Robert F.
Sibert Informational
Book Award 2010
2010 Medal Winner
Almost Astronauts: 13
Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone-
Women
in space—not a big deal now, but it took over 20 years for NASA to recognize
that women have the Right Stuff. “Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to
Dream,” tells the story of the women aviators and aspiring astronauts known as
the “Mercury 13” who, in the early 1960’s repeatedly proved themselves capable
but could not overcome prevailing prejudices. Meticulously researched and
handsomely illustrated with archival materials, Stone’s insightful, passionately
written chronicle is sure to inspire.
2010
Honor Books
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
by Phillip Hoose YA 921 COLVIN, C., HOO
“When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can’t sugarcoat
it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.’” – Claudette
Colvin
On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of
Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated
bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be
just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned
by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later
she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle,
the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept
away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South. Based on extensive
interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the
first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure,
skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery
bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.
The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of
Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris
Barton, illustrated by Tony Persiani J 535.353 BAR
Joe
and Bob Switzer were very different brothers. Bob was a studious planner who
wanted to grow up to be a doctor. Joe dreamed of making his fortune in show
business and loved magic tricks and problem-solving. When an accident left Bob
recovering in a darkened basement, the brothers began experimenting with
ultraviolet light and fluorescent paints. Together they invented a whole new
kind of color, one that glows with an extra-special intensityDay-Glo. This cover
reproduction is not printed withDay-Glo colors. The actual book, however, is
printed using three Day-Glo colors: Saturn Yellow, Fire Orange, and Signal
Green.
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 written and illustrated by Brian
Floca J 629.45 FLO
Forty years after NASA’s Apollo 11 mission first landed astronauts on the moon,
this striking nonfiction picture book takes young readers along
for
the ride. The moon shines down on Earth, where three men don spacesuits, climb
into Columbia, and wait for liftoff. On a nearby beach, people gather to watch
the rocket blast the astronauts into space. The astronauts fly to the moon,
circle it, land on it, walk on its surface, and see “the good and lonely Earth,
glowing in the sky.” After flying back to the orbiter, they return to Earth and
splash down, “home at last.” An appended note discusses the mission in greater
detail. Written with quiet dignity and a minimum of fuss, the main text is
beautifully illustrated with line-and-wash artwork that provides human interest,
technological details, and some visually stunning scenes. The book’s large
format offers plenty of scope for double-page illustrations, and Floca makes the
most of it, using the sequential nature of picture books to set up the more
dramatic scenes and give them human context. The moving image of Earth seen from
the moon, for instance, is preceded by a picture of a lone astronaut looking up.
A handsome, intelligent book with a jacket that’s well-nigh irresistible