Wednesday Roundup: Nonfiction Newbery Contenders
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STEVEN: This is the first of our “Wednesday Roundups,” where we focus on a specific category of possible Newbery contenders. This year we decided to start off each roundup with a quick look back at books from the category that have earned Newbery recognition in past years. There haven’t been a ton of nonfiction Newbery books over the years, but there have been some.
EMILY: I always think it’s such an interesting and important fact that THE FIRST NEWBERY MEDALIST OF ALL TIME was a nonfiction book: THE STORY OF MANKIND by Hendrik Willem van Loon. I’ll admit the book intimidates me and I’ve checked it out plenty of times… but never actually read it… Steven??
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STEVEN: I didn’t read the whole thing. As a homeschooling dad, I started reading it aloud to my kids. It was a pretty fun introduction to history, but for us it was just too much to stick with it all the way through. How about more recent nonfiction Newberys?
EMILY: Of Newbery nonfiction winners, I definitely loved the overall storytelling in BOMB and thought BROWN GIRL DREAMING was the book robbed of a Newbery medal because it totally hits ALL SIX CRITERIA which is sometimes impossible in Nonfiction (This is also the title currently winning our genre poll) ALL THIRTEEN (taking second in crowd favorite nonfiction) also had some incredible storytelling. Looking at this, I guess I really value storytelling when thinking about the Newbery award (which can encompass all the criteria).
STEVEN: The three you mention are all strong examples of that storytelling feature, and it’s interesting that they’re the more recent ones. Going back a bit, there was a bit of nonfiction surge that started with LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. Russell Freedman won Honors for three more biographies after that, and books by Jim Murphy, Susan Bartoletti, and Phillip Hoose also got Honors. Those all featured excellent nonfiction storytelling and captured the people, time, and events so lucidly. But I wouldn’t call any of them page-turners, which I think does apply to BOMB and ALL THIRTEEN. Maybe that’s a change in publishing trends…or readers…or both?
EMILY: In nonfiction, not all the criteria is always necessarily possible and that’s why there is even a specific note in the Newbery Terms & Criteria: “Note: Because the literary qualities to be considered will vary depending on content, the committee need not expect to find excellence in each of the named elements. The book should, however, have distinguished qualities in all of the elements pertinent to it.”
STEVEN: Good point. And the literary quality we usually think of with nonfiction is “Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization.” But it’s worthwhile to look at the other qualities too with nonfiction. Like “delineation of characters”…the author writes about real people, not created characters, but can still describe them in ways that are distinct and memorable. Like Oppenheimer in BOMB, for example. Themes and settings can come into play. And certainly “appropriateness of style.” BOMB, ALL THIRTEEN, and BROWN GIRL DREAMING all could have been told in different ways, but the authors made clear and creative stylistic choices.
EMILY: I feel like if a nonfiction wins the Newbery this year, it’s going to be a picture book. I just suggested CALL ME ROBERTO, OUTSPOKEN PAUL ROBESON, and THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE- all titles that I think “pack a punch” in a short time frame and really capture characterization and setting.
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STEVEN: Good choices. For older nonfiction, I think THE ENIGMA GAME is a contender, and AMERICAN WINGS is also strong. Both are over 350 pages, though and long nonfiction doesn’t always do well on Heavy Medal (see my fruitless advocacy in past years for BUZZKILL and VINCENT AND THEO) or the actual Newbery. SPIRIT SLEUTHS by Gail Jarrow is one I haven’t read yet, but hope to soon (and it’s only 178 pages).
EMILY: I just love everything Gail Jarrow writes and have been waiting for her to win a Newbery. Maybe SPIRIT SLEUTHS is the one.
I am also impressed with the variety of nonfiction suggested this year. Many prose and picture books of course, but also a graphic novel and a book in verse. You know FORCE OF NATURE may be my new frontrunner, it really has a unique perspective.
