ERIC ED458591: The Best in Children's Nonfiction: Reading, Writing, & Teaching Orbis Pictus Award Books.

176 Pages·2001·2.3 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
CS 217 699
ED 458 591
Zarnowski, Myra, Ed.; Kerper, Richard M., Ed.; Jensen, Julie
AUTHOR
M., Ed.
The Best in Children's Nonfiction: Reading, Writing, &
TITLE
Teaching Orbis Pictus Award Books.
National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL.
INSTITUTION
ISBN-0-8141-0489-4
ISBN
2001-00-00
PUB DATE
NOTE
175p.
National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon
AVAILABLE FROM
Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 04894-1659: $15.95,
members; $21.95, nonmembers). Tel: [phone] (Toll Free);
Web site http://www.ncte.org.
General (020)
Collected Works
PUB TYPE
MF01/PC07 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Annotated Bibliographies; *Authors; *Childrens Literature;
DESCRIPTORS
*Classroom Techniques; Elementary Education; Evaluation
Criteria; *Nonfiction; Reading Interests; *Reading Material
Selection
*Honor Books; National Council of Teachers of English;
IDENTIFIERS
*Orbis Pictus Award; Trade Books
ABSTRACT
This book offers readers both a glimpse into the world of
children's nonfiction and practical tips on teaching these texts in the
classroom. The book looks at the first 10 years of the National Council of
Teachers of English's award for excellence in children's nonfiction. In the
first section of the book, Orbis Pictus Awards Committee members discuss the
issues they consider as they select each year's winner, honor books, and
"The Quality of Prose
recommended titles. Articles in this section are:
(1)
"Intermingling Fact and
(J. M. Jensen);
in Orbis Pictus Award Books"
(2)
"Nonfiction Book Design in a Digital Age"
(R. M.
Fiction" (M. Zarnowski);
(3)
"Acknowledging, Citing, Going Beyond: Issues of Documentation in
Kerper);
(4)
"Significance of Topics of
and (5)
Nonfiction Literature"
P. Smith) ;
(K.
Orbis Pictus Award-Winning Books" (E. M. Aoki). In the middle section,
writers--and Orbis winners or honorees--reflect on their work during the
"A Wish for a New Century" (D. Swanson);
1990s. These articles are:
(7)
(6)
"Presidents, Plagues,
"Lessons Learned from a Butterfly"
(L. Pringle);
(8)
"Outside the
(J. C. Giblin);
and a Pilot: My Writing Life in the 1990s"
(9)
"A World of
(10) "Writing in the '90s"
(R. Blumberg);
(P. Lauber);
Box"
(11)
(M. P. Osborne);
"One World, Many Religions"
(J. 0. Dewey);
Difference"
(12)
(J. Fritz); and (14) "Serendipity, Detective Work,
"Nonfiction, 1999"
(13)
(J. Murphy). The
and Worry: One Nonfiction Writer's Journey through the '90s"
book concludes with an annotated list of Orbis Pictus winners and honor books
from 1989 to 2000, including teaching suggestions for classroom use.
(NKA)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
Reading, Writing,& Teaching
Orbis Pictus Award Books
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
BEEN GRANTED BY
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
NI, A. Hittis
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
ED ,,J CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
x.
This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
originating it.
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
0 Minor changes have been made to
1
improve reproduction quality.
Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
Edited by
Julie M. Jensen
Richard M. Kerper
Myra Zarnowski
01
c/D
[BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1
The Best in Children's
Nonfiction
3
NCTE Editorial Board: Jacqueline Bryant, Kermit Campbell, Willie Mae
Crews, Colleen Fairbanks, Andrea Lunsford, Gerald R. Og lan, Jackie
Swensson, Gail Wood, Kent Williamson, NCTE Executive Director, Zarina
Hock, Chair, ex officio, Peter Feely, ex officio
The Best in
Children's
Nonfiction
Reading, Writing, and Teaching
Orbis Pictus Award Books
Edited by
Myra Zarnowski
Queens College, City University of New York
Richard M. Kerper
Millersville University
Julie M. Jensen
The University of Texas at Austin
National Council of Teachers of English
1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096
Illustration from AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE by Laurence Pringle.
Copyright © 1997 by Laurence Pringle. Published by Orchard Books, a
division of Scholastic Inc. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic Inc.
Illustration from MINN OF THE 1VIISSISSIPPI by Holling Clancy Holling.
Copyright © 1951 by Holling Clancy Holling. Reprinted by permission of
Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Staff Editor: Bonny Graham
Interior Design: Doug Burnett
Cover Design: Evelyn C. Shapiro
NCTE Stock Number: 04894-3050
© 2001 by the National Council of Teachers of English.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includ-
ing photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission from the copyright holder. Printed in the United States of
America.
It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a
forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the
teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any par-
ticular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Com-
mittee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in an-
nouncements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The best in children's nonfiction : reading, writing, and teaching Orbis
Pictus Award books / edited by Myra Zarnowski, Richard M. Kerper,
Julie M. Jensen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8141-0489-4
1. Orbis Pictus Award. 2. Children's literature, AmericanHistory
and criticism. 3. Children's literature, AmericanBibliography.
