In my first year as an elementary school librarian, I had to do a Mock Caldecott. It was one of the programs I’d heard other elementary librarians (and some children’s librarians at public libraries) talk about for years and it always sounded like a fun way to get kids engaged and excited. Plus, it’s a good chance to focus on the (incredible) art, and consider things like trim size and shape, endpapers, use of the gutter, use of color, light and dark, and media. I always look to see if there’s an art note on the copyright page about what materials the illustrator used, and kids are sometimes surprised (especially the born-digital art).
Here’s how I ran our program, loosely based on Travis Jonker’s:
Intro/practice week (first week of January):
- Introduce the Caldecott Award. What is it for? Who decides? Which books (illustrators) are eligible? Even the youngest students grasp the difference between an author’s job and an illustrator’s job, and learn that if there’s one name on the cover, it means that person did both jobs.
- Read two past Caldecott books, and have a vote (by show of hands). Make the tally visible on the whiteboard. In kindergarten and first grade, we read Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005) and This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen (2013). In second and third grade, we read Beekle by Dan Santat (2015) and Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin (2022).
Week One:
- Now it’s onto this year’s Caldecott contenders! I requested several books from my public library, using my own reading from the past year as well as The Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott blog and Betsy Bird’s predictions on her Fuse8 blog at SLJ. Ideally, I’m looking for books with less text, because classes are only 40 minutes and we want to do book checkout too. I use the Whole Book Approach, which means I welcome students’ observations while we’re reading – which means it takes longer to read a book aloud.
- Kindergarten and first grade read I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by real-life best friends Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal, and Like by Annie Barrows, illustrated by Leo Espinosa. Second and third grade read The Blur by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat, and This Is Not A Story About A Kitten by Randall de Sève, illustrated by Carson Ellis. I note when illustrators have previously won a Medal or an Honor.
Week Two:
- Kindergarten and first grade read Somewhere in the Bayou by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, and Little Houses by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek. Second and third grade read Knight Owl by Christopher Denise and Hot Dog by Doug Salati. Actually, this week we mixed it up a little bit; one of the first grade classes read the second and third grade pair of books, and one of the other first grades read Hot Dog and Little Houses. Attention spans vary, and it seemed like the right call at the time.
Week Three:
- Here we started to run into a few scheduling snags, including a (planned) holiday and some (unplanned) weather-related time off (a full snow day, a delayed start, and an early dismissal). It’s winter in New England, after all. That’s okay! We’re not being super scientific or mathematical about this, though I am keeping track of the tallies and figuring out the total votes for each book each week, and noting the number of classes that read each book.
- Kindergarten and first grade read Don’t Worry, Murray! by David Ezra Stein and Witch Hazel by Molly Idle. Second and third grade read Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall (who has already won twice!) and Snow Horses by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Micha Archer. This final pair of books is absolutely gorgeous, and my second- and third-grade students are an observant bunch, so we’re pretty squeezed for time given that these two are more text-heavy than some of the others (and Farmhouse is all one long sentence!).
Now, are the titles we read my top picks for the 2023 Caldecott? Not necessarily, although I think a lot of them have a very strong chance and I’d be delighted to see them get a shiny gold or silver medal. A few contenders we’d read earlier in the year: Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Dan Santat; Mina by Matthew Forsythe; Berry Song by Michaela Goade, John’s Turn by Mac Barnett, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. So, these are the ones that were fresh for my students, and that I could get from my public library in time.
Visual supports: The award is for illustration, after all, so I wanted to create a visual environment to support our Mock Caldecott. Here are a few ways I did that:
- A few years ago at a conference I got a poster with all of the Caldecott winners on it, plus that year’s honor books. I put that up on our whiteboard, and kids frequently pointed out books they’d read (even pre-readers could recognize the book covers). (Note: I would love an updated poster like this, and no one seems to make one! Let me know if you know of a source…)
- On the easel whiteboard, I kept each week’s tally (photographing it regularly in case anyone erased it, accidentally or on purpose). Results were so different from class to class!
