It is exactly what it says it is: an award which recognises the most outstanding non-fiction book for children, in terms of content and design.

...Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, this award can be trusted to recommend books which will both appeal to children and provide teachers with an excellent resource.

• The award is named in honour of the Czech educator and scientist,  Comenius, whose book Orbis Pictus(The World in Pictures) of 1657 is considered to be the first book written for children.
• Each year one book is given the award and up to five books are chosen as Honor Books.
• Non-fiction books suitable for grades K-8 are considered following the following criteria: accuracy, organisation, design and style.  Their potential as a classroom resource to spark further reading and research is also judged.
• Texbooks, historical fiction, folklore and poetry are not eligible.
• The winner for 2007 is Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea by Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop (photographer); their The Snake Scientist was also an Honor book in 2000.
• Other Honor books include: John Muir: America's First Environmentalist by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Stan Fellows; and The Race to Save the Lord God Bird by Phillip Hoose.
• Orbis Pictus also publish a list of recommended books - some titles over the past few years include: Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy by Andrea Warren; Ghandi by Demi;
  In Search of the Spirit: The Living National Treasures of Japan by Sheila Hamanaka and Ayano Ohmis; Dia's Story Cloth by Cha Dia.

website