Nonfiction Winners at the ALA Youth Media Awards

 Here is an overview of some of the nonfiction titles that were honored at the ALA Youth Media Awards on Monday.  

Sibert Medal

Seen and Unseen 
by Elizabeth Partridge

Chronicle Books

Sibert Honors

  Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Right Movement
by Angela Joy
illustrated by Janelle Washington
Roaring Brook Press

A Seed Grows

by Antoinette Portis
Neal Porter Books

Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
by Mara Rockliff

illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Random House

The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs

by Chana Stiefel
illustrated by Susan Gal
Scholastic Press

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction- Winner

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes and Dawud Anyabwile
Norton Young Readers

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction- Finalists

Abuela, Don't Forget Me

by Rex Ogle

Norton Young Readers

American Murderer
by Gail Jarrow
Calkins Creek

A Face for Picasso

by Ariel Henry

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Unequal: A Story of America

by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award
 and Caldecott Honor

Coretta Scott King Author Honor

Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Illustrator Honor

Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Honor

Schneider Family Book Award

Printz Honor

Batchelder Award

Sydney Taylor Book Award

ALA Youth Media Awards

We both watched the live stream of the ALA Youth Media Awards announcements from our libraries on Monday. A number of excellent nonfiction books garnered awards this year. Here is a recap of nonfiction titles that were recognized on Monday.

Sibert Award

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science

Sibert Honors

Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild

Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and the War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America

The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction

The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees

The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor

Boots on the Ground

Hey, Kiddo

The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Winner

The Stuff of Stars

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race

Let the Children March

Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968

Coretta Scott King Author Award

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Pura Belpré Award

Dreamers

Schneider Family Book Award

Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship

2018 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

I'm back from #ALAMW18 held in Denver, Colorado. It was an exciting adventure. In case you missed it, on Monday, February 12, the 2018 Youth Media Awards were announced at ALA's Midwinter meeting. I was thrilled with the titles chosen by the 2018 Robert F. Sibert Award Committee.  I can't believe I left off my best list Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner. It is an excellent book. I will be so happy when Cathy returns! (It should be soon) Two heads are always better than one.

I want to give a huge thank you to all the individuals on all the book award committees. They spend all their free time for a whole year reading and taking copious notes on hundreds and hundreds of books. (It's true!) Their dedication to the process is greatly appreciated.

The 2018 Sibert Honor Books

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix

written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee; illustrated by Man One

Grand Canyon 

by Jason Chin

Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask about Having a Disability

written by Shane Burcaw; illustrated by Matt Carr

Sea Otter Heroes: the Predators That Saved an Ecosystem

written by Patricia Newman

And...the winner is...

Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961

by Larry Dane Brimner

Top 100 Children's Book Blogs

We would like to announce that our blog was selected as one of the Top 100 Children's Book Blogs for 2017 hosted by Feedspot. This recognition is a great honor for Cathy and I. We appreciate all the support from publishers, authors, and especially you, dear readers. 

Click here to pursue the entire list of fabulous bloggers. (We are number 62).

Thank you to Feedspot for this recognition.

OUR FAVORITES FOR 2017
I know we usually post our favorite titles for the year in December, but, since winners are announced during ALA's Midwinter conference and this year ALA Midwinter (#alamw18) is February 9-13, I decided to wait until the beginning of February. Be sure to tune in when winners are announced early Monday morning, February 12, 2018. I wonder how many titles you will have read? Will you agree with the winners? If not, what book do you think should have won?

Again, thank you for supporting our blog since we began it in 2011. 

Enjoy 2018.
Louise 

NF sightings at the ALA Midwinter Conference

I’m back!  

On Monday, around midnight, I returned home from the ALA Midwinter Conference in Atlanta. I am always tired, yet energized after the conference. I spent a lot of time in committee meetings, attending publisher events, and walking through the Exhibit Hall checking out the 2017 nonfiction titles. It does seem that 2017 will be a great year for amazing nonfiction.

The conference ended, as always, on a high note. The winners of this year’s ALA Youth Media Awards were fantastic. Good job to all who worked so hard all year reading and evaluating the hundreds of titles. 

I loved the winners and honor books! Click here to see the list of winners.

Here are some new nonfiction titles I spotted at the conference that I look forward to reviewing.

Birds Make Nests by Michael Garland

Holiday House

Caroline's Comets: a true story by Emily Arnold McCully

Holiday House

Penguin Day: a family story by Nick Bishop

Scholastic

Noah Webster's Fighting Words 

by Tracy Nelson Bauer; Illustrated by Mircea Catusanu

Millbrook Press

Out of the Box: 25 incredible craft projects you can make from cardboard

DK

Rivers of Sunlight: how the sun moves water around the earth 

by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

Blue Sky Press

Trudy's Big Swim: 

how Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and took the world by storm

by Sue Macy: Illustrated by Matt Collins

Holiday House

Muhammad Ali: a champion is born 

by Gene Barretta; Illustrated by Frank Morrison

Katherine Tegen Books

Amazon Adventure: how tiny fish are saving the world's largest rainforest

by Sy Montgomery; Photographs by Keith Ellenbogen

Scientists in the Field

Houghton Mifflin

Stay tuned!
Louise