CALDECOTT! NEWBERY! MY Annual Geek-OUT!

DRUMROLL PLEASE!

This post slides from my usual Tuesday schedule to Monday in honor of  this once-a-year extravaganza.  

The American Library Association's YOUTH MEDIA AWARDS!

If you are reading this in time, you can watch the full awards program LIVE at this link, on Monday, January 27 at 11:00 AM Eastern time.  But  if you miss it live you can view it as a recording within a few hours of the event. Either way, pour yourself some tea or coffee or cocoa, sit back, and savor excellence in books for youth.

What in the world am I writing about? For the full description, click on YOUTH MEDIA AWARDS above. My take, though, is that this is the annual book party for readers from birth to twenty. It celebrates the books and their creators, curators, educators, and  circulators.Everyone enjoys awards programs, although we can acknowledge that great art and creativity should not be in competition with itself. But we know that is always the case. The Oscars, the Emmys, the TONYs, and even the  People's Choice are viewed with glee. And on and on. We all get an adrenaline rush when seeing our own favorites gained wider recognition through awards. And we ache a bit for those that seem to have been overlooked.

Anyone reading my posts can imagine that watching a room full of other book-lovers, perching at the edge of seats and screaming in glee over each announcement of winning and honored books in each category, is a high point in my year. When I had my own classroom of book-lovers, we would hype this during the months ahead by sharing as many prime candidates as possible, offering our personal awards predictions and reviews, and many other award-related activities that engaged kids with a wide range of high-quality reading options. 

These days, I consider readers here as my audience to cheer for various superb books throughout the year, landing on this decision day with hopes that one or more of my recommendations might be selected. Some of the more widely-read book advocates post predictions, and I urge you to read theirs HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, just to get a sense of the convergences and divergence of opinions. There are no wrongs and rights, but be prepared to take notes for your library hold lists, wishlists at your favorite indie bookstore, and gift lists for young readers you know and love. The links  to predictions focus on Caldecott (illustration award) and Newbery (Youth literature award), but the morning announcements incorporate multiple categories that will excite and impress viewers. The specialty awards are each worthy of a program of their own. Taken together, this is an adrenaline-inducing experience that I hope many will view, live or later. 

Some that I expect you might hear mentioned (this is as close as I'll come to making award predictions) have been featured in posts during the past year. I'm sharing only a few of the titles I'll be rooting for, but they are a great sample of why such choices are hard to make. SO. MANY. GREAT. BOOKS. Truly. Click any of the following to see what i had to say about them.

Nonfiction: 

FROM BAM TO BURP!    SCRATCHING THE SURFACE  

IN THE WORLD OF WHALES, 

CALDECOTT (Illustration):

WHEN NIGHT CAME CALLING, DEAR ACORN, LOVE OAK, 

WHERE DEER SLLIP THROUGH, TO SEE AND OWL.

There are categories for graphic novels, audio books, beginning readers, and so much more. Enough reading here for now. Get over to that link, live or as a recording, and experience the excitement for yourselves. 

Before There Was Old MacDonald: Don't Miss This!

CLARION BOOKS, 2025

May I present, for your reading and sharing pleasure, a recent fiction picture book that will make readers of any age smile. THE MAN WHO DIDN'T LIKE ANIMALS is written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

I'll avoid a spoiler here, but call your attention to my post title and the book jacket's tagline:

Before there was Old MacDonald, there was...

THE MAN WHO DIDN'T LIKE ANIMALS.

Deborah Underwood is a reliably entertaining and original storyteller, and this is a delightful offering that probes the ways in which people can change, and ways one thing leads to another. The cover illustrations (and throughout) enrich an already lively and appealing "series of events" tale with incidental details that actually build to the very clever ending. 

The hard case cover of the book is quite different from the jacket, but both reveal the essentials. The "animals" in the title are eager to appear and provide some surprises. The neighbors (and neighborhood itself) is a very pet-centric community. And the "man" of the title is caring, but NOT for animals of any kind. The man prefers a tidy home to animals. Plants, on the other hand, lend beauty without mess. 

