Best non fiction Books for Teens
The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.
The award winner will be announced annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting Youth Media Awards, with a shortlist of up to five titles named the first week of December.
Seals for the winning titles, finalist titles, and nominated titles can be purchased from the ALA Online Store.
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2013 Winner
Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, written by Steve Sheinkin and published by Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
In this suspenseful combination of science and history, Sheinkin masterfully exposes the international race to develop an atomic weapon and bring an end to World War II. This true-life spy thriller features an international cast of characters and will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Period photographs of key players and an abundance of primary sources bring this well-researched story to life.
Sheinkin gives readers insight into what happened with all of the major players after the end of the war. A thought-provoking epilogue on the long term implications of atomic weaponry reminds readers that the results of scientific inquiry have long term implications for everyone.
“In readability, documentation and presentation, Bomb exemplifies the highest quality in nonfiction for young adults, and it as suspenseful as an international spy thriller, ” said YALSA Nonfiction Award Chair Angela Frederick.
2013 Finalists
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different, a biography by Karen Blumenthal and published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
Equally reviled and revered--often by the same people--Steve Jobs, the man who operated from his own "reality distortion field, " was an extraordinary "tweaker" who transcended the visionary to perfect the simple and transform the world as we know it.
Skillfully crafted and meticulously researched, Blumenthal’s accessible biography presents an intimate and fully dimensional portrait of a complex American icon and the multiple trajectories of influence on our technological paradigms that define his enduring legacy.
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95, written by Phillip Hoose published by Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan children’s Publishing Group.
Moonbird is a fascinating look at the life of rufa red knots in general and B95, one long-lived and tough little bird in particular, and the worldwide efforts to understand and save this subspecies of bird from extinction. Through maps, photos, and descriptions of his journey, the reader will fly with B95 from near the bottom of the world to the top and back again.
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, written by Deborah Hopkinson, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic.
Source: www.ala.org
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Summer reading in retrospect
2010-09-22 16:05:49 by Frog_BarfOne book and one series of books stand out from the many I've read this past summer. Perhaps other boomers are familiar with these, too?
The one book is The Best of Cordwainer Smith, a book club anthology of tales by a long dead SF writer who was at his prime in the 1950s and 1960s. I first read many of these back when they were new or nearly new, but being young and callow then, was not tuned in to their poetic character. Unlike a great deal of older SF, these have not dated. They are as good as they ever were, perhaps even better for having withstood the test of time
Reading list
2006-07-18 11:38:43 by chinacatI'd start with just about anything by Charles DeLint - he's a modern/urban spinner of fairy tales who covers runaways, abusive parents, and a ton of teen topics without ever feeling like a 'young adult' book. he has several collections of short stories that you can start with.
Ditto with Mercedes Lackey - she's another author who deals with it all on a level that makes it equally approachable to both teens and adults - and her stuff is readily available at used book stores.
Andrew Vachss's 'another chance to get it right' is a must - it deals with some of the hardest topics a counselor can face in a really clear manner
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@EEdiot: In case you were wondering what kind of books, "True Everest Adventures" "True stories of heroes" "true stories of the second world war"
