Sibert MedalFunny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead CalaverasDuncan TonatiuhThis book explores the life and work of Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada, known as Don Lupe. In the late nineteenth century, Posada made calavera etchings—skeleton images—for short comic poems. The narrative combines biographical details with the history of these images, including his artistic influences and printing methods. It also examines calaveras’ cultural ties to Día de los Muertos and shows reproductions alongside new artwork.All readersView book detailsRobert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal 2016
The 2016 Sibert Medal recognizes Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras as its winner, alongside 4 Honor books. Presented by the Association for Library Service to Children, the award recognizes distinguished informational books for children through age fourteen. This annual group offers nonfiction choices for young readers, with attention to the presentation of facts through writing, illustration, organization, and supporting material.
2016 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal and Honor BooksSee the original list
Selections5
Published byAssociation for Library Service to Children (ALA)
SectionsAll readers
All readers
5 selections
Sibert MedalFunny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead CalaverasDuncan TonatiuhThis book explores the life and work of Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada, known as Don Lupe. In the late nineteenth century, Posada made calavera etchings—skeleton images—for short comic poems. The narrative combines biographical details with the history of these images, including his artistic influences and printing methods. It also examines calaveras’ cultural ties to Día de los Muertos and shows reproductions alongside new artwork.All readersView book details
Sibert Honor BookDrowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New OrleansDon BrownThis graphic account traces Hurricane Katrina from its development over the Atlantic through its impact on New Orleans. As the storm gains strength, it damages levees, neighborhoods, and people's lives. The narrative describes why many residents did not leave the city, including people unable to do so, and recounts failures involving transportation, emergency response, and police. Amid the devastation, it also records people who risked their lives to help others.All readersView book details
Sibert Honor BookThe Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill ClubPhillip HooseThis nonfiction account tells of Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club, a Danish Resistance group during World War II. At fifteen, Knud is ashamed that Denmark does not resist German occupation. He joins his brother and several schoolmates in deciding to act against the Nazis when adults will not. Their rebellious actions anger the Germans and help spark a broader Danish rebellion.All readersView book details
Sibert Honor BookTurning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights MarchLynda Blackmon Lowery, as told to Elspeth Leacock, Susan BuckleyIn this personal account, Lynda Blackmon Lowery recalls joining the 1965 voting-rights march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery when she was fifteen. She was the youngest participant in the march. Her memories place her own experience within Civil Rights history and give space to other activists who participated. Photographs and cartoon-like illustrations accompany her recollection of the historic journey and the people who marched for voting rights.All readersView book details
Sibert Honor BookVoice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights MovementCarole Boston WeatherfordThis nonfiction book tells Fannie Lou Hamer’s life in poems, using a first-person voice. It traces her path from working in Mississippi cotton fields as a child in a sharecropping family to becoming a civil rights activist and politician. The poems address her efforts to secure voting rights and political representation for African Americans in Mississippi and across the United States. Direct quotations from Hamer appear within the poems, and the book also includes an author’s note, a timeline, and source notes.All readersView book details