Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie Illustrations by Yuyi Morales

Flora and the Peacocks by Molly Idle

A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu Illustrations by Christina Forshay

There Is a Tribe of Kids by Lane Smith

Thunder Boy is causing a storm, could it be a future Caldecott? How about the others?

There is a Tribe of Kids and Thunder Boy Jr. have a Caldecott win in the bag. It is just a question of who gets the gold and who gets a silver.

THUNDER BOY JR. is an absolute masterpiece and the kids absolutely adore it. Yes it is a major contender for the Caldecott and I will make my case for it later in the year during the run of my annual Caldecott Contender series at Wonders in the Dark. As to Lane Smith's book, yes that is also a supreme treasure, and some may unconsciously remember that Smith unfairly was put aside for one of the great works in children's literature -GRANDPA GREEN- which won an honor, but should have won the medal won by A BALL FOR DAISY. Yes Laura, you hit the nail on the head here. These are both utterly fantastic books indeed! Barbara McClintock's ballet book and Sergio Ruzzier's THIS IS NOT A PICTURE BOOK are serious contenders to these eyes too, and I am a big fan of CRICKET SONG by Anne Hunter too.

Sam wrote: "THUNDER BOY JR. is an absolute masterpiece and the kids absolutely adore it. Yes it is a major contender for the Caldecott and I will make my case for it later in the year during the run of my annu..."

I was stunned and saddened when Grandpa Green didn't win the gold. It is spectacular.

Aye Laura, ditto here. For sure the committee has done well many times, but that year must rank as the biggest injustice in the history of the doubly because A BALL FOR DAISY is overrated.

Sam wrote: "Aye Laura, ditto here. For sure the committee has done well many times, but that year must rank as the biggest injustice in the history of the doubly because A BALL FOR DAISY is overrated."

I love Raschka but A Ball For Daisy wasn't particularly unique or groundbreaking in any way. I think I screamed when the gold was announced for it. I am in awe of Grandpa Green and Lane Smith every time I behold it.

Amen my friend. Amen.

It's amazing the countless number of beautiful books thus far published this year in children's literature. Around 25 have captured my fancy; yet, A Morning with Grandpa, There is a Tribe of Kids, Flora and the Peacocks, and Thunder Boy Jr. have made my top Ten! I appreciate the healthy themes on the child - finding one's own identity, developing strong family bonds, and learning to play and work with others. These books address these fine qualities very nicely! The illustrations are icing on the cake in each of these!

Re: Thunder Boy, Jr., I've read several articles by Debbie Reese with concerns about how the book doesn't include an afterward or anything giving context for naming traditions in different tribes and their significance, and it contributes to the idea of a monolithic "Native American" instead of a variety of tribes with sometimes overlapping and sometimes very different traditional clothing, food, and customs.

Does the lack of background material influence make a difference? The award is for the art, but “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.”

I loved Grandpa Green, too!!

I agree - it should have some sort of Author's Note, but I do believe this book will be a winner in several categories this year. Of course, I'm absolutely terrible at choosing winners (totally blindsided by On Market Street winning a NEWBERY last year!!), so don't put your money on any of my picks!!

Jennifer wrote: "I agree - it should have some sort of Author's Note, but I do believe this book will be a winner in several categories this year. Of course, I'm absolutely terrible at choosing winners (totally bli..."

I think it will win a minimum of two of the top awards. Many smaller/regional awards. Don't feel bad about not picking On Market Street for the Newbery. I don't think a single one of us saw that coming. It is a lovely book and Christian Robinson has many Caldecotts in his future. Middle grade teachers seem pretty saddened by the win. I don't see it on any summer reading lists for their grades here in NY. They really consider it solely a picture book for younger readers.

That would be , not .

There is a Tribe of Kids
I liked the book, and thought it was an interesting way to introduce group names for animals (and other things). A note states that the illustrations were painted in oils and sprayed with an acrylic varnish to create various mottled textures. He also used colored pencils, graphite and cut and paste. The illustrations did have pretty colors and interesting textures. There is a lot of detail for children to pore over as well.