STEVEN: I liked FORCE OF NATURE also…kind of a verse/nonfiction/novel hybrid. Another really unique work of nonfiction: ALL ABOUT U.S. It consists of fifty short profiles of modern kids, based on video-chat interviews with the children and their guardians. Very distinct in that “presentation of information” area, and I’d say in “presentation of theme or concept as well.”
EMILY: We would love to hear everyone else’s thoughts about this year’s nonfiction and you’re welcome to pop in and think about genres of years past in our poll. The list of nonfiction suggestions from Heavy Medal readers is below, but we’d love to see other titles brought into the discussion too.
We’ll spotlight Graphic Novels next Wednesday…our full list of Wednesday Roundups is here.
Nonfiction Books that received suggestions on Heavy Medal (through the end of August)
- ALL ABOUT U.S. by Lamothe – prose
- AMERICAN WINGS by Smith & Wein – prose
- CALL ME ROBERTO by Alonso – picture book
- THE ENIGMA GIRLS by Fleming – prose
- FORCE OF NATURE by Burg – verse
- THE GIRL WHO SANG by Nadel – graphic novel
- THE IGUANADON’S HORN by Rubin – picture book
- THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF CHESS by Ashley – prose
- LIFE AFTER WHALE by Brunelle – picture book
- OUTSPOKEN PAUL ROBESON by Weathreford – picture book
- RISING FROM THE ASHES by Yoo – prose
- SPIRIT SLEUTHS by Jarrow – prose
- THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE by Anderson – picture book
- VOLCANOES by Beckerman – picture book
- WHAT IS COLOR by Weinberg – picture book
- WITCH HUNT by Balis & Levy – prose
Filed under: Book Discussion
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried retired from full-time library work a couple years ago and now works as a part-time Youth Librarian at the West Linn Public Library in Oregon. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
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I’m looking forward to *SPIRIT* SLEUTHS as well (Super Sleuths could be a whole different book!). My first intro to Jarrow was Ambushed! which was really interesting. I read THE ENIGMA GIRLS so long ago already (as an ARC) that I’ve forgotten a lot about it. But I did suggest it, so I do remember that it was very good. I just can’t speak to specifics. I read FORCE OF NATURE and honestly thought it was just ok. It was fun to learn about Rachel Carson, though. I’ve got other stuff I’m reading for this year, so I’m not getting to as many 2024 books as I would have liked.
Oops….the title of Gail Jarrow’s book is now corrected to SPIRIT SLEUTHS above….thanks Kelly!
oops im pretty sure my kids make me constantly read a winnie the pooh super sleuths book lol
Would it be possible for you to include the authors in the list at the bottom?
Good idea, Bethany. Just added those.
As Emily mentioned, we do have some stellar nonfiction in picture book form this year. These can be tricky to evaluate in Newbery terms. Especially ones where the illustrations contribute so much. When I think of CALL ME ROBERTO, for example, it’s the illustrations that stand out: those swirling, colorful pictures that suggest the motion and grace of the athlete and also convey the conflict between his joyous performances and the disrespect he had to deal with. THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE, though a very different book, poses similar challenges. The visual presentation, with the scrapbook-y layout and the funny animals, capture the lively fun of the whole thing. They also include quotes and facts.
In both books, I feel like the writing does exactly what it should do…but part of that is leaving room for the visual impact of the illustrations. In terms of “presentation of information,” it’s hard to compare the written portions of these books to works like THE ENIGMA GAME or AMERICAN WINGS. It might be more useful to compare them fiction picture books like A FLICKER OF HOPE or THE HOUSE BEFORE FALLING INTO THE SEA, just as a way to focus on what excellence looks like in a book where the interplay of words and pictures is crucial.