Before the actual text begins, endpapers and dedication pages set the story in motion, revealing some untended animals and the least likely guy to offer help. Apparently, various animals in search of home missed the memo and are tolerant enough of his attitude to win him over, one (and more) pet at a time. Early on, the pet-loving neighbors display their satisfaction that he has changed his mind. In time, word among the animals spreads and surprising developments ensue. It's enough to change minds again, of the "man" and the neighbors. But with surprises. 

There is a definite shift in emotions throughout, from page to page and arrival to arrival. This is an ideal story to share with the very young, but also serves well for early readers who are just becoming aware of predictions and internal relationships. This offers benefits of patterns with similarities and slight shifts in the short but powerful trajectory of a single picture book story. The humor is suited and subtle, inducing smiles for kids and adults alike, even on repeated readings. The visual details throughout invite close examination on every read. Don't miss this one, and take a look at other books by this talented author.

Two Sides To Every Story... in Two AMAZING Picture Books, and ONE MORE.

 I'm a fan of poetry-- reading it, writing it, and enjoying the many forms available to talented poets. In a picture book reviewed HERE, two years ago, I celebrated the remarkable teamwork of a pair of poets and an illustrator, Kate and Jol Temple and Terri Rose Baynton. This book, ROOM ON OUR ROCK, is written in a lesser-used poetic form, the REVERSO. Stated simply (and appearing to be much simpler than it actually is!), a reverso poem reads in two parts, with the first half appearing to be the end, but with an expectation to continue reading it from that "ending" backwards, concluding with the first line of the poem. Only in this way will readers fully grasp the layers and levels of meaning. 

Kane Miller Publishing, 2021

Now, two years after their original success with that REVERSO picture book, this creative team returns with a companion  book in similar form and art style, MOVE THAT MOUNTAIN.

With the identical tagline, THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY, the simple text appears to confirm the visual and common sense reality that even the most caring and committed puffins will not be able to rescue a beached whale...except. The REVERSO form is triggered on the final page with the line "Read it again from the back to the start." 

Clinging to the hope that directive provides, readers can proceed from a melancholy ending to a marvelous celebration of the powerful impact of cooperation and persistence. As with the original ROOM ON THE ROCK, what we expect, what we believe, and what we are willing to work for can reshape the reality in which we live- together. 

Both picture books in this pair have that quality I so appreciate and celebrate-- something to offer any and every age. Even the youngest will engage with the expressive animals, especially the colorful and caring puffins, with their empathic and remarkable eyes and energy, as well as that magnificent whale with its surprising grace and grateful, pleading eyes. Older readers will respond enthusiastically to the challenge of constructing a REVERSO text, while appreciating the impact and subtlety of flipping line orders and expectations. 

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2021

Another new picture book offers a slightly different take on a TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY tagline. TURTLE IN A TREE is written and illustrated by Neesha Hudson. In this case, the story involves contrasting views of reality, as voiced by disagreeing, slightly disagreeable dogs. One sweater-wearing wagger insists that there is a turtle in the tree, while a necktie-wearing voice of reason insists it must, instead, be a squirrel. Their reasoned, reasonable discussion escalates to a shouting match, shaking the truth from the tree, not once, but twice. 

I can't describe the joy I felt when first one dog then the other admitted their presumed mistakes, accepting each others' acknowledgements graciously. Then their shared amazement and the recognition that they had experienced things differently offers each a wider world view. 

From cover to cover, the simple text, font choices, illustrations with expressive features and body postures all invite connection and identification by readers of any age. In contrast to the REVERSO "bounce back" endings above, this delightful ending, a page turn past the final copyright page, suggests that conflicting observations and arguments like these are far from over. Throughout, grins and giggles are spontaneous and immediate. 

This, too, will win fans in little lap-sitters, but also extends invitations to older readers to discuss and debate the ways in which argument, observation, evidence, and even common sense can foreclose our willingness to honestly investigate the truth. These appeallng little characters demonstrate the damaging impact of rejecting whatever is outside our own experiences. 

Some schools are already back in session, while others will resume soon. Kids may be returning to school from an extended period of semi-isolation and being surrounded by singular, strongly-held points of view within their families and social circles. Issues related to vaccines and masks have been treated as absolutes with accusations and arguments. Could there be a better time to share  picture books as we  appreciate and discuss and explore the many ways in which things are not always cut-and-dried, black-and-white, turtle-or-squirrel?