The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has announced the winner, honor books and recommended books for the 2021 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award which recognizes excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children. Here are the winner and selected books:

WINNER

Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Frank Morrison

HONOR BOOKS

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne

If You Take Away the Otter by Susannah Buhrman-Deever, illustrated by Matthew Trueman

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

The Teachers March!: How Selma’s teachers Changed History by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, illustrated by Charly Palmer

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

All of a Sudden and Forever by Chris Baron, illustrated by Nicole Xu

Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease by Gail Jarrow

Drawing on Walls by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Josh Cochran

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Laura Freeman

How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure by John Rocco

Jumbo: The Making of the Boeing 747 by Chris Gall

The Lion Queens of India by Jan Reynolds

We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kinderstransport by Deborah Hopkinson