Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

The Winner of the Caldecott Award:

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

With 6 Honors Going to:

Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jennifer Fisher Bryant

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki


Great job everyone. We had some wonderful discussions this year.

Borrowed This One summer from one of our HS today and it's definitely not for an elementary. Drinking, swearing, sexual references, etc. I'm glad I decided to borrow it, since the cover looks so innocent. The reviews say 8-12.

Librarygarden wrote: "Borrowed This One summer from one of our HS today and it's definitely not for an elementary. Drinking, swearing, sexual references, etc. I'm glad I decided to borrow it, since the cover looks so in..."

It's interesting that it got a Printz honor as well.

Kristen wrote: "Librarygarden wrote: "Borrowed This One summer from one of our HS today and it's definitely not for an elementary. Drinking, swearing, sexual references, etc. I'm glad I decided to borrow it, since..."

My library has This One Summer in the Y Fiction section as well.

The people that are chosen for these committees are getting more and more out of touch with children. I'm tired of them choosing books that they "think" kids should read. They are out of touch.

Caren wrote: "The people that are chosen for these committees are getting more and more out of touch with children. I'm tired of them choosing books that they "think" kids should read. They are out of touch."

I can agree to a point, but this year almost all of the books will get read. I was really surprised in my mock that my kids were really drawn to Frida and I didn't think they would be. I don't think The Right Word or Noisy Paint Box will get the attention they deserve, but with that said, there have been many picture book bios about artists in the last few years. I'm planning on creating a unit around these books for my kids to learn about the artists, see their works, and potentially creat a piece of art in library. This will I feel help some titles that don't always get attention of kids.
I have more of an issue with the Newbery and the kids not being interested in the books. Of course this year my kids are loving El Deafo and getting started on Crossover. Only 2 girls have read BGD. It wasn't my favorite either, and out of touch for many of our readers. The only other popular Newbery books in the last 10 years are Ivan, Inside Out & Back Again, Savvy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and Doll Bones. I can get book groups to read some of the others, but many I didn't purchase or they just sit on the shelf. I think El Deafo is helping change the trend.

My students LOVE Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Beekle! I think this was a great year for books that kids will read! :)

Niki (Daydream Reader) wrote: "My students LOVE Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Beekle! I think this was a great year for books that kids will read! :)"

I agree! Beekle and Sam and Dave are so accessible. Also, Viva Frida has been soooo popular at my library. I am a little perplexed about This One Summer. I loved this book (and love graphic novels). I think it's award in the Printz category was well deserved, but I am not sure why this won the Caldecott?>>>

My biggest issue is with the Newbery as well.
I loved "Brown Girl Dreaming" but the other 2 were terrible.
My biggest sore point with the Caldecott is they went too serious with 4 of their choices. I loved "The Right Word" but many kids won't check it out.
I'm also mystified how "Draw" and "The Farmer and the Clown" were totally ignored. I can't keep those and the "Sam and Dave dog a hole"
3 popular books that kids love.
They seemed like a serious group of people who are mostly out of touch.

Caren wrote: "My biggest issue is with the Newbery as well.
I loved "Brown Girl Dreaming" but the other 2 were terrible.
My biggest sore point with the Caldecott is they went too serious with 4 of their choices...."

Wow! There are some pretty big generalizations in that post!

I have had the opposite experience with the Newbery winners. Our entire 4th grade participated in a mock Newbery project with KCLS and The Crossover was the hands down favorite. Even my most reluctant readers were excited to try it and loved it. I love that the committee went with this book for the unexpected win.

As for El Deafo, I put it into the hands of all of my huge Smile fans and the book spread through the school. Graphic novels are very popular here and the students got the significance of a graphic novel finally winning a major award. Again, kudos to the committee for recognizing a format that students love and taking a risk by honoring this book.

As for the Caldecott, I did not feel like there was a clear cut front runner, and am not surprised or disappointed by the many titles that were recognized. None of the winners or the disappointed favorites are particularly hot books around here. Ironically, the most popular picture book at our school right now is BJ Novak's "The Book with No Pictures." I guess it didn't really have a shot though!

Caren wrote: "My biggest issue is with the Newbery as well.
I loved "Brown Girl Dreaming" but the other 2 were terrible.
My biggest sore point with the Caldecott is they went too serious with 4 of their choices...."

I shouldn't have used the word issue in my post. What I meant was that many of the books that have been chosen for Newbery Medal in the last 10 years or so have not been particularly popular with young readers. I have no dispute about the titles being exceptional books. I'm happy with the 2015 committee and their choices...they took risks and surprised so many people. Just because BGD was not one of my favorites doesn't mean that the book shouldn't have won. I definitely need more copies of Crossover and El Deafo though. That's a great problem to have!

I don't think it is the committees "job" to pick an unexpected book. Their purpose is to choose the best, their goal shouldn't be for shock value.
My students live BGD, but the other 2 have been bombs.

I guess I am just a little sensitive to the language you are using. It seems unnecessarily strong (terrible, out of touch, shock value, bombs) and very generally applied. I was just trying to provide evidence that there are some real live kids out there that agree with the committee. It's one thing to frame these statements as your personal opinion, and quite another to make general statements as if they were facts.

Jenni wrote: "I guess I am just a little sensitive to the language you are using. It seems unnecessarily strong (terrible, out of touch, shock value, bombs) and very generally applied. I was just trying to pro..."
I agree with Jenni! I follow many educators and librarians on Twitter and it sounds to me like El Deafo and The Crossover are well loved. It is okay to not like the books that were picked....but to say they are bombs and that the committee is out of touch seems a little much.