I. Zarnowski, Myra, 1945 II. Kerper, Richard M. III. Jensen, Julie M.
Z1037.A2 B47 2001
028.1'62dc21
2001044261
V
Contents
vii
Introduction
I. Ten Years of the Orbis Pictus Award
1
1. The Quality of Prose in Orbis Pictus Award Books
3
Julie M. Jensen
2. Intermingling Fact and Fiction
13
Myra Zarnowski
3. Nonfiction Book Design in a Digital Age
22
Richard M. Kerper
4. Acknowledging, Citing, Going Beyond: Issues of
Documentation in Nonfiction Literature
32
Karen Patricia Smith
5. The Significance of Topics of Orbis Pictus
42
Award-Winning Books
Elaine M. Aoki
II. Award-Winning Authors Discuss Their Work
51
53
6. A Wish for a New Century
Diane Swanson
57
7. Lessons Learned from a Butterfly
Laurence Pringle
8. Presidents, Plagues, and a Pilot: My Writing Life
62
in the 1990s
James Cross Gib lin
72
9. Outside the Box
Patricia Lauber
76
10. Writing in the '90s
Rhoda Blumberg
80
11. A World of Difference
Jennifer Owings Dewey
84
12. One World, Many Religions
Mary Pope Osborne
7
vi
Contents
13. Nonfiction, 1999
87
Jean Fritz
14. Serendipity, Detective Work, and Worry: One Nonfiction
Writer's Journey through the '90s
90
Jim Murphy
III. An Annotated Bibliography of Orbis Pictus Winners,
Honor Books, and Recommended Titles, 1990-1999
99
Section III Appendix: Orbis Pictus Award Choices for 2000
139
Editors
155
Contributing Committee Members
157
Contributors
159
vii
Introduction
Several years ago, the members of the Orbis Pictus Award for
Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Committee decided that it
would be a good idea to do more than select award-winning
titles. We wanted to tell people about the ideas that excited and
infuriated us about recent nonfiction, about the insights we were
developing about the genre as we read healthy doses of it over the
years, and about our "noticings" about the radical and subtle
changes occurring in the literature.
As discussion about this book continued, we realized that in
addition to hearing from committee members, readers would enjoy
hearing from writers whose books have been selected by the com-
mittee. We then invited several authors to look back on their careers
during the past decade as they wrote nonfiction for children.
Finally, we decided that a complete listing of all Orbis Pictus
winners, honor books, and recommended titles for the past ten years
would be a handy reference for teachers and school librarians.
Therefore, we have provided annotations for all winners and honor
books and a complete listing of recommended titles for the first
decade of the award, 1990-1999. Because the 2000 award winners
had been announced by the time this book was in production, in an
appendix to the 1990-1999 bibliography we have reprinted the
Talking about Books section of Language Arts that features the 2000
award winner and honor books.
The Best in Children's Nonfiction, then, is organized in three
parts: Section I, in which committee members discuss the character-
istics of good nonfiction; Section II, perspectives on nonfiction and
writing nonfiction from authors of award-winning titles; and Sec-
tion III, a complete listing of Orbis Pictus titles for the last decade,
including annotations of award-winning and honor books.
Serving on the Orbis Pictus Award Committee has truly
enriched my life as a reader. I know I speak for the committee in
inviting you to share the riches.
Myra Zarnowski
9
I Ten Years of the Orbis
Pictus Award
Edited by Myra Zarnowski
The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
was established in 1989 to promote and recognize excellence in
nonfiction writing for children. The award's name commemorates
Johannes Amos Comenius's (1657) work Orbis Pictus (The World in
Pictures), considered to be the first book actually intended for chil-
dren. Each year one award book and up to five honor books are
named. In addition, the award committee selects other titles it
considers to be outstanding. Selecting Orbis Pictus Award-winning
titles is a big job. Committee members sift and sort through hun-
dreds of books looking for the very best in nonfiction. What's sur-
prising is how, at the end of each year, there is a high level of consen-
sus about which books we want to honor.
Before we reach this consensus, we talk, talk, and talk some
more. During our committee meetings, members bring and brag
about their favorite titles. You might hear comments such as: "Have
you seen this book? Isn't it great? I tried it with third graders and
they just loved it." Or you might hear, "This is exactly the kind of
book we need!" But then, you also might hear us voice our concerns:
"Is the information in this book worth knowing? Is it important
enough to spend time on?" Or, "Would this book be useful in the
classroom? Would children understand it? Is it really for children?"
In this section, current and past members of the Orbis Pictus
Award Committee share our thoughts about issues that have
sparked our discussions over the years. First, Julie Jensen discusses
the quality of writing found in award-winning titles. She shows how
good nonfiction writers have applied the tools of storytellers to
information they have gathered through extensive research in order
to write the kind of prose we want to read again and again. In
Chapter 2, Myra Zarnowski discusses the intermingling of fact and
fiction that has been occurring with greater and greater frequency
within the genre marketed and sold as nonfiction. Noting that this is
part of a larger trend in both children's and adult nonfiction, she
10