Robert F. Sibert Award

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year.

 

Kerley, B. (2008). What to do about alice?. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

                      Children’s Picture Book: Biography. President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, is the subject of this engaging biography. The reader follows her outlandish antics as a child (never being proper enough for boarding school) to what some would term a celebrity status, becoming the first daughter at age 17. Circa early 1900s is when Alice became the subject of newspaper headlines with her extravagant trips and raised eyebrows with her non-conservative behavior. Yet, self-educated in politics and academia, Alice proved a valuable ambassador for her father and future heads of state, eventually marrying a congressman and becoming a political stateswoman, mother and society hostess. Edwin Fotheringham’s watercolor illustrations hilariously follow Alice’s antics, and the text varies in font-size from 10 pt. to 36 pt. visually emphasizing the extremes. View as an excellent read-aloud for children ages 7-11, and a great independent read for ages 8-adult. Here’s a story that’s not been told before in this form, and it’s worth reading. Awarded Robert F. Sibert and Texas 2x2 Award, both in 2009.

Siegel, S., & Siegel, M. (2006). to dance: a ballerina's graphic novel. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

            Children’s Memoir: Graphic Novel. Siena Siegel was born in Puerto Rico and aspired at the age of six to be a dancer. She begins by telling how she learned to dance, before moving with her mother to New York to enroll in The School of American Ballet. Throughout she tells of the famous dancers she meets, the thrills of learning ballet, and her family’s personal story. The book ends when 18 yr. old Siena’s career is cut short due to injury, but the author herself continues on to college with the love of dance and ballet ever in her blood. Her husband, Mark, is a noted illustrator and frames Siegel’s story in moving sketch and watercolors. In fact, one chapter entitled Fast Forward omits text altogether in the relating of events that occurred during Siena’s whirlwind adolescence. View as an independent read for ages 8-14, with a special nudge towards young aspiring dancers. Awarded the Robert F. Sibert Award in 2007.