- On my bulletin board, I printed out cover images of the Caldecott contenders we read, along with title, author, and illustrator info. This helped us remember what we’d read in past weeks, and make connections; for example, one third grader noticed that The Blur and Farmhouse took place over a long span of time, whereas This Is Not A Story About A Kitten and Snow Horses took place over the course of just one day/night.
- I covered several tables with face-up Caldecott winner and honor books from past years and encouraged students to check those out – many did! (And some just wanted My Weird School or A-to-Z Mysteries or Wimpy Kid or the Biscuit books, and that’s fine too. But at least they saw them as choices, and picture book circulation increased! Though lots of students were baffled about why some books had “the sticker” and some didn’t.)
At the end of our program, I figured out all the tallies and reported our results to the 2023 Mock YMA blog. Knight Owl got the most votes, followed by Somewhere in the Bayou, The Blur, Don’t Worry Murray, Farmhouse, and Hot Dog. And today, it worked out that one of my third grade classes was in the library during the live Caldecott announcements, and they went wild for Knight Owl and Hot Dog. It was gratifying to see them throw their hands up and cheer for books they recognized (I was cheering too, of course!).
Did we predict the winner? Not exactly, but two out of five ain’t bad. Did we read some great picture books? Absolutely! Will I do it again next year? Yes! What will I do differently? Mainly, I’ll start requesting books from my public library ahead of time, really concentrating on the ones with less text, so we can focus on the illustrations without being rushed during our 40-minute periods. I could change the way we vote – I was thinking of some clear jars and colored pom-poms that kids could use as their votes after reading four or five books over the course of a few weeks, instead of having two books go head to head each week.
Overall, it was a fun program I hope to run again next year. Now, as we’re about to enter Black History Month, I’m thinking of doing something similar (minus the voting) with Coretta Scott King award and honor books. Heck, there are enough awards to focus on a different one each month of the school year…
To be quite upfront, the first picture book that jumped into my head in the “funny” category was Adam Rex’s On Account of the Gum, which I maintain is one of the all-time funniest books to read aloud, and which absolutely does not get old, no matter how many times you read it. Though adults tend to think of picture books as being for little kids, this one appeals just as much or more to older kids, and even teens and adults; they can use the rhyme scheme to anticipate what’s coming next, and they have more context (e.g. they know what Picture Day is). But littles enjoy the over-the-top illustrations and the pattern and flow of the story…it’s just, hands-down, a brilliant read-aloud. Rex also wrote Pluto Gets the Call, illustrated by Laurie Keller (just think about the title for a minute) and School’s First Day of School, illustrated by Christian Robinson. (This book, narrated by a brand-new school building, contains the phrase “nose milk.”) Rex is a funny guy, but let’s move along…
I Don’t Want to Be A Frog by Dev Petty, illustrated by Mike Boldt, is told entirely in dialogue between a young frog (who, you guessed it, would rather be a rabbit or an owl or a pig or anything but a frog), their dad, and…I won’t give it away, but this book really lends itself to the read-aloud experience, and it has delightful companions (I Don’t Want to Go to Sleep, I Don’t Want to Be Big, and There’s Nothing to Do). Dev Petty also wrote Claymates, which has some of the most unique illustrations (by Lauren Eldridge) I’ve ever seen, and plenty of humor.
If you can hear the title Wolfie the Bunny and NOT want to read that book immediately, then we probably don’t have much in common. Ame Dyckman’s words paired with Zachariah Ohora’s illustrations absolutely live up to the promise of the title. In a neighborhood based on Park Slope, Brooklyn, a family of rabbits finds a wolf pup on their doorstep, but only little Dot is freaked out by the new addition to the family (“He’s going to eat us all up!”).
