It's time for more lists!

Time flies when you are having fun reading all of these great books (and we bet you've been reading some stellar ones from our other ACPL Mock Blogs).  Please take a moment to think back...were there any nonfiction books that you think might be a contender for this year's Sibert Award?  Let us know via email or by posting a comment to this entry so we can make sure to highlight the BEST nooks for our upcoming reading list. 

Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel

Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America
by Susan Fillion
David R. Godine
83 pages

Etta and Claribel Cone, two wealthy, unmarried sisters in Baltimore's German Jewish community at the turn of the twentieth century, broke new ground when they bought up experimental art by Matisse, Picasso, and other modern painters before the artists were widely recognized. The sisters befriended two other siblings in Baltimore, Leo and Gertrude Stein, and they bonded over their love of seeking and buying new, experimental art. Now, the huge Cone collection is part of the Baltimore Museum of Modern Art.

Who Has What?

Who Has What?
by Robie H. Harris
illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Candlewick Press
unpaged


This series for young children provides easy-to-understand facts and answers. Launching the series is Who Has What?, a simple story following Nellie and Gus on a family outing to the beach. Humorous illustrations, conversations between the siblings, and a clear text all reassure young kids that whether they have a girl's body or a boy's, their bodies are perfectly normal, healthy, and wonderful.

Bootleg

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Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine and the Lawless Years of Prohibition
by Karen Blumenthal
Roaring Brook Press
160 pages

It began with the best of intentions. Worried about the effects of alcohol on American families, mothers and civic leaders started a movement to outlaw drinking in public places. Over time, their protests, petitions, and activism paid off--when a Constitional Amendment banning the sale and consumption of alcohol was ratified, it was hailed as the end of public drunkenness, alcoholism, and a host of other social ills related to booze. Instead, it began a decade of lawlessness, whenchildren smuggled (and drank) illegal alcohol, the most upright citizens casually broke the law, and a host of notorious gangsters entered the public eye. Filled with period art and photographs, anecdotes, and portraits of unique characters from the era, this fascinating book looks at the rise and fall of the disastrous social experiment known as Prohibition.

Franklin and Winston

Franklin and Winston: A Christmas That Changed the World
by Douglas Wood
illustrated by Barry Moser
Candlewick Press
unpaged

At the height of World War II, only a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill began an extraordinary visit, during which they made plans that would lead to the success of the Allied powers as well as to a continuing peace after the war ended.

Titanic Sinks!

Titanic Sinks!
by Barry Denenberg
Viking
72 pages

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic , Barry Denenberg has created a one-of-a-kind, high-concept book that's a unique combination of fiction and nonfiction. He uses a fictional framework to present the true story of the building and launching of the Titanic and to give a "you are there" feeling as the ship goes down. Lavishly designed with authentic period photographs and illustrations throughout, Titanic Sinks! immerses you in the era of the Titanic and reminds you why it's still a cultural touchstone a hundred years after its demise.

Just a Second

Just a Second: A Different Way to Look at Time
by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin
unpaged

"This non-fiction picture book explores time and how we think about it in a different way - as a series of events in the natural world (some of them directly observable, others not) that take place in a given unit of time...Just a Second is visualized as a linear series of illustrations and captions, starting with a second, a minute, an hour, a month, and a year. What happens in a second? "-- Provided by publisher.

Balloons Over Broadway

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
by Melissa Sweet

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
unpaged

Award-winning artist Sweet tells the story of the puppeteer Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America--the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
by Kadir Nelson
Balzer + Bray
108 pages


...Written in the voice of an “Everywoman,” an unnamed narrator whose forebears came to this country on slave ships and who lived to cast her vote for the first African American president, heart and soul touches on some of the great transformative events and small victories of that history. This inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.

Irena Sendler andthe Children of the Warsaw Ghetto

Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto
by Susan Goldman Rubin
illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Holiday House
40 pages

Irena Sendler was a diminutive Polish social worker who helped spirit more than four hundred children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Using toolboxes, ambulances, and other ingenious measures, Irena Sendler defied the Nazis and risked her own life by saving and then hiding Jewish children.

Coral Reefs

Coral Reefs
by Jason Chin
Roaring Brook Press
32 pages

During an ordinary visit to the library, a girl pulls a not-so-ordinary book from the shelves. As she turns the pages in this book about coral reefs, the city around her slips away and she finds herself surrounded by the coral cities of the sea and the mysterious plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide there.

