Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults is an annual award from the American Library Association that recognizes the best nonfiction books published for young adults ages 12-18 the previous year. The judges select nonfiction titles published for young adults that were published the previous year between November 1 and October 31.[1] All print forms that are marked as intended for young adults are eligible for consideration, including graphic formats. [1] To be eligible, "the title must include excellent writing, research, presentation and readability for young adults."
Beyond being a requirement for Common Core Standards, reading nonfiction has many benefits: students can "read books about topics that touch on their own lives," live vicariously through others' lives, grapple with philosophical topics.[2] The Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award is one of few that recognizes nonfiction for young adults.[3][4]
Recipients[]
| Year | Title | Author | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021[5] | The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh | Candace Fleming | Winner |
| All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team | Christina Soontornvat | Finalist | |
| The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival | Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan | ||
| How We Got To the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest Adventure | John Rocco | ||
| You Call This Democracy?: How to Fix Our Democracy and Deliver Power to the People | Elizabeth Rusch | ||
| 2020[6] | Free Lunch | Rex Ogle | Winner |
| A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II | Elizabeth Wein | Finalist | |
| A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust | Albert Marrin | ||
| The Great Nijinsky: God of Dance | Lynn Curlee | ||
| Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children's Ship" | Deborah Heiligman | ||
| 2019[7][8] | The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees | Don Brown | Winner |
| The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor | Sonia Sotomayor | Finalist | |
| Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam | Elizabeth Partridge | ||
| The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler | John Hendrix | ||
| Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction | Jarrett J. Krosoczka | ||
| 2018[9] | Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers | Deborah Heiligman | Winner |
| #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women | Mary Beth Leatherdale and Lisa Charleyboy (editors) | Finalist | |
| Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism | Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos | ||
| The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives | Dashka Slater | ||
| The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found | Martin W. Sandler | ||
| 2017[10][11] | March: Book Three | John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell | Winner |
| Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History | Karen Blumenthal | Finalist | |
| In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives | Kenneth C. Davis | ||
| Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune | Pamela S. Turner and Gareth Hinds (Illustrator) | ||
| This Land is Our Land: A History of American Immigration | Linda Barrett Osborne | ||
| 2016[12] | Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War | Steve Sheinkin | Winner |
| Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad | M.T. Anderson | Finalist | |
| Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir | Margarita Engle | ||
| First Flight Around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race | Tim Grove | ||
| This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon | Nancy Plain | ||
| 2015[13] | Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek | Maya Van Wagenen | Winner |
| Laughing at My Nightmare | Shane Burcaw | Finalist | |
| The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia | Candace Fleming | ||
| Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business—and Won! | Emily Arnold McCully | ||
| The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights | Steve Sheinkin | ||
| 2014[14] | The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi | Neal Bascomb | Winner |
| Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design | Chip Kidd | Finalist | |
| Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World War II | Martin W. Sandler | ||
| Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers | Tanya Lee Stone | ||
| The President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy | James L. Swanson | ||
| 2013[15] | Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon | Steve Sheinkin | Winner |
| Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different | Karen Blumenthal | Finalist | |
| Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 | Phillip Hoose | ||
| Titanic: Voices from the Disaster | Deborah Hopkinson | ||
| We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March | Cynthia Levinson | ||
| 2012[16] | The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery | Steve Sheinkin | Winner |
| Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and Science | Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos | Finalist | |
| Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition | Karen Blumenthal | ||
| Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) | Sue Macy | ||
| Music Was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein | Susan Goldman Rubin | ||
| 2011[17] | Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing | Ann Angel | Winner |
| They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group | Susan Campbell Bartoletti | Finalist | |
| The Dark Game: True Spy Stories | Paul Janeczko | ||
| Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates | Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw | ||
| 2010[18] | Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith | Deborah Heiligman | Winner |
| Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream | Tanya Lee Stone | Finalist | |
| Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice | Phillip Hoose | ||
| The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum | Candace Fleming and Ray Fenwick (Illustrator) | ||
| Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland | Sally M. Walker |
References[]
- ^ a b "Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ Lesesne, Teri S. (Fall 2013). "Tell Me a (Real) Story: The Demand for Literary Nonfiction". The ALAN Review: 64–69.
- ^ Crisp, Thomas; Gardner, Roberta Price; Almeida, Matheus (2018-09-01). "The All-Heterosexual World of Children's Nonfiction: A Critical Content Analysis of LGBTQ Identities in Orbis Pictus Award Books, 1990–2017". Children's Literature in Education. 49 (3): 246–263. doi:10.1007/s10583-017-9319-5. ISSN 1573-1693.
- ^ Fraser, Elizabeth (2012). Reality rules II : a guide to teen nonfiction reading interests. Santa Barbara, California: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 1-61069-292-6. OCLC 828140161.
- ^ Lam, Anna (2020-12-02). "YALSA announces 2021 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award finalists". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2019 Nonfiction Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2019 ALA Youth Media Awards". The Catholic Library World. 89 (3). March 2019 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "2018 Nonfiction Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "Nonfiction Award 2017". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2017 ALA Youth Media Awards". The Catholic Library World. 87 (3). March 2017 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "2016 Nonfiction Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2015 Nonfiction Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2014 Nonfiction Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2013 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2012 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2011 Nonfiction Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "2010 Nonfiction Adward". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
Categories:
- American Library Association awards