Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

2023 - Winner(s)

In an account that masterfully combines text and illustration, the works of three different photographers are used to showcase and examine the unjust incarceration of...

2023 - Honor(s)

Accompanied by striking cut-paper illustrations, this moving picture book biography illuminates Mamie Till-Mobley’s life and the ways in which the murder of her son affected...

2023 - Honor(s)

The lifecycle of a sunflower from seed to flower and back to seed is presented in minimalistic, lyrical text accompanied by richly textured images of...

2023 - Honor(s)

Exceptional writing and rich illustrations shed light on everyday civil rights hero Georgia Gilmore in this thoroughly researched picture book biography.

2023 - Honor(s)

Years after the Holocaust, Yaffa Eliach traveled the world to collect photographs from former members of her destroyed shtetl, which were used to create the...

2023 - Honor(s)

“Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Janelle Washington, is the John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator award...

2022 - Honor(s)

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2022 - Honor(s)

2022 - Winner(s)

Jewish immigrant Ben Shahn used his art to portray the lives of working-class people and others who had been mistreated to bring to light injustices...

2022 - Honor(s)

2021 - Winner(s)

2021 - Honor(s)

2021 - Honor(s)

2021 - Honor(s)

2020 - Winner(s)

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2019 - Winner(s)

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2019 - Honor(s)

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2019 - Honor(s)

2019 - Honor(s)

2018 - Winner(s)

“Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961” is published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Highlights. In 1961 on the seventh anniversary of the Brown...

2018 - Honor(s)

Part biography, part culinary adventure, this vibrant and energetic book captures the essence of the LA street food scene. Graffiti-inspired art and hip-hop flavored text...

2018 - Honor(s)

Through magnificent panoramic illustrations, meticulously researched diagrams and lucid text, Jason Chin has created a book as grand as the canyon itself. Readers join a...

2018 - Honor(s)

In this candid book, award-winning writer Burcaw answers ten frequently asked questions about his life with a disability in a humorous and approachable manner. Carr’s...

2018 - Honor(s)

Chemical runoff from California’s farms kills seagrass. But in Monterey Bay’s Elkhorn Slough, the seagrass is thriving. Why? Readers dive into the waters of the...

2017 - Winner(s)

“March: Book Three” published by Top Shelf Productions, is a memoir chronicling Lewis’s lifelong struggle for civil and human rights. Carefully selected dialog and first-person...

2017 - Honor(s)

Poetic text and lush oil paintings immerse readers in a suspenseful deep-sea investigation of the elusive giant squid, exploring what is known – and what...

2017 - Honor(s)

In powerful, spare prose, Stelson recounts the haunting experiences of a young Sachiko and her family in the months and decades following the atomic destruction...

2017 - Honor(s)

Marrin fuses impeccable research and polemic brilliance in an examination and well-guided history of the racism and xenophobia that propelled Executive Order 9066, interning over...

2017 - Honor(s)

Freedman offers a tightly-knit narrative on the lives and work of these young people within the larger context of Hitler, Nazism, and the devastating effect...

2016 - Winner(s)

2016 - Honor(s)

“A swirl of unremarkable wind leaves Africa…” and makes its way to what will become the drowned city of New Orleans. Simple black ink...

2016 - Honor(s)

Hoose presents the true World War II story of eight Danish teens who became resistance fighters while most of the adults in their country...

2016 - Honor(s)

“By the time I was fifteen years old, I had been in jail nine times.” So begins Lowery’s highly personal account of the historic...

2016 - Honor(s)

This inspirational singer and Civil Rights activist comes to life in 22 brief, first person, free verse poems that seamlessly incorporate Hamer’s own words...

2015 - Winner(s)

Peter Mark Roget, whose boyhood passion for list-making and finding the right word for every situation, led him to create his “treasure house” of a...

2015 - Honor(s)

Woodson’s eloquent and haunting memoir focuses on her family and her dream of becoming a writer.

2015 - Honor(s)

Fleming brilliantly delineates the tragic fall of the Russian royal family, contrasting their opulent lives with the primary source voices from the Rebellion.

2015 - Honor(s)

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker is a dynamic dance of beautifully written verse and lively illustrations describing the life of the effervescent entertainer.

2015 - Honor(s)

With vivid paintings and clear, accessible text, Roy creates a heart-stopping look at what great white sharks do best—hunt for their next meal.

2015 - Honor(s)

Tonatiuh draws upon traditional Mixtec codex art to tell the story of 11-year-old Sylvia Mendes, who helped end school segregation in California seven years before...

2014 - Winner(s)

“Parrots over Puerto Rico,” is the story of the rescue and return of the Puerto Rican parrot, a species once so abundant it blotted out...

2014 - Honor(s)

Readers will be inspired by the passion and perseverance of artist Horace Pippin in this engaging picture book biography. The tightly woven narrative coupled with...

2014 - Honor(s)

2014 - Honor(s)

This spirited, accessible introduction to the art and science of birding features immersive, fact-filled cartoon art punctuated with tongue-in-beak bird commentary via word bubbles and...

2014 - Honor(s)

Greenberg and Jordan provide a fascinating account of the life and work of the eccentric and inventive ceramic artist, George E. Ohr. The text is...

2013 - Honor(s)

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2012 - Honor(s)

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2011 - Winner(s)

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2011 - Honor(s)

2010 - Winner(s)

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...