I am a big fan of ALL ABOUT U.S. I would add to Steven’s basic description that there is one kid from each state of the U.S., and the writing shines not just on the delineation of each child and their circle (i.e., delineation of characters) but on evoking each state (delineation of setting), all in relatively few words. The very first paragraph of the first profile (Hannah, Maine) reads, for example, “Green crabs skitter away when Leo, the family dog, walks the rocky coastline of Deer Isle. During low tide, the water is only knee-deep. In tall rubber boots, Hannah and her family wade out to the sand ledges to dig for hen clams. They’ll steam the shellfish for dinner.” I think ALL ABOUT U.S. is the rare informational book that hits all the Newbery Criteria except arguably “Development of a plot.” Even there though, I’d argue the book both wonderfully sweeps you along, following the sun east to west across the country (an introductory invocation before the aforementioned first Hannah/Maine profile reads, “The sun rises over the United States. On the rocky coastline of Maine, the first rays of daylight cast a golden glow”) and powerfully builds up, one after another, this beautiful mosaic of our country’s children. A lesser book could easily have gone wrong here–either failing to maintain interest across 50 profiles or, in the other direction, trying too hard for variety and diversity and unique, exceptional subjects – yes, some of the kids are unusual, but others are so wonderfully ordinary (Legos and online videos are very commonplace in this bunch). I appreciated the back matter and the conscious attempt (perhaps not perfectly realized, as they admit) of trying to match the country’s actual demographics.
I’ll second Leonard’s support for ALL ABOUT U.S. He notes that “a lesser book could easily have gone wrong here…” and that’s so true. I really like the way the author’s voice is rigorously absent in the profiles. We learn about the kids by what they do and what they say. Sometimes a parent tells us more about the child: “Bailey likes to win, but it’s okay to lose” says her mother (“Washington”) and that’s fine, but mostly our perception of each child comes with no outside commentary or judgment.
And there’s enough variety to prevent 50 short profiles in a row from becoming repetitive or blending together. Part of that comes from the geography, the family situations, and the fact that all kids are unique…which I’d say is the primary theme of the book. But the author’s choice of what to tell readers and how to tell it varies with each chapter depending upon the situation.
There’s an easy flow between general and specific. In “Oklahoma,” there’s one paragraph about Maggie’s acting. It includes her own thoughts about it (“‘When I’m acting, I’m not myself,’ she says. ‘I don’t have to worry about other stuff going on.'”); and a bit about her favorite acting role with just enough detail to intrigue us (“…Weepy in a Snow White variety show, told from the point of view of the dwarfs.”); and then a very specific, personal detail (“She practiced lines aby reading the script over and over, until she could see the entire page in her head”). Later we learn about the family newspaper, Maggie’s local activism, and a final bit from her dad: “We are interested in what she thinks and why she thinks what she thinks.”
“Alaska” gives a slightly different kind of portrait of Lydia. More descriptions of the setting, a bit more about family members, and less from Lydia herself (who’s only 7). So it flows differently than the “Oklahoma” chapter, but still gives us a clear, memorable window into Lydia’s world. The last paragraph describes how the community uses VHF radios to communicate, another one of those specific elements that you think about and remember…and it captures a theme of the chapter: “Everybody knows everybody here in town – that’s how small it is…”
I will admit that I enjoyed the book more, and absorbed the information better, when I read a handful of portraits at a time. Though each story is distinct and well-written, their impact seemed to lessen if I read too many. I don’t think that’s a flaw, though, just the nature of this kind of book. Poetry collections can be like this, where you need a little bit of space between poems to reset for the next one.
The illustrations, though not really a consideration for Newbery, did help with the pacing, giving a bit of a rest stop between chapters. At each turn page, it’s natural to move from the end of one story, then take a look at the digital artwork before jumping into the words. And sometimes look back at the illustration after reading, to connect visual details to what we’ve just read.
