Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

Solar Bear by Beth Ferry and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel




The Iguanodon's Horn: How Artists and Scientists Put a Dinosaur Back Together Again and Again and Again by Sean Rubin




The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Becker




Jump for Joy by Karen Gray Ruelle and illustrated by Hadley Hooper


Are these publications "distinguished?"

I have read all of these books. The authors and illustrators are among the best in children's literature/illustration. All of the books in this group are Caldecott worthy. Although well-done artistically, I found The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Becker pretty depressing. The Earth has flooded, no signs of humankind, a construction robot builds a kind of a Noah's Ark to save what's left of the world's animals. The animals are transported to various places around the world so they may survive. The description for The Last Zookeeper suggests that it is a hopeful book. I don't really see it that way. This is a wordless picture book. On the other hand, I do find much hope in Solar Bear. In fact, it is one of my favorite 2024 releases. Written by the prolific Beth Ferry. Beth has written a myriad of high quality, original stories illustrated by remarkable, award-winning illustrators. I am still upset that her Swashby by the Sea illustrated by Caldecott award winner, Juana Martinez- Neal, didn't win the 2021 Caldecott award. It was THE perfect picture book. This time, Caldecott award winner, Brendan Wenzel is Ferry's illustrator. I am a huge Wenzel fan. I have been following his work (and all the good things he does for animals and the environment) since his first picture book in 2015 entitled Beastly Babies. His creativity and talent were so evident. Solar Bear is about a magical bear (polar bear-get it?), call to action on how important it is to save the world's endangered creatures and how empty the world would be without them. The illustrations in Solar Bear are luminous. The book practically glows. Wenzel used watercolor, pencil, acrylic, colored pencil etc. to achieve such beautiful art. This is one of two picture books; Brendan has available this year. His other is Two Together. It is described as a companion to his Caldecott award winning, They All Saw a Cat. I have read and studied thousands of picture books in my life. Two Together is one of the best picture books I have ever read. It would be magical if Wenzel won a Caldecott for Solar Bear and Two Together in 2025. I would love to see that happen.
Jump for Joy by Karen Gray Ruelle and illustrated by the amazing Hadley Hooper is glorious. Another favorite 2024 release of mine. It is deceptively simple but has some of the most detailed happy, illustrations I have ever seen in my life. The story is simple. A girl wants a dog and a dog wants a child. It is perfect. Hooper has another release this year, Gift's From Georgia's Garden: How Georgia O'Keeffe Nourished her Art. It is spectacular. Hooper has a chance at two Caldecott's as well as Wenzel.
I love Sean Rubin. He doesn't get nearly as many accolades as he deserves. I believe he should have won a Caldecott for This Very Tree a 9/11 Story. Sadly, he didn't. Rubin has a chance again with The Iguanodon's Horn. It is incredibly interesting, detailed and beautiful. Children will find it quite engaging as well. Another terrific year in picture books!

My review for the Last Zookeeper:

The world is flooded and a robot finds himself alone and without a purpose. He finds new meaning in taking care of and feeding the last animals at a saturated zoo. Waters ever increasing, he sets sail to nowhere and everywhere with his animals in tow and finds hope along the way.

Can a wordless book make me cry? It can if it is by Aaron Becker, the artist who straddles the anxiety of the unknown and the guidance of the things/people/nature around you to create hope in its wake. His storytelling in watercolors blends a dystopian future with our innate compassion and a vignette about a potentially flooded Earth, while seemingly desperate and lonely, he turns into a warm hug. I don’t know how they’re going to ignore this story and this artwork for the Caldecott, for the medal or as an honor book. This title is timely and captivating.

My review for Solar Bear:

Beth Ferry’s magically relevant picture book, Solar Bear is a moving tale about our most endangered animals. She gives a rhymed voice to the polar bears and all other species affected by climate change and eroding natural spaces. The text urges children to care, to make changes, and to protect those animals near and far who need protection.

This topic and this book could be didactic, but it is not. It is a cry for help in sweet, plaintive verse, asking them to pitch in and help without making it doom-and-gloom or overwhelming. It would be brilliant for a story time as well as paired with a science lesson. Wenzel’s illuminated illustrations are special - they highlight the radiant nature of our voiceless friends struggling with the changing landscape around them. I think this is a strong Caldecott contender. What a lovely, lovely book.

The Last Zookeeper
The watercolors are gorgeous. The "ark" which the robot builds is more a ship than an ark. On an ark, the animals would be completely enclosed inside the vessel, not standing on the deck, where they could be washed overboard in a storm.
The flood in this book looks like a pretty shallow, gentle flood; not like the flood of Genesis, which ripped a single continent into several continents, completely covered every mountain, and totally reformed the surface of the earth and brought a complete climate change to that early earth.
All that aside, I still loved this story of robots wanting to preserve the zoo animals, and help them find new places to live. I did give it 5 stars. I do hope this book will find some Caldecott love.

Solar Bear
The illustrations in this book shine and glow, just as the first lines of this poem suggest. Almost every animal in the book has a fuzzy "halo" or outline around it. And the illustrations not only support, but also expand on the text. I agree that the book is Caldecott worthy.

Jump for Joy
I had mixed feelings about the illustrations in this book. I enjoyed the story of the girl and dog eventually finding each other. And I liked all the historic images from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries which were collaged together. But I thoroughly disliked the depictions of the totally brown girl and brown dog. To me, they looked amateurish didn't fit with the other illustrations. However, I did like the final two pages which burst with color.

The Iguanodon's Horn
This is an interesting book with well-thought out illustrations. However, Rubin's date of "1859" for natural selection is incorrect. In fact, Edward Blyth first wrote about natural selection in 1835. 22 years before Darwin borrowed from his articles.
He is correct however, in pointing out that we don't know how underlying fat and musculature would change our impression of dinosaur bodies, as well as skin color, and any non-bony protuberances that might have been on a dinosaur's body; and then illustrating dinosaurs with dewlaps, wild colors, and other add-ons.
I, however, don't predict Caldecott love for this book.