The Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC
2014 Winner
Candace Fleming
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2014 Children’s Book Guild
Nonfiction Award Winner
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Photograph by Michael Lionstar
The Children’s Book Guild presented its annual Nonfiction Award on Saturday, April 5, 2014, at a luncheon sponsored by Turning the Page, a DC non-profit linking parents, teachers, students, and community to enhance children's learning.
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The 2014 award went to Candace Fleming for her substantial body of consistently high-quality nonfiction books for children of various ages. The author of more than 20 children’s books in different genres, Fleming has written the following acclaimed biographies: Amelia Lost (2011; 2012 Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction), The Great and Only Barnum (2009), The Lincolns (2008; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award), Our Eleanor (2005) and Ben Franklin's Almanac (2003).
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Fleming’s versatility extends to historical picture books that nurture younger readers’ curiosity and love of history. Rooted in carefully researched historical background and enlivened by Fleming’s creative story spinning are Imogene’s Last Stand (2009), A Big Cheese for the White House (2004), Boxes for Katje (2003), Gabriella's Song (2001), Westward Ho, Carlotta! (1999), The Hatmaker’s Sign (1998), Madame LaGrande and Her So High, to the Sky, Uproarious Pompadour (1996), and Women of the Lights (1995).
The Guild’s Nonfiction Award Committee is solely responsible for the selection of the annual recipient. Criteria for selection include “distinguished writing; clarity and accuracy; presentation of material in ways that stimulate and challenge young readers and lead to their pleasure, curiosity, sense of wonder, and further pursuit of knowledge; and a substantial body of published work of consistently high quality.” In addition to these specific criteria, the committee endeavors to honor many fields of knowledge and to balance recognition of books for different ages and reading levels. Committee Chair Rebecca Jones noted that her committee “loved Candace’s work, especially her meticulous research and her scrapbook-style biographies."