Robert F. Sibert Medal

Award Year

Robert F. Sibert Informational Medal

2008

Sís, Peter. (2007). The wall : growing up behind the Iron Curtain. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 921 S622s

Peter Sís grew up in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. He relates in pictures and exerpts from his diaries, his memories, his interests, and his frustrations at not having the freedom to live his life outside the rules of the political party-line.

2007

Thimmesh, Catherine. (2006). Team Moon : How 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co. 629.45 T443t 

The story of Apollo 11 is a story that belongs to the astronauts, but also to many other people. Seamstresses, engineers, camera designers, photo developers, Softward experts, flight directors and many other people made the project happen successfully.

2006

Walker, Sally M. (2005). Secrets of a Civil War submarine : solving the mysteries of the H.L. Hunley. Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books. 973.7 W184s

The Civil War submarine, the H.L. Hunley, lay hidden under layers of mud on the ocean floor for over 100 years. Once found it was carefully raised and its contents examined to reveal its history, engineering, and fate.

2005

Freedman, Russell. (2004). The voice that challenged a nation : Marian Anderson and the struggle for equal rights. New York : Clarion Books. 921 A548f

Already acclaimed in the United States and abroad, in 1939, Marian Anderson was denied the opportunity to sing in Constitution Hall solely because of her race. Her response catapulted her into the center of the civil rights movement of her time and hastened the end of segregation and racial barriers in the arts.

2004

Murphy, Jim. (2003). An American plague : the true and terrifying story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. New York : Clarion Books. 614.5 M978a

It’s 1793, and there’s an invisible killer roaming the streets of Philadelphia. The city’s residents are fleeing in fear. This killer has a name--yellow fever--but everything else about it is a mystery. Its cause is unknown and there is no cure. This powerful dramatic account by award-winning author Jim Murphy traces the devastating course of the epidemic. An American Plague offers a fascinating glimpse into the conditions in American cities at the time of our nation’s birth while drawing thought-provoking parallels to modern-day epidemics.

2003

Giblin, James Cross. (2002). The life and death of Adolf Hitler. New York : Clarion Books. 921 H6755g

Explores the life of the dangerous and destructive dictator Adolf Hitler whose aggressive foreign policies set off World War II and caused the deaths of over 6 million Jews. He committed heinous crimes against humanity worldwide.

2002

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. (2001). Black potatoes : the story of the great Irish famine, 1845-1850. Boston : Houghton Mifflin. 941.5 B292b

The story of the Great Irish Famine, through the eyes and memories of the Irish people. Tells how they lived, why their lives depended on the potato, how they dreaded the workhouse, and how they feared and defied the landlord who collected the rent and evicted them.

2001

Aronson, Marc. (2000). Sir Walter Ralegh and the quest for El Dorado. New York : Clarion Books. 921 R1633a

Recounts the adventurous life of the English explorer and courtier who spelled his name "Ralegh" and led many expeditions to the New World.