The Children’s Luncheon during the 2003 NCTE Annual Convention in San Francisco served at the venue for presenting the 2003 Orbis Pictus Award to Pam Munoz Ryan for When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson: The Voice of the Century and for recognizing the authors of the 2003 honor books. All recommended books for 2003 were also announced and authors acknowledged at the luncheon. At the Orbis Pictus sponsored session later that afternoon, Pam Ryan was joined by John Fleischman, Raymond Bial, and Wendie Old who formed a panel to discuss how they researched the backgrounds for all their writings. The featured authors demonstrated why their books met the Orbis Pictus selection criteria as outstanding examples of children’s nonfiction writing. Members of the Orbis Pictus Committee presented the winning, honor and recommended books, at an additional session later in the convention.

At the same luncheon, the committee announced that the 2004 Orbis Pictus Award goes to Jim Murphy for his An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, an exciting tale of Philadelphia’s siege by the deadly virus. Mr. Murphy explains why the federal government almost came to a standstill while the disease indiscriminately ravaged the population. For a complete review of An American Plague and all the honor and recommended books, see the October issue of Language Arts. Murphy and authors of the 2004 honor books have been invited to the Indianapolis Convention sessions to talk about issues in children’s nonfiction literature. We look forward to their sharing of secrets and insights into how they make their own books exciting to read for young students and popular to use by teachers in K-8 classrooms. Honor books for 2004 include the following:

Empire State Building: When New York Reached for the Skies, written by Elizabeth Mann

In Defense of Liberty: The Story of America’s Bill of Rights, written by Russell Freedman

Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer, written by Robert Byrd

The Man Who Made Time Travel, written by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880-1924, written by Deborah Hopkinson

This year’s committee also recommended an additional eight books from the many books nominated for their usefulness in classrooms across the country. As always, the Orbis Pictus Committee thanks all the publishers who sent nominated books for consideration of this award to all its members. We are also pleased that many people recommend books each year; the recommendations help us make sure we reach potential titles and authors for deliberation. Every year the publications that we examine remind us that the quality in children’s nonfiction books continues to rise. No wonder students, teachers, and all readers have found treasures in this popular genre of children’s literature.

Carolyn Lott, Chair