Annal:1997 Orbis Pictus Award

From AwardAnnals

Results of the Orbis Pictus Award in the year 1997. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:

1997 Orbis Pictus winner
1997 Horn Book-nonfiction honor
Score: 16.47

Born in 1452 to a peasant woman and a country gentleman, Leonardo da Vinci possessed one of the most astonishing minds the world has ever known. He was an inventor whose imagination reached centuries beyond his own time. He brought a sublime artistry to science and a dramatic realism to art, crowning the Renaissance with his glittering vision.

Denied a more noble profession by his illegitimate birth, as a boy Leonardo was apprenticed to a famous artist. He quickly surpassed his teacher, hut his passionate interests went far beyond art. Fascinated with the secrets of nature and the human body, he carried out his own dissections and experiments. He filled thousands of pages in his notebooks with plans and designs for inventions as varied as a submarine, an air cooling system, “glasses to see the moon large,” and even a flying machine!

But while he was employed by princes, popes, and kings, Leonardo’s personal fortune was never great. He traveled all of Italy in search of patronage. He found a rival in Michelangelo and a friend in a wily young diplomat named Machiavelli. He served…

Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad

Rhoda Blumberg

1997 Orbis Pictus honor
Score: 6.47

Influenced both by the Gold Rush and the Civil War, America came to realize that a link to the far West was vital. In the mid-1800s, the Union Pacific railroad company, along with their rival, the Central Pacific company, raced to cover the most ground before meeting at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869. Blumberg vividly evokes the people, places, danger and perserverance surrounding an American milestone. Illustrations.

One World, Many Religions: he Ways We Worship

Mary Pope Osborne

1997 Orbis Pictus honor
Score: 6.47

Illustrated with black-and-white and full-color photographs. "Today, most religious people in the world practice one of these seven religions [Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism]. All have had a deep effect on the laws and customs of every country. They have shaped art, literature, music, and education. They have given the world magnificent stories, songs, buildings, holy objects, ceremonies, and festivals." From the Introduction to Many Religions, One World.

Best-selling children's author Mary Pope Osborne presents an accessible and elegantly crafted volume that introduces young readers to the world's seven major religions. Six short readable chapters — perfectly targeted to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders — detail the history, beliefs, and practices of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

Handsomely designed and featuring fifty oversized color photographs and a full complement of reference materials, including a map, time line, and bibliography, this book provides a thorough and thoughtful presentation of the diverse ways people worship around the world.