On Monday morning, January 11, 2016, in Boston, the American Library Association presented the Youth Media Awards. You can read the full press release here. It was great to be in the audience and to feel the excitement and energy as the awards were announced.

The Members of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award picked the following Winner:

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books for Young Readers)

Four Sibert Honor Books were named:

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans written and illustrated by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers)

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March written by Lynda Blackmon Lowery as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley, illustrated by PJ Loughran (Dial Books)

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Candlewick Press)

I was happy that I had read four of the five recognized books. I pulled The Boys Who Challenged Hitler off my shelf and will be reading it as soon as I can. In the comments, please let me know which book you were most happy to see on the list. I was excited that Drowned City was recognized.

Since my predictions were way off and only one of my choices made it onto this list, the winner of the giveaway will receive a copy of Funny Bones by Duncan Tonatiuh or one of the honor books. Congratulations to Annette Bay Pimentel. Please email me your choice and mailing address at Kidlitfrenzy@gmail.com

Other nonfiction spotted in other award categories not specifically focused on nonfiction:

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson; Illustrated by Sean Qualls received a Schneider Family Book Award.

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick; Illustrated by Sophie Blackall won the Caldecott Award.

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews ; Illustrated by Bryan Collier received a Caldecott Honor, and a CSK Illustrator Award.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes received a Caldecott Honor, and the CSK/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award.

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle; illustrated by Rafael López, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner.

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir written by Margarita Engle, is the Belpré Author Award winner.

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh was also recognized as a Belpré Illustrator Honor Book.

It was a fabulous year for biographies and memoirs and I am thankful for the hard work of all of the committee members. My wish for next year's awards is that even a few STEM themed books will catch the eye and hearts of the 2017 committee members.