I’d love to hear more responses to this book. Partly because I think it’s a legitimate contender, but also because it’s so unique…
Among the many nonfiction picture books I’ve seen, LIFE AFTER WHALE by Lynn Brunelle tops my list. The writing is filled with facts, but just a bit lyrical too. A passage about ear rings starts out: “Her years are told in years.” Then a brief explanation about how wax layers help denote her age. There’s a sense of wonder, but grounded in the facts: “The rings can tell so much more. Chemical stories that whisper about the history of the oceans, the temperature of the water, or the pollution of the sea.” The last sentence on the page: “They are rings that measure a lifetime.”
The author uses analogies effectively to capture the grandness of the whale and her environment, and ties them to function: “Her calls are louder than a jet engine [analogy] and are heard by other whales over 500 miles away [function]. Her 400-pound heart is the size of a golf cart [analogy]. It has never failed to push blood and oxygen to every cell of her enormous body [function].”
When the whale dies, the progression of the ecosystem it generates is told like a story, but filled with scientific information. As new animals arrive, we learn just enough about them, and also how their interaction with the dead whale impacts the environment: “Grenadiers, also known as rattail fish, arrive soon after the sleeper sharks and strip away flesh with their knife-like teeth. They are sloppy eaters, spewing out chunks of whale flesh as they chew. These irresistible tidbits scatter the surrounding seafloor and lure even more hungry animals. The first food chains are beginning.”
The Jason Chin illustrations are excellent, conveying the undersea setting and depicting creatures in action. They’re highly effective in support of the text, but it’s still the words that drive the book. I feel like the writing really shines in the area of “Presentation of Information” in this one.
My two favorite non-fiction published in 2024 are:
Verse: FORCE OF NATURE by Anne E. Burg
Prose: THE ENIGMA GIRLS by Candace Fleming
My favorite 2024 Non-Fiction Picture Book, VOLCANOES by Nell Cross Beckerman
FORCE OF NATURE was creative in exploring the biography of Rachel Carlson. It used poetry, illustrations, and text from Carlson’s journals to contextualize her life work. I thought it was great to understand her motivations and challenges while discovering her path, and I think kids will be inspired and encouraged by that. Environmental stewardship is a timely topic.
ENIGMA GIRLS I read in March right after MAX AND THE HOUSE OF SPIES. Also, after reading an advanced reader’s copy of THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE, I thought about how important this non-fiction book was as a companion to fictional books. But does it stand alone in hitting the Newbery rubrics? I compared it less alongside the non-fiction as I did next to THE MONA LISA VANISHES, a book that read like fiction and did not make it to the Newbery podium in 2024.
In the Newbery Genre poll you asked a great question: Why do you think so many middle grade fiction books win the Newbery?
Fiction allows a couple of major advantages in hitting the Newbery rubrics. Specifically, fiction as a genre hits an appropriateness of style that introduces kids to complex character development and themes while pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.
It is notable when an author achieves excellence measured by the Newbery rubrics with a different genre (poetry/ non-fiction) or format (graphic novel.) They have to be masterful.
Steve Sheinkin is my hero for non-fiction writing. Seriously. His books READ like fiction and successfully bring history to life for young readers. In 5th grade, my public library children’s service librarian (Hi Ally) took me over to non-fiction for the first time. I know you are going to love THE NOTORIOUS BENEDICT ARNOLD. She was right, and it is still one of my all-time favorites; it helped me grasp that history is about personal stories, and we have to read all sides to learn and improve. FALLOUT was a top choice for the 2020-21 US Academic Pentathlon, and I annotated every page. BOMB: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon has the distinction of the Newbery, but his many others are arguably just as compelling.
Kwame Alexander and Jason Reynolds are contemporaries elevating poetry to new heights. Graphic Novels as a format have had a harder time breaking into the medal ring- so props to Jerry Craft’s NEW KID. If kids in the award range were on the selection committee, they might make a compelling argument for their more routine inclusion.
Looking against historical Newbery precedent, the non-fiction titles I have read in 2024 are in an uphill battle against talented return Newbery authors and innovative fictional titles.