2010 - Honor(s)

2010 - Honor(s)

2010 - Honor(s)

2009 - Winner(s)

Kadir Nelson scores a homerun with this fascinating and well-documented history of Negro League Baseball told in the voice of an "everyman" narrator. Dignified...

2009 - Honor(s)

Bodies from the Ice explores the archaeology of glacier science. Deem's visual presentation engages readers through period newspaper illustrations, paintings, maps and photographs of ice...

2009 - Honor(s)

Growing up as the daughter of the President was not easy, but being the President and father of Alice Roosevelt was not easy either. Barbara...

2008 - Winner(s)

In his deeply felt memoir, set in mid-20th century Prague, Sís contrasts the constrictive walls of the communist state with his personal quest for artistic...

2008 - Honor(s)

In simple, stately prose that perfectly complements his luminous watercolors, Floca introduces the lightship Ambrose, its crew and cat. Masterful use of the historical present...

2008 - Honor(s)

Even the squeamish will be awed by Bishop's oversized, dramatic and vibrant up-close color photographs of more than a dozen types of spiders. His compelling...

2007 - Winner(s)

With heart-stopping prose and stunning NASA photographs, Thimmesh celebrates the men and women who solved a series of unfolding crises that threatened the mission of Apollo...

2007 - Honor(s)

The 1961 Freedom Rides come to life in Bausum's book through the unflinching personal stories of two men uniting for a common cause: Lewis, the...

2007 - Honor(s)

Biologist Lisa Dabek and her multinational team search for the beautiful, elusive Matschie's tree kangaroo in the cloud forests of Papua New Guinea. Dramatic color...

2007 - Honor(s)

Siegel's literary debut dramatizes the struggle and fulfillment of becoming a professional ballerina--lifting the curtain on a dream shared by many young dancers. Partnered by...

2006 - Winner(s)

In 1864, the H.L. Hunley became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. It then vanished. For 131 years, the Hunley's fate remained a...

2006 - Honor(s)

Readers will be riveted by the chilling history meticulously documented in Bartoletti's book. By weaving the personal stories of 12 young Germans into the larger...

2005 - Honor(s)

Kerley's lyrical prose portrait of Whitman captures the remarkable humanity and compassion of this quintessentially American poet, while Selznick's evocative art, inspired by period photographs...

2005 - Honor(s)

Montgomery's vigorous and sometimes humorous text, enlivened by Bishop's color close-up photography, introduces field scientist Sam Marshall and his hairy subjects. This team effort is...

2005 - Honor(s)

With spare, poetic writing and richly colored, expressive illustrations, Rumford captures the character of Sequoyah, the man who created a writing system for the Cherokee...

2005 - Winner(s)

Freedman gracefully narrates the story of Anderson's life and career. Appropriately, it is her remarkable voice that the author emphasizes in this handsomely and spaciously...

2004 - Winner(s)

Murphy draws material from primary sources, such as private diaries, newspapers and books, to give insight into political, social and cultural challenges of the yellow...

2004 - Honor(s)

A Vicki Cobb Science Play book, I Face the Wind, asks its young readers to think like scientists, as it leads them through experiments and...

2003 - Honor(s)

Gantos courageously recounts his turbulent youth and young adulthood in this powerful and heart-wrenching memoir. He weaves literary quotes and allusions in superb text to...

2003 - Honor(s)

Greenberg and Jordan capture Jackson Pollock's spirit and artistic style through succinct narrative and purposeful words. Detailed source notes enrich this informational picture book, which...

2003 - Honor(s)

A gloriously designed and thoughtfully researched book encapsulates the life of famed African-American contralto Marian Anderson. Ryan's vibrant text melds perfectly with Selznick's sepia toned...

2003 - Winner(s)

Gibson poses and answers three questions in this compelling, accessible account of Hitler, his world and his legacy. "What sort of man could plan and...

2003 - Honor(s)

Blumenthal's juvenile book debut is a grippingly written account of the chaotic events preceding the 1929 stock market crash. Using numerous primary sources, the text...

2002 - Winner(s)

"Using first-hand accounts, illustrations and documents from archival sources, Bartoletti recreates the milieu of a century and a half ago, and links the lives of...

2002 - Honor(s)

Surviving Hitler is the powerful story of Jack Mandelbaum, who as a teenager was torn from life of warmth and family love, to spend three...

2002 - Honor(s)

Greenberg and Jordan detail van Gogh's life in a compelling and engaging narrative that deftly incorporates quotations from his letters, and vividly portrays the circumstances...

2002 - Honor(s)

Elegant paintings, facinating diagrams and compelling prose convey the tortuous creation of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. Explaining both the drama and the engineering...

2001 - Honor(s)

Cartoonist Winick tells the story of his friendship with AIDS-educator Pedro Zamora in a graphic-novel format. "Important lessons are presented in a style friendly to...

2001 - Winner(s)

This book portrays the adventurous life of Sir Walter Ralegh and his quest to find the legendary city of El Dorado and the fate of...

2001 - Honor(s)

Set in the exciting historical framework of the 18th century, this book chronicles the invention of a seagoing clock by John Harrison and the surrounding scientific...

2001 - Honor(s)

This is a gripping tale about the disastrous storm that blasted the eastern seaboard in March 1888. "This work combines splendid storytelling, faultless research, thorough...

2001 - Honor(s)

Webb deftly uses illustrated journal entries to document her participation in a two-month expedition to Antarctica to study Adelie penguins in 1996. She includes absorbing...