Snowflake Bentley
By: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrated by: Mary Azarian
Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED
Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt. Why would anyone want to photography it? But from the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley thinks of the icy crystals as small miracles, and he determines that one day his camera will capture for others their extraordinary beauty.
Often misunderstood in his time, Wilson Bentley took pictures that even today reveal two important truths about snowflakes: first, that no two are alike, and second, that each one is startlingly beautiful. His story, gracefully told by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and brought to life in Mary Azarian's lovely woodcuts, gives children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance, but a clear passion for the wonders of nature.
From the dust jacket
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and the Orchestra
By: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by: Brian Pinkney
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Born in 1899, Duke Ellington was the forerunner in the evolution of jazz. By the time he was nineteen he was playing at parties, pool halls, and cabarets; and then, in 1927, he entertained at the hottest place around, The Cotton Club in Harlem. But the defining moment of his career came when Duke and his orchestra gave a groundbreaking performance at Carnegie Hall, when they first performed his suite Black, Brown, and Beige, a tribute to the history of African American people. To this day, Duke, the “King of the Keys,” is beloved by jazz fans old and new.
This is a stunning introduction to Duke Ellington—a legend who continues to live on and influence musicians everywhere.
Form the publisher
No, David!
By: David Shannon
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
When David Shannon was five years old, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On every page were these words: NO, DAVID!... and a picture of David doing things he was not supposed to do. Now David is all grown up. But some things never change...
Over twenty-five years after its initial publication, NO, DAVID! remains a perennial household favorite, delighting children, parents, and teachers alike. David is a beloved character, whose unabashed good humor, mischievous smile, and laughter-inducing antics underline the love parents have for their children—even when they misbehave.
From the publisher
Snow
By: Uri Shulevitz
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Snow. First, one snowflake. Then two snowflakes. Nobody thinks the snow will amount to anything. Nobody, that is, except a certain little boy. "It's snowing!"
A boy and his dog celebrate the first snowfall and a city is transformed.
From the dust jacket
Tibet Through the Red Box
By: Peter Sis
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
While my father was in China and Tibet, he kept a diary, which was later locked in a red box. We weren't allowed to touch the box. The stories I heard as a little boy faded to a hazy dream, and my drawings from that time make no sense. I cannot decipher them. It was not until I myself had gone far, far away and received the message from my father that I became interested in the red box again . . .
In New York, Peter Sis receives a letter from his father. "The Red Box is now yours," it says. The brief note worries him and pulls him back to Prague, where the contents of the red box explain the mystery of his father's long absence during the 1950s.
Czechoslovakia was behind the iron curtain; Vladimir Sis, a documentary filmmaker of considerable talent, was drafted into the army and sent to China to teach filmmaking. He left his wife, daughter, and young son, Peter, thinking he would be home for Christmas. Two Christmases would pass before he was heard from again: Vladimir Sis was lost in Tibet. He met with the Dalai Lama; he witnessed China's invasion of Tibet. When he returned to Prague, he dared not talk to his friends about all he had seen and experienced. But over and over again he told Peter about his Tibetan adventures. Weaving their two stories together—that of the father lost in Tibet and that of the small boy in Prague, lost without his father—Sis draws from his father's diary and from his own recollections of his father's incredible tales to reach a spiritual homecoming between father and son. With his sublime pictures, inspired by Tibetan Buddhist art and linking history to memory, Peter Sis gives us an extraordinary book—a work of singular artistry and rare imagination.
From the publisher
