Alachua County Library, Gainesville Florida
I spent a delightful Sunday afternoon with graduate students, professors, and librarians discussing Caldecott contenders. The event was organized by the District and the University of Florida’s Center for Children’s Literature and Culture. I was invited by Suzan Alteri, Curator of the Baldwin Collection.
Discussion Titles
A Big Mooncake for Little Star
A House That Once Was
Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse
Alma and How She Got Her Name
Black Bird Yellow Sun (BB ONLY)
Blue
Drawn Together
Dreamers
Florette
Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories
Hello Hello
Hello Lighthouse
Islandborn
Julian is a Mermaid
Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain
Ocean Meets Sky
Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere
Our Car (by J M Brum)
Run Wild
The Day You Begin
The Field
They Say Blue
Observations
The title selections were varied in artistic style, content, and themes.
The participants were engaged, respectful, and thoughtful.
The Winner Was Julián!
In keeping with Caldecott confidentiality, I am not sharing our discussion comments but
I can’t think of a better appreciation than Betsy Bird’s at Fuse 8
“A book for mermaids and boys and girls and parents and teachers and booksellers and librarians and . . . aw, heck. Let’s just simplify things and say it’s a book for the human race.”