Swirl by Swirl

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature 
by Soyce Sidman
illustrated by Beth Krommes
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
unpaged

What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over again—in rushing rivers, in a flower bud, even inside your ear?  With simplicity and grace, Krommes and Sidman not only reveal the many spirals in nature—from fiddleheads to elephant tusks, from crashing waves to spiraling galaxies—but also celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this fascinating shape.

Dream Something Big

Dream Something Big: The Story of the Watts Towers
by Dianna Hutts Aston
illustrated by Susan L. Roth
Dial Books for Young Readers
unpaged

Between 1921 and 1955, Italian immigrant Simon Rodia transformed broken glass, seashells, pottery, and a dream to "do something big" into a U.S. National Landmark.

Here we go!  It is time for our first short list for your Mock Sibert consideration.  It was a challenge to keep the list a reasonable length: there are so many interesting, entertaining, informative, and eye-opening books out there that could make a great candidate for this year's Sibert Award.  Let us know what you think of this list, and the books that are included.  If this list somehow skipped your favorite, feel free to let us know so we can make sure we don't miss it for the next installment! 

And now, without further ado and in no particular order...here's your 1st Short List!
 

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

by Candace Fleming

Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families

by Susan L. Roth & Cindy Trumbore

Me...Jane

by Patrick McDonnell

Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to Creativity

by Margaret Peot

Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy 

by Albert Marrin 

 

A Butterfly is Patient

Dianna Hutts Aston & Sylvia Long

 

Trapped: how the world rescued 33 miners from 2,000 feet below the the Chilean desert
by Marc Aronson

The House Baba Built

The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China
by Ed Young
Little, Brown and Company


In Ed Young's childhood home in Shanghai, all was not as it seemed: a rocking chair became a horse; a roof became a roller rink; an empty swimming pool became a place for riding scooters and bikes. The house his father built transformed as needed into a place to play hide-and-seek, to eat bamboo shoots, and to be safe.

For outside the home's walls, China was at war. Soon the house held not only Ed and his four siblings but also friends, relatives, and even strangers who became family. The war grew closer, and Ed watched as planes flew overhead and frends joined the Chinese air force. But through it all, Ed's childhood remained full of joy and imagination.

Me...Jane

Me...Jane

by Patrick McDonnell

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

40 pages

Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals. Includes biographical information on the prominent zoologist.

Who Do You Want To See on Short Reading List #1?

It's time to create our first short reading list, but to do that we need to know what YOU think!  The Sibert award is given to "the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English," and there are many great contenders.

What books do have been the best of the bunch this year?  Which ones have you been recommending to others?  Which books are would you like to hear more people discussing?  Please share your favorites by either commenting on this post, or by sending us an email with your favorite titles.

We'll compile a list and post it soon!

Drawing From Memory

by Allen Say

Scholastic Press

63 pages

Summary:  Caldecott Medalist Allen Say presents a stunning graphic novel chronicling his journey as an artist during WWII, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan’s premier cartoonist

DRAWING FROM MEMORY is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today...
 

Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, DRAWING FROM MEMORY presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. With watercolor paintings, original cartoons, vintage photographs, and maps, Allen Say has created a book that will inspire the artist in all of us.

Trapped: How the World Rescused 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert

Trapped: how the world rescued 33 miners from 2,000 feet below the the Chilean desert
by Marc Aronson
Atheneum
134 pages

Summary:  A middle grade nonfiction title about thirty-three miners trapped in a copper-gold mine in San Jose, Chile and how experts from around the world, from drillers, to astronauts, to submarine specialists, came together to make their remarkable rescue possible

Father Abraham: Lincoln and His Sons

Father Abraham: Lincoln and His Sons

by Harold Holzer

Boyds Mills Press

232 pages

Summary:  Abraham Lincoln was devoted to his country - and to his family. President Lincoln called America a "House Divided" but he struggled to keep his own house united. It would prove to be an impossible task. Sickness, loss and family tensions overwhelmed Abraham, Mary, and their four sons. Opening up the Lincoln family album, noted Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer highlights the family's heartaches and happiness. Illustrated with archival photographs and backed by extensive primary source material, this compelling portrait illuminates the private lives of four generations of a prominent American family.