2022 Caldecott Possibilities

Archer, Micha - Wonder Walkers

Bagley, Jessixa - Daisy

Colleen, Marcie - Survivor Tree

Cooper, Elisha - Yes & No

Cordell, Matthew - Bear Island

de la Pena, Matt - Milo Imagines the World 

In SPS Library

Fan Brothers - It Fell From the Sky

Ordered

Floca, Brian - Keeping the City Going

Freedman, Deborah - Is Was

Hannah-Jones/Watson/Smith - The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Harris, Shawn - Have You Ever Seen a Flower 

Ho, Richard - The Lost Package

In SPS Library

Klassen, Jon - The Rock From the Sky  

Levinson, Cynthia - The People's Painter

Lucianovic & Harrison - Hello Star

Martinez- Neal, Juana - Zonia's Rain Forest

Morales, Yuyi - Bright Star

Perkins, Lynne Rae - The Museum of Everything

Pham, LeUyen - Outside, Inside

Pumphrey, Jarrett - Old Boat

Ringler, Matt - Stroller Coaster 

In SPS Library

Rubin, Sean - This Very Tree

Ordered

Sidman, Joyce & Diana Sudyka - Dear Treefog

Sis, Peter - Nicky & Vera : A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust & the Children He Rescued 

Stead & Stead - Amos McGee Misses the Bus

Tabor, Corey R. - Mel Fell

In SPS Library

Talbott, Hudson - A Walk in the Words

In SPS Library

Wang, Andrea - Watercress 

In SPSLibrary

Weatherford, Carole Boston - Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre

Wenzel, Brendan - Inside Cat

Wheeler, Lisa - Someone Builds the Dream

In SPS Library

Williams, Alice D. - Jump at the Sun

Wynter, Ann - Everyone in the Red Brick Building

Young, Jessica - I'll Meet You in Your Dreams

Zhang, Gracey - Lala's Words

Caldecott Criteria

To sum it up:

Award is for the ILLUSTRATIONS as follows: 
Artistic technique execution
Pictorial interpretation of story, theme, concept
Appropriateness of style to the story, theme, concept
Plot, theme, characters, setting, mood, information well delineated
Recognizes child audience 

From the horse's mouth:

1. In identifying a “distinguished American picture book for children,” defined as illustration, committee members need to consider:

   1. Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed;

   2. Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept;

   3. Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept;

   4. Delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures;

   5. Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.

2. The only limitation to graphic form is that the form must be one which may be used in a picture book. The book must be a self-contained entity, not dependent on other media (i.e., sound, film or computer program) for its enjoyment.

3. Each book is to be considered as a picture book. The committee is to make its decision primarily on the illustration, but other components of a book are to be considered especially when they make a book less effective as a children’s picture book. Such other components might include the written text, the overall design of the book, etc.

Note: The committee should keep in mind that the award is for distinguished illustrations in a picture book and for excellence of pictorial presentation for children. The award is not for didactic intent or for popularity.

[Adopted by the ALSC board, January 1978. Revised, Midwinter 1987. Revised, Annual 2008.]

Picture Book - We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

2021 CALDECOTT WINNER

Illustrated by Michaela Goade

2020 Roaring Brook Press

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.53 - 2103 ratings

My rating:  5
Endpapers: Bright Yellow

1^st line/s:  "Water is the first medicine, Nokomis told me."

My comments:  Gorgeous, just gorgeous.  Tristan (10) and I read this together, and as we turned each page we gasped at the beauty of the illustrations.  It led to a wonderful discussion of what's been happening, which Tristan had no idea about. I'm not crazy about the title, and I'm not even sure why. But that's only a silly little negative.  Exceptional book.

Goodreads:  Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.

Water is the first medicine.
It affects and connects us all . . .

When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth
And poison her people's water, one young water protector
Takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource.

