Sibert MedalSeen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American IncarcerationElizabeth PartridgeThis nonfiction account examines the World War II imprisonment of people of Japanese descent in the United States through photographs and firsthand accounts. It follows Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams, whose work reflected different circumstances and constraints. Lange documented injustice, though the military censored many candid photographs. At Manzanar, imprisoned photographer Toyo Miyatake secretly made a camera and recorded camp life, later photographing events there under government restrictions.All readersView book detailsRobert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal 2023
The 2023 Sibert Medal recognizes Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration 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.
2023 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 MedalSeen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American IncarcerationElizabeth PartridgeThis nonfiction account examines the World War II imprisonment of people of Japanese descent in the United States through photographs and firsthand accounts. It follows Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams, whose work reflected different circumstances and constraints. Lange documented injustice, though the military censored many candid photographs. At Manzanar, imprisoned photographer Toyo Miyatake secretly made a camera and recorded camp life, later photographing events there under government restrictions.All readersView book details
Sibert Honor BookChoosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights MovementAngela JoyThis picture-book biography tells of Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till. In 1955, Emmett, then fourteen, was murdered while visiting the South. The book follows how Mamie Till-Mobley turned her grief after his death into a call for action within the civil rights movement. It places her story in the history of racial violence and the movement for civil rights.All readersLexile Text Measure 680LATOS Book Level 4.4View book details
Sibert Honor BookA Seed GrowsAntoinette PortisA sunflower’s life cycle unfolds from a small seed to a full flower and then to new seeds. The book looks beneath the soil as roots develop, follows the stalk as it emerges, and reaches a large fold-out bloom. Minimal, lyrical text accompanies textured images showing the plant at each stage. Rain, sunlight, soil, roots, petals, and seeds all have a place in the sunflower’s continuing growth.All readersLexile Text Measure 401LATOS Book Level 2.8View book details
Sibert Honor BookSweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus BoycottMara RockliffThis illustrated biography tells of Civil Rights leader Georgia Gilmore and her connection to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. After Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, Gilmore supports the boycott through her Southern cooking and her commitment to the cause. The book centers food, fundraising, and one woman’s role in a major Civil Rights action.All readersLexile Text Measure AD840LATOS Book Level 4.6View book details
Sibert Honor BookThe Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and PhotographsChana StiefelThis biography follows Yaffa Eliach, who grew up in the Jewish community of Eishyshok, Poland, where her grandmother made portraits of local people. When Nazis entered the town, Yaffa’s family escaped while most of its 3,500 Jewish residents were killed. After surviving the war in hiding and later becoming a historian in the United States, she helped create a Holocaust memorial. She then spent 17 years collecting photographs of Eishyshok’s Jewish citizens for the Tower of Faces exhibit.All readersLexile Text Measure 750LATOS Book Level 4.8View book details