Orbis Pictus Award
Encyclopedia
The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the “writing of nonfiction for children.” It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English
to one American book published the previous year. Up to five titles may be designated as Honor Books.
The award is named after the book considered to be the first picture book
for children, Orbis Pictus
—The World in Pictures, by John Amos Comenius, which was published in 1657.
National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English is an American professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education...
to one American book published the previous year. Up to five titles may be designated as Honor Books.
The award is named after the book considered to be the first picture book
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
for children, Orbis Pictus
Orbis Pictus
Orbis Pictus, or Orbis Sensualium Pictus is a textbook for children written by Czech educator Comenius and published in 1658...
—The World in Pictures, by John Amos Comenius, which was published in 1657.
Criteria for award
- The book must be nonfiction of informational literatureLiteratureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
for children. Titles may include biographiesBiographyA biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, but exclude “textbooks, historical fictionHistorical fictionHistorical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
, folkloreFolkloreFolklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, or poetryPoetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
.” - The book must be published during the previous calendar year in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - The book must meet the literary criteria of accuracy, organization, design and style.
- The book’s central purpose is the sharing of information.
- Additionally, the book “should be useful in classroom teaching grades K-8, should encourage thinking and more reading, model exemplary expository writing and research skills, share interesting and timely subject matter, and appeal to a wide range of ages.”
Orbis Pictus Award Recipients
| Year | Title | Author | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Secret World of Walter Anderson | Hester Bass | E. B. Lewis |
| 2009 | Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean... : The Legend of the Lost Aviator |
Shelley Tanaka Shelley Tanaka Shelley Tanaka is a Canadian editor of numerous award-winning young adult novels, an award-winning author of nonfiction for children, a translator and writing teacher.-Biography:Shelley Tanaka was born in Toronto, Canada... |
David Craig |
| 2008 | M.L.K. Journey of a King | Tonya Bolden | |
| 2007 | Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea |
Sy Montgomery | Nic Bishop (photos) |
| 2006 | Children of the Great Depression | Russell Freedman Russell Freedman Russell Freedman is a biographer and author of nearly 50 books for young people. He is most notable for receiving the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography. In 1998, he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his lifelong contribution to children's literature. He currently... |
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| 2005 | York’s York (Lewis and Clark) York was an African American slave best known for his participation with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. As William Clark's slave, he performed hard manual labor without pay, but participated as a full member of the expedition. Like many other expedition members, his ultimate fate is unclear... Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American’s Part in the Great Expedition |
Rhoda Blumberg | |
| 2004 | An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is believed to have killed several thousand people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.-Beginnings:... |
Jim Murphy Jim Murphy (author) Jim Murphy is an American award-winning author of more than 30 fiction and non-fiction books for children and young adults, most of which have an historical focus. His most recent books are "A Savage Thunder" and "Truce"... |
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| 2003 | When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson Marian Anderson Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century... : The Voice of a Century |
Pam Munoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan is a Mexican-American author.Muñoz Ryan began writing when she was encouraged by a professor while in graduate school. "It took me a number or years to make that leap of faith," she states when commenting on becoming a full-time writer... |
Brian Selznick Brian Selznick Brian Selznick is a Caldecott-winning American author and illustrator of children's books.-Life and career:Selznick was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey... |
| 2002 | Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 | Susan Campbell Bartoletti Susan Campbell Bartoletti Susan Campbell Bartoletti is an American writer of children's literature. She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but eventually the family ended up in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. Susan started as an English teacher and inspired many students before deciding to pursue writing in... |
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| 2001 | Hurry Freedom: African Americans in Gold Rush California California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to... |
Jerry Stanley | |
| 2000 | Through My Eyes | Ruby Bridges Ruby Bridges Ruby Nell Bridges Hall moved with her parents to New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 4. In 1960, when she was 6 years old, her parents responded to a call from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and volunteered her to participate in the integration of the New Orleans... |
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| 1999 | Shipwreck Shipwreck A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English.... at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration... and the Endurance Endurance (1912 ship) The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition... |
Jennifer Armstrong Jennifer Armstrong Jennifer Mary Armstrong is a children's author of fiction and non-fiction.-Books:* Armstrong, Jennifer. . Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World : The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance Crown Books for Young Readers... |
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| 1998 | An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly Monarch butterfly The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly , in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer... |
Laurence Pringle | Bob Marstall |
| 1997 | Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance... |
Diane Stanley Diane Stanley Diane Stanley is an American children's author and illustrator.Stanley was born in Abilene, Texas on December 27, 1943. She earned her bachelor's degree from Trinity University and her M. A. in medical illustration from Johns Hopkins University College of Medicine. She has worked as a medical... |
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| 1996 | The Great Fire | Jim Murphy Jim Murphy James Francis "Jim" Murphy is a British Labour Party politician and is the Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire.... |
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| 1995 | Safari Beneath the Sea: The Wonder World of the North Pacific Coast | Diane Swanson | |
| 1994 | Across America on an Emigrant Train Train A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate... |
Jim Murphy Jim Murphy James Francis "Jim" Murphy is a British Labour Party politician and is the Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire.... |
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| 1993 | Children in the Dust Bowl Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936... : The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp |
Jerry Stanley | |
| 1992 | Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S... |
Robert Burleigh | Mike Wimmer |
| 1991 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | Russell Freedman Russell Freedman Russell Freedman is a biographer and author of nearly 50 books for young people. He is most notable for receiving the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography. In 1998, he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his lifelong contribution to children's literature. He currently... |
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| 1990 | The Great Little Madison | Jean Fritz Jean Fritz Jean Guttery Fritz, born November 16, 1915, is an American children's author and biographer.-Life:Jean Fritz was born to American missionaries in Hankow, China, where she lived until she was thirteen. She was an only child . Growing up, Fritz kept a journal about her days in China with Lin Nai-Nai... |
Recipients of multiple Orbis Pictus Awards
- Jim MurphyJim Murphy (author)Jim Murphy is an American award-winning author of more than 30 fiction and non-fiction books for children and young adults, most of which have an historical focus. His most recent books are "A Savage Thunder" and "Truce"...
in 1994, 1996, and 2004. - Russell FreedmanRussell FreedmanRussell Freedman is a biographer and author of nearly 50 books for young people. He is most notable for receiving the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography. In 1998, he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his lifelong contribution to children's literature. He currently...
in 1991 and 2006.