Zachariah Ohora also illustrated Tyrannosaurus Wrecks! by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. (Every list of picture books has to have a dinosaur book, right? Pretty sure that’s a rule.) This is a sure-bet hit for the toddler and preschool set, and there’s a sweet social-emotional learning (SEL) component in addition to the slapstick humor. (While we’re talking about Zachariah Ohora, he also illustrated Who Wet My Pants? by Bob Shea, another very funny book, despite its serious-sounding title.)
Deborah Underwood and Claudia Rueda’s “Here Comes…Cat” books (Tooth Fairy Cat, Valentine Cat, etc.) star a cat that only communicates through signs (sometimes with words, often with images), facial expressions, and body language. The narrator is in dialogue with the curmudgeonly cat, and these books definitely tickle my funny bone; Valentine Cat makes an appearance at our house every February.
Jenny Offill has produced such delightful gems as Sparky! (a book about a girl and her pet sloth; just look at the juxtaposition between the name – with an exclamation point! – and the sloth on the cover), While You Were Napping, 11 Science Experiments That Failed, and 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore. The titles are descriptive enough, I think, and any grown-up who has read Offill’s books for adults is in for something completely different with these.
A Hungry Lion, Or, A Dwindling Assortment of Animals by Lucy Ruth Cummins: The sheer genius of this title, oh my goodness. And the vocabulary. And the smile on the little turtle’s face. And the moment the lights go out. And the double twist ending. And, and, and….If you liked the slightly macabre humor of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back but you haven’t read this, go ahead and remedy that now.
Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer: “I’m grumpy,” declares a little penguin, and it tries a number of solutions to improve its condition, finally stripping off its clothes piece by piece and diving into a nice cold bath. Children (and adults, too!) might find that a bath, clean clothes, and a cup of cocoa are just the thing to soothe a grumpy mood.
Still Stuck by Shinsuke Yoshitake: You’re getting undressed and your shirt gets stuck over your head – it’s happened to everyone, right? It happens to this kid, who definitely does not want assistance from Mom, and decides to accept their new state. In their imagination, they spin out what life will be like with a shirt over their head. Despite the kid’s adaptability (or resignation), Mom does swoop in to move the bedtime process along, but there’s another snag when it’s time to put on pajamas.
There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by Laurel Molk: Poor little Sukie is afraid of everything at the beach, but when beloved toy Chunka Munka is swept out to see, Sukie must find her courage. This is an excellent read-aloud for summer storytimes for all ages – get kids to repeat the titular refrain together – and if you happen to have props with you for this read-aloud (a stuffed lobster, say, or a beach ball) all the better.
The Oboe Goes BOOM BOOM BOOM by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Lian Cho: A band director introduces instruments one by one, but little Felicity just can’t wait to bang on the drums and keeps interrupting – until she’s blown away by the sound of the tuba. There’s actually quite a lot of information in here about different instruments, and the way that Cho translates sound into a visual medium is outstanding.
I Am Not A Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament by Liz Wong: A poor pangolin wants to give a presentation, keeping its cool while confused audience members interrupt, until a penguin arrives to steal the show. One little girl remains for the pangolin’s informative presentation. (See also: The Angry Little Puffin by Timothy Young, which taught me permanently that penguins live “at the bottom of the world” (i.e. Antarctica) while puffins live “at the top of the world.”)
King Baby by Kate Beaton might be funnier for adults than for kids, but kids enjoy it too; it’s one of my go-to recommendations for families who are about to add a sibling. And let’s not forget Beaton’s other picture book, the crowd-pleasing The Princess and the Pony (pony farts feature prominently).
Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty and David Roberts: A cat who definitely does not want a bath scrambles up a family’s to-do list as they rush to tidy before grandma arrives. Clever use of fridge magnet alphabet letters, plenty of pride, and increasingly ridiculous tasks all add to the joyful hilarity.
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins: Pink, overalls-wearing Penelope is nervous about the first day of school, and indeed, it doesn’t go as well as she’d hoped…she discovers that it’s hard to make friends when everyone is afraid you’ll eat them. Penelope learns to exercise self-control with the help of Mrs. Noodleman and a fearless goldfish named Walter.
Jenny Arch 