NONFICTION BOOK BLAST : AN EXPLOSION OF FACTS AT ALA

I don't have any new book comments to post just now (my reading has been rather slow, lately) but in the meantime, anyone who's attending ALA this June should consider attending this event:

NONFICTION BOOK BLAST: AN EXPLOSION OF FACTS

Sunday, June 26 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am in room 243 above Hall D of the Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center in New Orleans. The details provided here all come from a press release via Kelly Milner Halls.

Ten award-winning nonfiction writers -- April Pulley Sayre, Kelly Milner Halls, Deborah Heiligman, Loree Griffins Burns, Carla Killough McClafferty, Christine Taylor-Butler, Shirley Duke, Darcy Pattison, Carla Mooney and Anastasia Suen -- will booktalk their latest factual explorations, complete with programming suggestions to help bring those pages to life.

Featured titles include:
Rah, Rah, Radishes by April Pulley Sayre
In Search of Sasquatch by Kelly Milner Halls
Charles and Emma by Deborah Heligman
The Hive Detectives by Loree Griffin Burns
The Many Faces of George Washington by Carla Killough McClafferty
Magnets by Christine Taylor-Butler
You Can’t Wear These Genes by Shirley Duke
Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison
Explorers of the New World by Carla Mooney
Read and Write Sports by Anastasia Suen

According to the press release, attendees will "...leave their two hour session with new books to add to your collections and instructive activity handouts specially to engage young readers." I'm most excited about hearing Deborah Heligman, and would love to see what kind of activities will be presented to go along with Charles and Emma, the 2010 winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction.

The Many Faces of George Washington, which combines an exploration of history, science and art, is a new one that looks really interesting. Targeted to a middle-school aged audience, it has been favorably reviewed by Kirkus and School Library Journal. In Search of Sasquatch, which comes out in October, looks intriguing as well.

PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES

Anastasia Suen is the award-winning author of 128 books for children and adults, a literacy blogger, and a children's literature consultant for several publishers. She has taught kindergarten to college, including Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas. Suen lives in Plano, Texas. Website: asuen.com.

April Pulley Sayre is an award-winning children’s book author of over 55 natural history books. Her read-aloud nonfiction books, known for their lyricism and scientific precision, have been translated into French, Dutch, Japanese, and Korean. Originally from Greenville, SC, she now lives in Indiana. Website: http://www.aprilsayre.com/

Christine Taylor-Butler is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children. A graduate of MIT, she frequently conducts lectures and workshops to promote literacy for children. In 2009, she received the George B. Morgan ’20 award for her work on MIT’s Educational Council. Christine lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Website: http://www.christinetaylorbutler.com/

Carla Mooney is an award-winning author of more than 25 books for children and teens, in a variety of topics. She enjoys speaking to children and adults about books and the writing process. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Carla lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Website: http://www.carlamooney.com/

Carla Killough McClafferty is an award-winning author who says she writes “Biography Plus” books. She writes in such a way that brings her subjects to life, plus she adds valuable, unique information that goes beyond the usual biographical material. Carla lives in North Little Rock, AR. Website: http://www.carlamcclafferty.com/

Darcy Pattison, Arkansas author of picture books, novels and how-to-write books has been published in eight languages. She studied for her master’s degree at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. She returns to the wide, open skies of our heartland’s prairies in her first nonfiction picture book, Prairie Storms. She follows this with another nature book next year, Desert Baths. Originally from New Mexico, she lives in North Little Rock, AR. Visit http://www.darcypattison.com/.

Deborah Heiligman is the author of Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, a National Book Award finalist, Printz Honor, LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the first YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award. She has written 27 other books, including the "National Geographic Celebrate Holidays Around the World" series. She is working on her first novel. A Pennsylvanian most of her life, she now lives in New York City. Please visit http://www.deborahheiligman.com/.

Kelly Milner Halls specializes in well researched, quirky nonfiction for young readers, including her best known books Albino Animals and Tales of the Cryptids, both YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. She travels all over the nation speaking at schools, libraries and conferences. She makes her home in Spokane, Washington with one dog, two daughters, too many cats and a 4-foot rock iguana named Gigantor. She also assists YA author, Chris Crutcher. Website: http://www.kellymilnerhalls.com/.