2021 ALA Awards

Newbery:

**When You Trap a Tiger (Tae Keller) 4.21 - 1177 

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team - Soontornvat 4.69 - 356

Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom - Weatherford (picture book) 4.07 - 153

Fighting Words - Bradley 4.74 - 2473

We Dream of Space - Kelly 4.21 - 1950

A Wish in the Dark - Soontornvat 4.43 - 1064

Caldecott:

**We Are Water Protectors - Lindstrom/MICHAELA GOADE

A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart - Elliott/ NOA DENMON

The Cat Man of Aleppo - Latham & Shasi-Basha/YUKO SHIMIZU

Me & Mama - COZBI A. CABRERA

Outside In - Underwood/CINDY DERBY

Coretta Scott King:

**Before the Ever After - Woodson  4.25 - 4549 ratings

Printz

** Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story) - Nayer 4.37 - 975 ratings (flees Iran)

Apple (Skin to the Core) - Gansworth 4.00 * 349 ratings (memoir in verse)

Dragon Hoops - Lang 4.47 - 2930 ratings (graphic novel)

Every Body Looking - Iloh 3.96 - 760 ratings (verse)

We Are Not Free - Chee 4.45 - 1299 ratings

Sydney Taylor (Jewish)

Middle Grades:

**Turtle Boy  - Wolkenstein 4.39 - 317 ratings

No Vacancy - Cohen 4.05 - 80 ratings

Anya and the Nightingale - Pasternack

The Blackbird Girls - Blankman 4.42 - 1130 ratings (Chernobyl)

YA:

**Dancing at the Pity Party - Feder 4.59 - 3114 ratings (cancer/death of mother)

They Went Left - Hesse 4.29 - 3915 ratings (searching for brother after Auschwitz

Picture Book - Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Caldecott Award Winner
Illustrated by the author

1941, Viking Press

HC & price

68 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.22 - 77,467 ratings

My rating:  5
Illustrations:  brown illustrations and text on cream colored pages

1^st line/s:  "Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live."

My comments: This 1941 Caldecott Award winner is still one of the very best picture books in children's literature.  It's truly distinguished, as well as clever, lovely, comical and heartwarming.  I grew up on this story; AND my grandmother used to take my sister and me into Boston to ride on the Swan boats every spring.  Now there's a beautiful bronze sculpture of Mrs. Mallard with Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack following her across the Public Gardens.  Oh my goodness, do I love it!

Goodreads:  This classic tale of the famous Mallard ducks of Boston is available for the first time in a full-sized paperback edition. Awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1942, Make Way for Ducklings has been described as "one of the merriest picture books ever" (The New York Times). Ideal for reading aloud, this book deserves a place of honor on every child's bookshelf.

One-Sentence Summaries

The Newbery Award is an annual award for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year.  (It was the first Children's Book Award in the world - 1922.)

The Caldecott Award is an annual award for the artist of the best illustrated American children's book of the previous year.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to an outstanding African America AUTHOR and ILLUSTRATOR.

Hello Lighthouse by Blackall, Sophie
     2019 Caldecott Award Winner
          Follow a lighthouse keeper's life in a tiny, isolated lighthouse that sits on a rock in the middle of the sea -  first alone....then with his wife....then with a child, until the lighthouse becomes automated.

Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
     2019 Newbery Award Winner
          Merci Suarez is a scholarship student at an expensive academy in Florida - dealing with all the complications of being a preteen/middleschooler both at school and at home.  It's a really heartwarming story.

The Stuff of Stars by Ekua  (AY-kwa) Holmes
     2019 Coretta Scott King Illustration Winner
          Using hand-marbled paper and collage, Ekua Holmes created a stunning visual re-creation of how the universe was formed.

PICTURE BOOK - Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Illustrated by the artist
2017 Caldecott Medal Winner

2016 Little Brown & Company

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.16 - 2472 Ratings

My rating:  5 - This is a gorgeous, informative book!

Endpapers:  White grafitti on blue

Illustrations:  Done in the style of Basquiat, the information from the author/illustrator at the back of the book is extremely interesting.

1^st line/s:  "Somewhere in Brooklyn, between hearts that thump, double Dutch, and hopsxotch and salty mouths that slurp sweet ice, a little boy dreams of being a famous ARTIST."

This is an illustration from the book

My comments:  This book is a RADIANT book!  It's also extremely interesting.  I saw the movie The Upside last night, and Kevin Hart's character mention Basquiat.  Then, this morning, this book came across my desk.  I was MEANT to read it today, n'est pas?  It was wonderful, and prompts me to look further into his work, as his story and timeline seem similar to my wonderful Keith Haring.....

This is an actual piece of Basquiat's work!

Goodreads:  Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
          Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.