2014 Sibert Award Winner

The 2014 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award winner, for the most distinguished informational books for children was Parrots over Puerto Rico, written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, and illustrated by Roth.  This book is also an Orbis Pictus Honor Book for 2014.  The NCTE Orbis Pictus Award  was established in 1989 by the National Council for the Teachers of English for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children.  The book tells the story of the beautiful Puerto Rican parrot and its near extinction.

Susan Roth’s incredibly detailed paper and fabric collages are gorgeous! Once you open the book, you need to rotate it 90 degrees, as this orientation (portrait rather than landscape) best takes advantage of the view towards the treetops and sky from the ground, and makes the reader feel like s/he is right there in the story.  The book includes pronunciation guides for some unfamiliar words, a four-page afterword with photographs and more facts, a timeline (the last two written at a higher reading level), and a list of the authors' sources.


© Amanda Pape - 2014

[The call number for Parrots over Puerto Rico is QL696 .P7 R68 2013 .]