Loree Griffin Burns has a passion for science and discovery, which she channels into creating fascinating books of non-fiction for young people. Her work has garnered several honors, including ALA Notable designations, an SB&F Prize, an IRA Children’s Book Award and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award. Loree lives with her husband and three children in Massachusetts. Website: http://www.loreeburns.com/.

Shirley Duke writes for children from the preschool age to young adult. She also writes teacher guides for educators. A former science teacher, she uses her background in biology and education in her books to explain complex science in a way kids can understand. She blogs about books and easy science lessons at SimplyScience, and is a guest blogger for NOVA’s web program, “The Secret Life of Scientists.” She lives with her husband in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico and in Garland, Texas. Visit her at http://www.shirleysmithduke.com/ and http://www.simplyscience.wordpress.com/

Mock YALSA Voting Results / YALSA Official Shortlist Announced

I just came from the mock discussion and vote for the YALSA nonfiction award. It was held at National-Louis University's Center for Teaching Through Children's Books. I sat in a room with 9 other lovely librarians and discussed the nonfiction titles that I had picked (somewhat subjectively) as being among the best of the year. The titles we discussed are:

Borrowed Names by Jeannine Atkins
Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman
They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie by Tanya Lee Stone
Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

There was a lot of great discussion on the books, as well as related topics including how to categorize poetry, whether "appeal" could be considered to fit within the definition of "presentation" and how much white space is too much white space. In regards to poetry, someone made the point that a majority of poetry could be considered nonfiction, because it is intended to present Truth (with a capital T). After the discussion, a vote was taken. The War to End All Wars and They Called Themselves the KKK were tied at 3 votes apiece, with Sir Charlie and Kakapo Rescue also garnering votes. A runoff vote between the top two vote-getters resulted in a win for They Called Themselves the KKK with 6 votes.

So, congrats to Susan Campbell Bartoletti for They Called Themselves the KKK! There is no prize associated with this mock award, other than perhaps it will inspire a librarian somewhere to put the book on display, or it to hand it to a teen and say, "Try this book, it's really good!" Which really should be the point of having these awards, right?

The five official finalists were also announced by YALSA earlier this week. Here is the OFFICIAL list:

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Spies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement by Rick Bowers

The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul Janeczko

Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates by Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw

I'm not at all surprised to see They Called Themselves the K.K.K. on the list. I've read two of the other finalists. I thought that Spies of Mississippi was really good, but it didn't stand out for me like several books did. I enjoyed Janis Joplin (more extensive comments are coming soon) and I love the design.

The Dark Game also has a definite cool factor. I haven't even had a chance to see it since it arrived at the library, as it's been checked out the entire time. Every Bone Tells a Story is probably the biggest surprise, simply because it's been off my radar. I'm going to have to get a hold of it, now.

The official winner will be announced during the MidWinter meeting of ALA in San Diego.

Your Comments?

Why This Blog?

Err, "Welcome!" I should say. Thank you for visiting this nonfiction blog, and I hope that you will leave a comment and maybe even return from time to time to read and contribute.

I've started this blog to foster discussion about nonfiction books for young adults. YALSA has debuted a new Excellence in Nonfiction Award to promote nonfiction, which I think is great! However, just having an award isn't enough. The public needs to acknowledge YA nonfiction for the award to achieve its goals. The work done by the award committee is kept under wraps during the year, so it is important for librarians, teens and other members of the public to hold open discussions.

Books that I've identified "to watch" for 2010 are listed in the column to the right. As more books catch my eye, they will be added to the list. I'm counting on others to contribute titles, as well. If you come across any promising nonfiction titles for young adults then please post them in a comment! Each book will be featured in it's own blog post.

If you're interested in becoming a regular contributor to the blog, then please include an email address so that I can contact you. Who am I? Read my profile, here.

My next blog post will feature The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy by James Cross Giblin, which was just named a finalist for the LA Time Book Prize for young adult literature.

What are YOUR young adult nonfiction books to watch for 2010?