Annal:2008 Sibert Medal

From AwardAnnals

Results of the Sibert Medal in the year 2008. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:

<–2007
Sibert Medal
–end–

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities—creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed.

Nic Bishop Spiders

Nic Bishop

2008 Sibert honor
Score: 6.58

For the first to third grade set, spiders are fascinating and suitably gruesome, especially when looked at in EXTREME close-up.

Lightship

Brian Floca

2008 Sibert honor
Score: 6.58

You may never have heard of a lightship. Once, lightships anchored on waters across America, on the oceans and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built. Come aboard!