James Madison Book Award Winner, 2003
First to Fly: How Wilbur and Orville Wright Invented the AirplaneAuthor: Peter Busby; Illustrator: David Craig
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
The Wright Brothers’ contemporaries hailed them as the “First Heroes of the New Century,” and this book shows young people of this century the solid character and persistence behind Wilbur and Orville Wrights’ technological breakthrough. The book’s lively narrative is illuminated by David Craig’s warm oil paintings, photographs of the times, and sidebars explaining flight physics and dynamics.
"This committee was impressed with the way that this book both informed and inspired,” said Celeste Colgan, chair of the 2003 James Madison Book Award selection committee. “Children will want to read it, and when they do, they will have a better understanding of an American technological achievement that revolutionized the world.”
Press Release: Lynne Cheney Announces 2003 Book Award Winner
James Madison Honor Books, 2003
Inventing the Future: A Photobiography of Thomas Alva EdisonAuthor: Marfé Ferguson Delano
Publisher: National Geographic Society
Inventing the Future draws readers in with its emphasis on the irrepressible energy and determination that led Thomas Edison to thousands of successful inventions. In text and photographs, it does a memorable job of telling the story of the man who in 1922 was named the “Greatest Living American.” At the same time the book explains Edison’s method, detailing the way in which he used teamwork to turn theories into reality.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain ScienceAuthor: John Fleischman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Phineas Gage proceeds like a mystery, full of drama and suspense, telling two stories at once. In the first, it brings to life the case of a railroad foreman who survived a tamping iron being shot through his skull and the consequences of the accident to his personal life. In the second, it elucidates the state of medicine in the 1850s, particularly theories about the function and workings of the human brain. By tracing how theories and laboratory discoveries converged into understanding, this book tells the story of the development of modern brain science.
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson, The Voice of a CenturyAuthor: Pam Muñoz Ryan; Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic Press
When Marian Sang is a recital with libretto (text) by Pam Muñoz Ryan and staging (illustrations) by Brian Selznick. Using gospel lyrics and settings made familiar in warm sepia detail, this book tells the moving story of Anderson’s optimism, courage, and well-deserved success, while at the same time presenting a picture of American society in the 1930s and 1940s.