For Kids Who Like Facts: Orbis Pictus Award

Each year the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) gives out the Orbis Pictus award for excellence in children's nonfiction books. Here is this year's roster, announced last week. Some of these books are familiar Cybils nominees*, while others don't ring any bells to me at all. I'm off to the library to put in a request for Clarabelle. I can't resist a good cow book.

Winner

M.L.K.: Journey of a King, by Tonya Bolden

Honor Books

Black and White Airmen: Their True History, by John Fleischman*
Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures, by George Sullivan
Muckrakers, by Ann Bausum*
Spiders, by Nic Bishop
Venom, by Marilyn Singer

Recommended

3-D ABC: A Sculptural Alphabet, by Bob Raczka*
Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People, by Sheila Keenan
Clarabelle: Making Milk and So Much More, by Cris Peterson
Living Color, by Steve Jenkins*
The Snow Baby: The Arctic Childhood of Admiral Robert E. Peary's Daring Daughter, by Katherine Kirkpatrick*
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion, by Loree Griffin Burns*
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sís*

Today marks the beginning of Nonfiction Monday, a weekly event started by Anastasia Suen. Going forth, the author plans to gather together all Monday blog posts about nonfiction for children. Curious five to eight year olds should look for Suen's latest book, Wired, which is all about electricity*. Junior has already applied much of what he read there to what he sees in the neighborhood: "Look, Mom. It's one of those step-down transformers!" You can catch the roundup later this afternoon at Suen's blog Picture Book of the Day.

Thank you to Franki, at A Year of Reading, for the Orbis Pictus news.

Comments

[Anastasia]

He's noticing the step-down transformers! Good for him! :-)

[Susan T.]

You wrote a fun book--just the kind of thing Jr. likes!

[suzi w]

fun stuff. a few of your links (snow baby, tracking trash) go to the airman book.

[Susan T.]

Thanks! I'll fix the links pronto.

[J P]

Gahhh! Why is it so difficult to find a blog about spaghetti? Now how did I get here...