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The Jane Addams Peace Association and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom are pleased to announce that the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award 56th Annual Award Ceremony will be held on Friday, October 16th at 2:30 PM at the 777 United Nations Plaza (2nd Floor) in New York City, NY. This event is free and open to all. Reservations are not needed.

Join us for a memorable afternoon of award presentation and responses by authors and illustrators. Come meet and talk with the honored guests, including Award winner Margarita Engle and honorees Anne Laurel Carter, Lucía González, Lulu Delacre, Scott Reynolds Nelson, and Marc Aronson. Enjoy a reception and an opportunity for book signing after formal presentation of the awards. All the award books will be available for purchase.

The Award Winners:

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai written and illustrated by Claire A. Nivola is the winner in the Books for Younger Children Category.

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle is the winner in the Books for Older Children Category.

The Honor Books:

Books for Younger Children:

The Storyteller’s Candle/La velita de los cuentos written by Lucía González and illustrated by Lulu Delacre

Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad written and illustrated by James Rumford

Books for Older Children:

The Shepherd’s Granddaughter by Anne Laurel Carter

Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson

For additional information about the Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards and a complete list of books honored since 1953, click here.

Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry

Author: Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (December 26, 2007)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 64 pages

If you dream of being a historian, tracking down sources, looking for new evidence, or just solving mysteries and puzzles then this is the book for you! John Henry, the man in the famous song, has been seen as a hero by many different kinds of people. Scott Reynolds Nelson wanted to know if there was a real John Henry! Did he really compete with a steam drill, and did he die doing so? Nelson carefully lays out for us his search to find the answers to these questions. What's interesting is that Nelson didn’t start out looking for John Henry. He was looking for historical research on men who had worked on the railroad. He discovered that some 40,000 men, the largest railroad workforce in the South, were hardly mentioned in the history books. But why? The one song he used as his main piece of research was the song about John Henry which would lead him on a mission to discover the real John Henry.

Nelson has said, "I hope other kids will learn from this book that history is something you do, not just something you read." And Nelson has proved just that. This book makes history a fun scavenger hunt, using clues to find answers, and uncovering secret messages. The more you read, you won't want to put this book down. As a nonfiction writer, I found this book very interesting! I love research and uncovering new things, so to follow along with Nelson on his journey to put this puzzle together was fascinating. There are more goodies in the back of the book- Nelson suggests "How to Be a Historian" and offers a model of what all historians do.

Read these other great reviews...
Carol Wilcox at Carol's Corner
Jill Tullo at the Well Read Child


Hop over to Anastasia Suen's picture book of the day blog for the Nonfiction Monday roundup!