Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

Hope in a Jar by Deborah Marcero.




Our Lake by Angie Kang.




Elsa's Chessboard by Jenny Andrus and illustrated by Julie Downing.




Where the Deer Slip Through by Katey Howes and illustrated by Beth Krommes.


These publications are very distinct in their illustrations. Which of these do you think are a strong contender for the Caldecott award?

I loved Where the Deer Slip through.
the words are lyrical and the pictures blew me away. this was my first experience with Beth Krommes work and I had to soak up each page. I read it with my 5 year old and enjoyed that she explored, counted, and exclaimed about what she noticed on each spread. my 3 year old also loves it and will point out the different things in nature she knows and loves. they have both asked for it more than once as a bed time read aloud and it can be read or just enjoyed for the pictures. I love her use of dandelions, (as a grown up they are pests and detestable) but for kids they just feel magical and their life cycle depicted in the book really drew my kids in and drew me into their world. I hope this book gets a lot of love and would love to see it get some recognition.

Where the Deer Slip Though
I agree with Denise, this is a gorgeous book. On the verso of the title page, the illustrations are described: "The artist drew black-and-white images on scratchboard, transferred the pictures onto paper, and added watercolor to create the illustrations for this book." And they are beautiful! And the illustrations are perfect at mirroring and expanding on the cumulative, lyrical text.

Elsa's Chessboard
This heart-warming family memoir is beautifully illustrated by Julie Downing. The author tells the story of her Jewish grandmother (Elsa) from Vienna. Elsa had learned to play chess from her brothers and became quite good at the game. Eventually, Elsa, her husband, and daughter had to leave Vienna due to WWII, and they ended up in San Fransisco, where Elsa continued to challenge people to chess games. The illustrations, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, follow Elsa's life closely, in double-page spreads, single-page spreads, and panels. Eventually, Elsa is even able to challenge her great-grandson to a chess game. Julie Downing has won a number of awards for her artwork; it's about time she adds a Caldecott to that list.

Hope in a Jar
Following In a Jar and Out of a Jar, this story also features Llewellyn and his new friends, Veera and Jaxx. This time, the bunny trio is stuffing hopes for the future in their jars; hopes such as going to the moon, learning to swim, getting a part in a school play, watching a caterpillar morph into a butterly, and many more hopes, some probably achievable, and some that will probably never happen. After a storm scatters their jars, they finally find one, with a beautiful butterfly inside, ready to be set free (a variety of yellow swallowtail). The illustrations, which were rendered in watercolor, pencil, colored pencils, and ink, appear in double-page spreads, single-page spreads, and panels. The illustration of the freed butterfly, high above the ground, is especially stunning (the reader is just above the butterfly, looking down). While this was a good story with very nice illustrations, in my opinion, it doesn't rate as highly as other books published this year.

Our Lake
Two brothers go swimming in the lake where they used to go with their father (the reader may assume that the father has passed away). The illustrations, rendered in gouache, crayon, and colored pencil are in sort of an impressionist style--some details are blurred out. A nice story of remembering loved ones. I personally was not as fond of the artwork in this book as in the other three books for this month.