A few recent comments about The Extraordinary Mark Twain (according to Susy) have got me thinking about the fine line between fact and fiction, particularly in many of the books that we'll be looking at for this year's Mock Sibert Award.
The Sibert Award is given annually for the most distinguished informational book for children. The Sibert manual defines informational books as "those written and illustrated to present, organize, and interpret documentable, factual material."
Even with this specific definition, it is not always easy to determine whether a book is indeed informational and therefore eligible for the Sibert Award.
For instance, there seems to be a trend in picture book biographies for authors to present the information from the subject's point of view. Summer Birds and Stand Straight, Ella Kate are both written in first person from the perspective of a historical figure (Maria Sibylla Meridian and Ella Kate Ewing, respectively). Does this preclude them from the Sibert definition of informational?
Does the answer change if the author makes it clear that he has taken liberties with the story as Joseph D'Agnese does in Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci? Jonah Winter, author of Here Comes the Garbage Barge also explains that he has based his "fictionalized version" on the real deal, but has "taken some liberties with the facts." Could this be an example of a book that is written and illustrated to interpret documentable facts?
I often look closely at the dialogue in picture book biographies for a clue as to whether they can be considered informational. Some, such as Mama Miti, include dialogue that seems to be more general representation than specific, cited quotes. Others include direct quotes and their specific citations among more general dialogue (Black Elk's Vision is one example).
Interestingly, the book that led me to write this blog post is (in my opinion) the most "informational" of all those I've mentioned. While The Extraordinary Mark Twain (according to Susy) reads like fiction and is even classified as fiction in its subject headings, its author, Barbara Kerley provides evidence of her careful research including citations for all quotations included in the text.
What do you think? How do you delineate between fact and fiction? Which titles meet the Sibert definition of informational and should be considered for our mock award?
I often look closely at the dialogue in picture book biographies for a clue as to whether they can be considered informational. Some, such as Mama Miti, include dialogue that seems to be more general representation than specific, cited quotes. Others include direct quotes and their specific citations among more general dialogue (Black Elk's Vision is one example).
Interestingly, the book that led me to write this blog post is (in my opinion) the most "informational" of all those I've mentioned. While The Extraordinary Mark Twain (according to Susy) reads like fiction and is even classified as fiction in its subject headings, its author, Barbara Kerley provides evidence of her careful research including citations for all quotations included in the text.
What do you think? How do you delineate between fact and fiction? Which titles meet the Sibert definition of informational and should be considered for our mock award?
