Sibert MedalAlberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la PapaSara Andrea Fajardo, illustrated by Juana Martinez-NealThis picture-book biography introduces Peruvian agricultural scientist Alberto Salas as he travels through Peru’s Andes searching for wild potato varieties. He collects potatoes before climate change and urban development can endanger them. Scientists study the potatoes’ useful traits to develop new varieties suited to places such as salty swamps and icy mountains. The book includes material about Alberto Salas, potatoes, and the importance of preserving plant diversity.All readersATOS Book Level 3.6AR Interest Level LG K-3View book detailsRobert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal 2026
The 2026 Sibert Medal recognizes Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa as its winner, alongside 5 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.
2026 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal and Honor BooksSee the original list
Selections6
Published byAssociation for Library Service to Children (ALA)
SectionsAll readers
All readers
6 selections
Sibert MedalAlberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la PapaSara Andrea Fajardo, illustrated by Juana Martinez-NealThis picture-book biography introduces Peruvian agricultural scientist Alberto Salas as he travels through Peru’s Andes searching for wild potato varieties. He collects potatoes before climate change and urban development can endanger them. Scientists study the potatoes’ useful traits to develop new varieties suited to places such as salty swamps and icy mountains. The book includes material about Alberto Salas, potatoes, and the importance of preserving plant diversity.All readersATOS Book Level 3.6AR Interest Level LG K-3View book details
Sibert Honor BookAt Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for FreedomErin Entrada KellyThis biography tells the story of Josefina “Joey” Guerrero, a Filipino woman whose life included work as a World War II spy, guerrilla fighter, teacher, and peacemaker. Diagnosed with leprosy, also called Hansen’s disease, as war spread through Europe and Asia, Joey lived under Japanese occupation in the Philippines. Believing she might die soon, she joined the guerrilla movement and carried intelligence for the Philippine resistance, using her freedom of movement to support covert Allied missions.All readersATOS Book Level 7.3AR Interest Level Middle Grades (MG 4-8)View book details
Sibert Honor BookGo Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a WriterQuartez Harris, illustrated by Gordon C. JamesThis picture-book biography follows James Baldwin as a boy known as Jimmy, before he became a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and activist. Drawn to stories, he read and wrote whenever he could, using words to open new worlds and seeking escape through language amid conflict with an angry stepfather. The book traces how that early love of reading and writing led him toward authorship and giving voice to his community and Black American life.All readersLexile Text Measure 781LATOS Book Level 5.0View book details
Sibert Honor BookThe History of WeNikkolas Smith, illustrated by Nikkolas SmithThis nonfiction picture book looks to Africa as the place of humanity’s origins. It imagines the ingenuity and accomplishments of early human ancestors, connecting those beginnings to modern civilization. By tracing a shared human past, the book presents the earliest achievements in Africa as part of a history that links people everywhere on Earth.All readersLexile Text Measure 680LFountas & Pinnell Text Level RView book details
Sibert Honor BookSilenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan GenocidePablo Leon, illustrated by Pablo LeonThis intergenerational graphic novel connects a family in Maryland in 2013 with Guatemala in 1982. Brothers Jose and Charlie know little about their mother Clara’s earlier life until Jose asks about a genocide trial. Clara eventually recounts her childhood during the Guatemalan Civil War, when violence reached her village and separated her from her sister Elena. The story draws on historical research and the creator’s experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant.All readersATOS Book Level 3.9AR Interest Level Upper Grades (UG 9-12)View book details
Sibert Honor BookA World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes OutNicholas Day, illustrated by Yas ImamuraThis nonfiction book links two events from 1815 and 1816: the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora and Mary Shelley’s creation of Frankenstein. One of history’s largest volcanic eruptions altered climate and weather for years. People in Indonesia knew what had happened, but the climate disruptions spreading around the world were widely misunderstood. The book chronicles the eruption’s physical, social, and geographic effects, including famine and poverty in Europe, along with ash-filled skies and persistent rain. It also explores the setting in which Shelley wrote Frankenstein.All readersLexile Text Measure 780LFountas & Pinnell Text Level ZView book details