Non-fiction

Later in 2010 National Library will be offering some PD workshops on using non-fiction - I'm just noting here a couple of oldish but interesting and related School Library Journal articles on the topic...

In quest of excellence : the Sibert committee looks at 14 qualities of a truly distinguished information book
By Susan Faust -- School Library Journal, 6/1/2001
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA83682.html?industryid=47087&q=In+Quest+of+Excellence%22

From the article... In examining hundreds of information titles published in 2000, our committee gradually honed in on what makes or breaks a book and on what elevates it to the level of "truly distinguished." An important lesson: There is no checklist or formula that insures excellence.

Another important lesson: There is no perfect information book. Each book under consideration (even the winners themselves) raised questions. How does a simple concept book compare to a scholarly history? What about age range? What about inaccuracies? Is documentation complete? How do written and visual elements work together? What about the total package?

These are but a few of the questions we pondered. The answers were not always clear but the selection process was, allowing for a year of thoughtful and thorough deliberation. We learned to weigh relative strengths and weaknesses in information books. We learned to prioritize. We learned to answer the central question: Is information presented for a child audience in a distinguished way?

The answer came back as a resounding "yes" for the winners. And as a slightly qualified "yes" for so many other books. For me, there emerged from the process a fuller appreciation of what gets a book to "yes." So, here's what I learned from the Sibert Award experience: My short (and not exhaustive) list of qualities that distinguish a "truly distinguished" information book :

• Beyond authority, passion
• An abiding respect for children
• Fitting and eloquent literary style
• Strategic and artful graphics
• Commitment to accuracy and clarity
• Thorough and thoroughly explained documentation
• Inviting extensions
• Organized to ease access and enhance meaning
• Clear delineation of fact
• Multi-layered content
• Supportive ancillary material
• Format following function
• Apt and appealing book design
• Stimulating overall presentation
  

A librarian looks at how even great books fall short
By Nina Lindsay -- School Library Journal, 7/1/2001
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA90711.html

There is no such thing as the perfect book. Each reader comes to each book with a different set of needs and expectations, and this is what makes the creation and consumption of literature so exciting. Even Newbery- or Caldecott-winning titles might exhibit flaws on close scrutiny. But this is what happens on award committees: books are examined inside, outside, through, and underneath in the search for the "most distinguished contribution." And who hasn't, in reviewing a book or examining it for a library collection, thought, "if only the author had…!"

This past January, the Association of Library Service to Children named the first-ever medal-and honor-winning authors of the Robert F. Sibert Information Book Award. I was a member of the committee that made those selections. Susan Faust, chair, describes the qualities of "truly distinguished" information books in "In Quest of Excellence" (SLJ, June, p. 42). The books below all fit this category. They also are all flawed. These titles stand out from others published in the year 2000 for the stimulating way they present their information, but in holding them against the criteria for the Sibert Award, I found problems with them that I couldn't overlook in my quest for the "most distinguished"...