Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Children's Books: Non-Fiction Winners

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin

In this biography, Sheinkin goes beyond Benedict Arnold's famous betrayal in the Revolutionary War to explore the historical figure's full life story. The author draws upon a multitude of material, including journals and other primary sources, to cover Arnold's childhood, rise to prominence and final days. The circumstances of Arnold's shift towards helping the British are presented with suspense and appropriate drama. This includes telling the parallel story of John Andre, the British spy who assisted Arnold.

Steve Sheinkin began his writing career by working on textbooks. He's written other historical books for children, including King George: What Was His Problem? and Two Miserable Presidents, which covers the American Civil War. He's also the author of a graphic novel series about Rabbi Harvey, an unlikely hero of the Wild West.

Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea and Air by Stewart Ross

Into the Unknown describes the adventures of explorers from throughout history. This includes the stories of modern explorers, such as Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reaching the summit of Mt. Everest and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. Explorations of long ago are also covered, such as Leif Eriksson's 11th century trip to North America and Ferdinand Magellan's attempt to circumnavigate the globe in the 16th century. In addition to telling the explorers' stories, the book includes sidebars that provide information on relevant locations, the explorers' contemporary technology and significant details of the trips.

Stewart Ross is a British author with well over 200 published titles. He writes in numerous genres, including fiction, non-fiction and plays. In addition to his voluminous work for children are numerous titles for adults, which cover topics as diverse as the science of sport and the history of ancient Scotland.

Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins

With vivid pencil and oil paint illustrations by Vicky White, Can We Save the Tiger? provides a description of why tigers are endangered as a species. It also discusses the stories of a variety of other threatened species, including the white-rumped vulture and the American bison. The latter provides a positive note, as the bison has emerged from the edge of extinction through focused support.

Based in England, Martin Jenkins is a conservation biologist with a variety of other non-fiction books for children. These include Ape, Chameleons Are Cool and Grandma Elephant's in Charge. His other works include The Time Book, which studies the nature of time, and Titanic, which retells the story of the legendary, ill-fated ocean liner.