Mock Caldecott 2027 discussion

The Outermost Mouse by Lauren Wolk



The Sweater: A Story of Community by Larissa Theule

What did you think of these publications?

The Outermost Mouse
I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the brave little mouse, and I loved the realistic watercolor paintings. The illustrations juxtapose the small mouse against the overpowering waves of the ocean. The reader could almost reach into the book to pick up the seashells, touch the plants, and feel the sand. I think this book is Caldecott worthy.

I loved them both. Kindness, caring, community, and support for one another is simply lovely.

The mouse trying to use a sandbag option to stop a roiling ocean is striking. The image of the mouse on the rails of the house as it is swept away is one I cannot stop revisiting.

The tiny, scared bird in The Sweater and the ways in which the other animals help prepare it for winter is warm and wonderful to see.

I have not picked my mock Caldecott books yet, but Wolk's may make my list.

Neither of these hit the mark for me, but they are both lovely and each is cozy and intimate in its own way. Of the two, I think Outermost Mouse is stronger because of how the level of detail gives the reader a mouse-like perspective, and the way the illustrator plays with light on the water/the many moods of the sea.

The Outermost Mouse:
Text notes: This is one of those stories that feels written for adults, not for kids. The switch to addressing the reader in second person toward the end underscored the tale's veer away from a story of specifics and toward allegory. Also, the non-concrete ending seems unsatisfying (for me and for kids).

The illustrations, however, are evocative, beachy and oceany, just the right colors for the setting, and lovely, with effective use of perspective to make the ocean feel huge and the mouse small (but also heroically big). The mouse's body seemed less realistically presented to me than the setting.

To me, my concerns about the story feeling adult-focused make me ponder the Caldecott criterion stating "...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. Such other components might include the written text, the overall design of the book, etc. "