Flora and the Peacocks
I loved this book. I loved how Flora tried to copy the peacock tails with her fan. I loved the way the peacocks mirrored each other in their actions and stances. I loved the lift-flaps throughout the book. And I loved the huge foldout page at the end.

Laura wrote: "There is a Tribe of Kids and Thunder Boy Jr. have a Caldecott win in the bag. It is just a question of who gets the gold and who gets a silver."


(Standing up) "Hear! Hear!" Love both of these titles. In both cases I found myself gasping at the detail and technique. Just lovely.

I just got my hands on Thunderboy Jr....I love the father and son story...I loved the illustrations of the characters and the setting. The resemblance of the father and son was spot on! I really felt the illustrator did a great job capturing and paralleling same name same look.
The story was a bonus!!! It was such a sweet story.

Charlene, I am thrilled to read this! This book is an absolute picture book masterpiece, one that would appear to be one of the ones released so far that is surefire Caldecott material. I do agree with others here that it is vying with Lane Smith's magnificent book, as well as works by Sergio Ruzzier, Anne Hunter, Barbara McClintock, Edward Hemingway, Mordecai Gerstein, Wendell Minor, Elizabeth Rose Stanton, Toni Yuli, Jesixa Bagley, and two gems, MAYBE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL (Lopez) and FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE (Weatherford/Christie). But there are a number of others as well. The picture is only just now coming into limited focus. :)

I haven't been able to get a hold of A Morning With Grandpa, but I have read the rest. I thought the illustrations were wonderful in all three of the remaining books. Yuyi Morales made the story come alive in Thunder Boy, Jr, and the illustrations were just a joy. There is a Tribe of Kids has its own appeal, and the illustrations were clever. My favorite was actually Flora and the Peacocks. I think I let out a little gasp of delight when I opened up the big folding page. The illustrations were clean, bright, and told the story beautifully.

Laura wrote: "There is a Tribe of Kids and Thunder Boy Jr. have a Caldecott win in the bag. It is just a question of who gets the gold and who gets a silver." That's a big prediction, but I don't think I'd be shocked by either of these. Of course, it's only June!

A Morning with Grandpa
This is a lovely story of a young, energetic girl and the sharing of meditative exercise knowledge (tai chi and yoga) between the two generations. As I was reading I was wishing I knew more about the tai chi moves being described; so I was happy to see that the back matter included this information, as well as the author's sources. I'm also excited to see a new book representing our Asian American culture.
I enjoyed the illustrations and believe they work well with the text, but they do not seem award worthy to me. This is a charming picture book, about relationships and different generations, but I don't believe it is Caldecott material.

Jen wrote: "A Morning with Grandpa
This is a lovely story of a young, energetic girl and the sharing of meditative exercise knowledge (tai chi and yoga) between the two generations. As I was reading I was wis..."

I have not seen this book so I will be as open minded as possible. But I truly am over all the yoga/exercise picture books for kids. They sell because the yoga loving adults think it is cute and there is a terrific one by Susan Verde called I am Yoga, but the kids aren't seeking them out in the least. I spend a good part of each day in the children's dept. of a major bookstore. Even when the yoga books are on a special promotional display the children don't give them a glance.

Noodle Magic is a wonderful Asian culture folk tale book. Written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong and beautifully illustrated by Meilo. The kids love this one!

Laura wrote: "Jen wrote: "A Morning with Grandpa
This is a lovely story of a young, energetic girl and the sharing of meditative exercise knowledge (tai chi and yoga) between the two generations. As I was readi..."

Laura,
I understand your hesitation with this title. I see the book as a read aloud, not one that kids would pick up on their own without selling it to them. I think after using as a RA, there would be kids that check it out. Sort of like Last Stop on Market Street, at least in my library.

Flora and the Peacocks
I think this is my favorite Flora title so far. I love Idle's use of expression on Flora and the peacocks. I also appreciate the looks of irritation, and the what do you think you're doing little girl on the peacocks faces. The ignoring, and the changing of feelings as the story unfolds (no pun intended) is perfect to me. The final pages with the fan destruction allows the peacocks to make amends with Flora and come together with their new friend. It's high on my list right now, but it's only June!

