> A "good" nonfiction book for young readers is not what it used to be.
> Marc Aronson of SLJ says it just right - there is nonfiction that aims
> for "fresh thinking" and nonfiction that is just "dutiful coverage".
> Books like the Sibert Award winners are those that go a long way
> beyond conveying information.  Still, there are  things about
> nonfiction that haven't and shouldn't change.  Nonfiction is
> critically evaluated on the basis of accuracy, organization, author
> credentials, bibliography, and graphics.  The author's authority
> matters a lot.  Getting the facts right is an author's sacred duty and
> shows respect for the reader.  Readers have a right to expect that
> what they read is accurate and does not include any fact changing or
> manufacturing of details to enhance the story.   Good nonfiction books
> provide citation lists and acknowledgements for readers to rely on.
> The line between fiction and nonfiction must be obvious  It's a given
> that a worthy author will make every effort to avoid errors.  It's
> much more disturbing when writers add content that they know is not
> true or haven't been able to document   This can be a serious problem
> as young readers (and even many adults) are not familiar enough with
> their subject to be able to discriminate fact from invention.

> It's not hard at all to find books for our nonfiction collection.
> (My bigger problem is what not to buy.)   I like the books produced by
> Greenwood Press, CQ Press, Scholastic, (especially the Franklin Watts
> division), and Atheneum are just a few.   The review sources are a
> great help - SLJ, Booklist, Horn Book and Publisher's Weekly.   My
> school web page has links to many on-line sources that come from YA
> Librarians  who are in the know.  Reading Rants ("the out of the
> ordinary booklist")  has two nonfiction lists, Reality Bytes (teen
> issues) and Inquiring Minds Want to Know (biography) that I  check our
> from time to time.  I also ask kids,  teachers, colleagues, and I read
> many kinds of catalogs.   I look at the best book awards lists from
> ALA/YALSA, and Best Books for Senior High Readers and Best Books for
> Young Adult Readers. My most important goal is to find the books  that
> bring about new ways of thinking and challenge them to find out more
> by provoking new questions.

> It took a while to make my choice from our collection of  Sibert Award
> winners.  (I do intend to keep going with several others, especially
> The Forbidden Schoolhouse and Hitler Youth.)  I eventually decided on
> To dance: a ballerina's graphic novel by Siena Cherson Siegel/
> Atheneum/ 2006.  To dance was an honor book for 2006.

> At first glance, it wouldn't seem to fit the category of  an
> "informational book".   To dance is  a memoir in a graphic novel
> format.  It's  a  personal account of a young girl from the age of  6
> to 18 and her deep passion for dance.  "Dancing fills a space in me,"
> she writes.   After reading, I see that this story does satisfy the
> definition of the Sibert Committee, ("written and illustrated to
> present, organize, and interpret documentable, factual material") but
> it's a whole lot more.  To dance presents elements of the ballet life
> through the voice of Siena Siegel.   The reader is introduced to the
> School of American Ballet, the New York City Ballet, George
> Balanchine, the Bolshoi Ballet, and Maya Plisetskaya, who is Siena's
> first and enduring inspiration.  We learn a bit about  the story lines
> of ballets like The Dying Swan, Pierrette, Harlequinade, and
> Giselle.  We  meet great ballet personalities such as  Baryshnikov,
> Diane Farrell, and Gelsey Kirkland.  We get a taste of backstage life
> and what it's like to rehearse for and perform at Lincoln Center.  To
> dance gives us a peek into a specific time in the history of ballet
> through one dancer's experience.

> While this is all completely wonderful, it is  the way To dance
> "elucidates, clarifies, and enlivens its subject." (Sibert Committee)
> that distinguishes this book .  The essence of To dance is its
> orginality.   The watercolor and ink artwork was created by Siena's
> husband, Mark Siegel.    The graphic novel format is  a fresh and very
> effective presentation style  for depicting the details of  Siena's
> life.  The panel illustrations  enable  us to visualize Sienna in
> multiple settings -- ballet class,  rehearsing, performing,  as well
> as in her everyday life at school and at home.  Siegel uses the image
> of ballet shoe ribbons to link each new section of the story to
> dancing.  This book did everything right.  The Sibert Committee
> thought so, as well.

> (My apologies for not being able to underline or italicize in this
> program.  I'll try to figure out how by next time.  It's enough to
> drive a librarian mad!)

> .