While children, parents, and teachers are often familiar with the Newbery and Caldecott children’s book awards, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award is also announced at the American Library Association winter meeting. The 2014 winner and honor books represent a wide range of topics, but their common denominator is their excellence.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, illustrated by Susan L. Roth (Lee & Low) is this year’s winner. I can’t rave about this book enough. Do read my post from January 17, 2014 when I wrote about this book at length. The illustrations alone are worthy of a special award. When these combine with the well-written text, the book deserves its special status.

It was a banner year for non-fiction, and the Sibert committee named four honor books this year.

Birds were a bit of a reoccurring theme with the awards as Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate (Candlewick) was named as one of the honor books. Budding birders learn how to identify birds by color, shape, behavior, birdcall, and other characteristics.

Two books about artists were honored this year, one on George E. Ohr and another about Horace Pippin. Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan teamed up for The Mad Potter; George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius (Roaring Brook Press). Ohr certainly didn’t lack ego or self-confidence as he described himself as “Unequaled, unrivaled, undisputed, greatest art potter on the earth.”

Jen Bryant celebrates the life of artist Horace Pippin to younger readers in A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin (Knopf). Her story and Melissa Sweet’s art bring this self-taught painter’s art to life.

The other honor book was Locomotive by Brian Floca (Atheneum), which was also recognized as this year’s Caldecott winner.

All of these titles are too good to be missed by children and adults.