Jen wrote: "Laura wrote: "Jen wrote: "A Morning with Grandpa
This is a lovely story of a young, energetic girl and the sharing of meditative exercise knowledge (tai chi and yoga) between the two generations. ..."

Our store passed on this title. However, I will definitely order a few copies and use it for a Thursday morning storytime. Hope the kids love it!

Thunder Boy Jr.
I'd been looking forward to this title since February 2015 when Yuyi spoke about it at the WWU Children's Literature Conference. It does not disappoint. Even if a child does not understand the naming of children tradition in Native American cultures, they can understand about having negative feelings about their given name (I wanted my name to be Angela when I was I kid because there was a pretty girl named Angela in the class above me). Morales' illustrations are vivid, larger-than-life, and bring the words to life. This is another one of my favorites for 2017.
I do agree with other posts that it would be helpful to have some back matter about the naming tradition, so that kids have a better cultural understanding.

There is a Tribe of Kids
There are many books about animal collective nouns, but There is a Tribe of Kids is special. Smith takes us on a child's journey with animals in their world. Coming in and out of time, journeying through different habitats, and finally landing with the tribe of kids. All this is accomplished with very few words. I really love the look of the illustrations in the book. I don't believe I've seen anything like it recently. This book is a stand out for me. (After reviewing all the June books, I'm feeling very strongly about 3 of them.)

Flora and the Peacocks is beautiful. I love everything Molly Idle creates. I don't think this title is different enough from her other Molly books to win a Caldecott. The committee members look for a uniqueness of style and execution when judging.

Jen wrote: "A Morning with Grandpa
This is a lovely story of a young, energetic girl and the sharing of meditative exercise knowledge (tai chi and yoga) between the two generations. As I was reading I was wis..."

I agree with Jen. This is a very cute story and the illustrations are quite appealing, but I don't think that they break any new ground, nor are they particularly distinguished. Still, a very good book.

I have a problem. I am a huge fan of Yuyi Morales, Molly Idle, and Lane Smith! As a result I very much enjoyed all three of their books this month. I still haven't managed to get my hands on A Morning with Grandpa.

Thunder Boy Jr. was a wonderful story about trying to become your own person when you live in another's shadow. I think this idea is prevalent in children who are trying to figure out who they are. It will appeal to a wide audience and the illustrations make it feel different than anything else out there. I adore the illustrations. I would be excited if this won the Caldecott!

Flora and the Peacocks is illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, so of course it's on my favorite list! I've read all of the Flora books and I think this one (with its very large foldout at the end) is my favorite. I love that her books don't need words, though I worry that that will preclude it from winning the award since it's not technically words and illustrations working together to tell the story.

There is a Tribe of Kids is a fun take on naming groups of animals. I was wondering how Lane Smith would work one of his legendary twists into this story, but he did so wonderfully! I don't really understand all of the contention over the use of tribe in this case and I hope it doesn't hinder the book's success as Smith is a smart, humorous writer.

If I had to pick a favorite this month I'd have to go with Thunder Boy Jr. because there is nothing else like it.

I actually wasn't that thrilled with, "A Morning with Grandpa".
I see this as a book that some adults think kids should like, yet they aren't picking it up,

I love "The Night Gardener" but I can't figure out if the Fan Brothers are US or Canadian citizens. Does anyone know?

I believe they have dual citizenship and are eligible for the Caldecott. At least, that's what I've heard.

Caren wrote: "I love "The Night Gardener" but I can't figure out if the Fan Brothers are US or Canadian citizens. Does anyone know?"

The book is definitely eligible.

They definitely ARE eligible. Dual citizenship confirms this. They also have a terrific second book this year--THE DARKEST DARK. Two great books in the same year!

I thought they were dual. Thanks for confirmation.

Sam wrote: "They definitely ARE eligible. Dual citizenship confirms this. They also have a terrific second book this year--THE DARKEST DARK. Two great books in the same year!"

I am looking soooo forward to The Darkest Dark!