black and white man, make a stand against racism during the 1960's civil rights movement.

Spiders

By Nic Bishop

2008 Honor Book Lightship </strong

By Brian Floca

2008 Honor Book

Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past

By James M. Deem

2009 Honor Book

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

By Kadir Nelson

2009 Medal Winner

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

By Tanya Lee Stone

2010 Medal Winner

The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand New Colors

By Chris Barton

2010 Honor Book

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

By Brian Floca

2010 Honor Book

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

By Phillip Hoose

2010 Honor Book

Claudette Colvin, a black teen during the civil rights movement, must face the racial prejudice of her time and overcome obstacles to stand up for what she believes in.