Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert

Gravity by Jason Chin

A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream by Kristy Dempsey

These are some wonderful books and all distinctly different. What did you think of them?

I loved The Girl and The Bicycle and Gravity! My second grade students also enjoyed both books!

The Caldecott is not awarded based on how much a book is "enjoyed."

Kathy wrote: "The Caldecott is not awarded based on how much a book is "enjoyed.""

Seriously? Calm down.

We all know that when somebody says kids enjoyed a book, he or she is describing that je ne sais quoi, the illusive "kid appeal," which certainly applies to the Caldecott Medal criteria as much as anything else.

The second edition of Every Child Ready to Read describes Print Motivation--the desire to read and enjoyment of books--as one of the essential Early Literacy skills to prepare children for Kindergarten and to help foster a lifelong love of reading.

If a Caldecott Medalist is to be "marked by eminence and distinction; noted for significant achievement," as a picture book for children it should be the kind of book that children will enjoy. After all, what use is it honoring books that a child wouldn't pick up in the first place?


Now personally, I enjoyed Gravity, though not as much as some other books this year. It's always nice to see an informational picture book, though, especially one that introduces STEM principles in a fun, kid-friendly way. The artwork is vibrant and amusing and does a good job of reinforcing the information and illustrating the physics.

I also love that Gravity is a nonfiction book my second graders can enjoy... because there aren't a lot of nonfiction picture books that have amazing pictures and accessible text for that age group.

Kelly wrote: "Kathy wrote: "The Caldecott is not awarded based on how much a book is "enjoyed.""

Seriously? Calm down.

We all know that when somebody says kids enjoyed a book, he or she is describing that j..."

Thanks Kelly!

I would like to share this with you:
Aviary Wonders Inc. Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual

Re: A Dance Like Starlight
I have admired Floyd Cooper's illustrations for years.
He is a master at drawing faces and forms; his illustrations are detailed, yet have a fuzzy, dreamy quality. His dreamy illustrations match the dreamy quality of the text perfectly. I believe that this book is Caldecott Award worthy and King Illustrator Award worthy as well.

This is a really nice batch of picture books this month. While I found Scraps really interesting and inspiring, I'm not sure it is truly distinguished. Also, the illustration style and heartstring tugging story of The Girl and the Bicycle is really appealing to me, personally, but I'm not sure it is enough to set it apart. Gravity, on the other hand, has really amazing illustrations and is such a unique approach to a pretty abstract concept, that I would think it has a good shot at some recognition. Lastly, A Dance Like Starlight is lovely, but seemed lacking in the text. I would have liked a sparser, more poetic approach to the story to compliment the images.

Shelly wrote: "I would like to share this with you:
Aviary Wonders Inc. Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual"

Thanks for the suggestion. I picked this up from the library today and it was fascinating. The artwork is really amazing and the premise is interesting. Our school does a big bird unit in fourth grade and I am going to recommend this book to the teachers.

Re: The Girl and the Bicycle
I really appreciate wordless books in which it is easy to follow the story, and this is one of those books. The illustrations are detailed without being cluttered, and the limited color palette helps the action stand out. The girl's shock and disappointment when the wished-for bicycle has disappeared from the display window is palpable; as is the joy when she discovers that the woman she has been helping purchased it for her. The girl's generosity in buying the tricycle for her younger brother is very sweet. I enjoyed the book very much; it remains to be seen if the Caldecott committee likes it as well.

Gravity--Love, love, love Jason Chin's books! Gravity takes a complex subject and simplifies it through easy text and engaging art for young students. The "more about gravity" page is designed for the older and younger reader alike, with the paragraph explanation and the illustration text. I appreciate that this was done.

Girl and the Bicycle--This is my favorite book of the year so far. When I picked up the title I had not read that it was wordless. The matte pages, with the limited color palette truly creates the mood for this story. The book takes us on a journey of a young girl who wants a bicycle. She doesn't have enough money. She has to figure out how to change this. She finds a neighbor who she can work for. She goes to buy the bicycle, but ends up with a trike for her brother (this actually got me a little teary). On her way home she encounters the neighbor who helped her raise her money and a surprise. Again the end brought some tears to my eyes. Normally a wordless book doesn't touch me as much as this one did and the story will resonate with young children who are saving for something.

Re: Gravity
I totally agree with Librarygarden. What an excellent book to make this subject accessible even to pre-school children. I especially love the double page spread contrasting the size of the sun with the earth. There is humor in the fact that the lemonade sellers end up with the boy's toys and he winds up with their lemonade making supplies. Also, the fact that Chin's book "Gravity" features prominently on several pages is very clever. The illustrations not only depict the text, but go far beyond it to convey information and humor.

The Scraps Book: Our library finally got its act together and got this book out on the shelves. What a beautiful book, and an excellent example of an autobiography for children. Ehlert illustrates it with her signature collage artwork, including artwork from the many books she has created.