2016 Caldecott Comment Card
Once the 2016 Caldecott Medals and Honors have been awarded, I want to know what you think. Go ahead and share in the comments. What Caldecott choices are you happy with? Unhappy? What did the committee miss?
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About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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The Book I’m Happiest About is The Last Stop on Market Street
The Book I’m Unhappiest About is Finding Winnie.
The Book they missed is Float.
ditto re Float…
Happiest = Last Stop on Market Street, but Trombone Shorty comes in as a close second.
Unhappiest = not particularly unhappy about any of those choices, although I don’t know Voice of Freedom yet.
Missed = oh, so many… my favorite of the year is Mélanie Watt’s Bug in a Vacuum.
The Book I’m Happiest About Trombone Shorty!!! Whoo. Gorgeous book and story
The Book I’m Unhappiest About Finding Winnie (Good but personally not my choice)
The Book They Missed Was Float (How did they miss this amazing, AMAZING artwork and story?)
The Book Im Happiest about: Voice of Freedom (just read it) and it is beautiful!
The book Im unhappiest about: Finding Winnie: thought it was “average”…will need to reexamine
The Book they missed: My Pen by Christopher Myers with Float a close second.
The book I’m happiest about is The War That Saved My Life. I’m glad it got double recognition.
The book I’m unhappiest about is Last Stop on Market Street for the Newbery. I’m not seeing it.
The book they missed: Float – which I think is really going to become a classic and Circus Mirandus.
Book I’m happiest about: I’m not really happy about any of them.
Book I’m unhappiest about: Newbery “Last Stop on Market Street” I’m more than unhappy. Why would a Newbery author value the award after this? I’m sort of over it.
Book they missed: Float and so many others.
Book I’m Happiest About: Echo being recognized for audio (amazing) and Newbery. I am also happy that graphic novels were again recognized by committees. That makes me happy.
Book I’m Unhappiest About: I am not unhappy with Last Stop winning the Newbery still processing it. I am unhappy that more books did not receive honors. I feel like we had a few other titles that could have been given an honor.
Book They Missed: Float, Goodbye Stranger, and Circus Mirandus
Happiest about: Market Street and Winnie.
Unhappy about: not much. They were solid picks.
What they missed: Float obviously. And my students picked The Bear Ate Your Sandwich in our Mock Caldecott so I would have liked it to win something.
All in all, it was a great year for the Caldecott in my opinion.
*Happiest about: Last Stop on Market Street (although I would have loved it for the Caldecott Medal, and Finding Winnie for a Caldecott Honor; and I am having trouble explaining it’s Newbery win to my younger kids when it wasn’t on their Newbery Radar)
*Unhappy about: not having “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement” in our Library… totally missed that one
*What they missed: Float. I also loved Boats for Papa, and Water is Water and Waiting for Pedro and and and I’ll stop now!
Well done and Thank You to all members of the committee, I would have LOVED to be a fly on the wall.
Happiest about: Waiting, Echo and War That Saved My Life getting honors at least.
Unhappiest about: Market Street. There were so. many. better. books.
What They Missed: In a Village by the Sea, Home, Boats for Papa, Song of Delphine, Water is Water, Fine Dessert…….
Happiest about: Waiting, with its two shiny silvers.
Unhappiest about: I’m just happy – so many wonderful books were honored today.
What They Missed: Float, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, Drum Dream Girl
Happiest about: The War that Saved My Life…it has stayed with me since I read it and I keep going back to it, again and again.
Unhappiest about: Market Street as Newbery Winner. Would’ve been happy with it as an Honor.
What they missed: Orbiting Jupiter. Gary Schmidt’s brilliance is shining with this one.
Orbiting Jupiter sob sob sob Kathy
Happiest about: The War That Saved My Life, thought it would bring some type of medal to its cover after reading it the first time
Unhappiest about: I’m good!!
What they missed: Boats for Papa, In a Village By the Sea, Water is Water
Happiest about: One Stop on Market Street! Bravo committee for thinking differently!. I was sure a picture book would receive a Newbery nod of some sort this year.
Unhappiest about: nothing swell choices all around.
What they missed: I would’ve loved to have seen recognition for Leo, Skunk (Newbery text pick) and Tricky Vic.
I’m happiest about Christian Robinson’s recognization.
I’m unhappiest about getting up at 5am. Sorry, but they are not winning friends by cutting off half the country. This is not the Oscars. And how wrong that all those kids missed out.
They missed “Ballet Cat”. Something was amiss with the Giesel Awards.
Chris, I hear you re timing…even though it is an American Award, there are also people outside of America who follow this time of year closely. I am an Australian living in China teaching at an International school following an American curriculum. For me, the broadcast starts at 9 pm Beijing time…I get to tell my kids all about it at 8 am the following morning, and the excitement is contagious. I suppose some things are worth getting up early /staying up late for.
You know Chris, I hadn’t even thought about that. 🙁 That your side of the country needed to get up so early, and that the kids didn’t get to have live classroom watch parties. Wonder why it’s so early. I agree about the Geisels. Was hoping for Wolfie the Bunny…
Book I’m Happiest About: Last Stop on Market Street!
Book I’m Most Unhappy about: None. Congrats to all!
What They Missed: Challenger Deep… *in my small voice, why?
Book I’m Happiest About: All of them, but I really loved Waiting. I just want to decorate a room in the color palette of that book.
Book I’m Most Unhappy About: I’m unhappy that I missed both Trombone Shorty and Voice of Freedom. My trip to the public library last night remedied that.
What They Missed: Wolfie the Bunny. Zachariah OHora’s name will be announced someday!
Happiest: Last Stop on Market Street. Christian Robinson’s work is so, so strong. Very happy with the honor.
Unhappiest: need to reexamine Voice of Freedom and Finding Winnie. Neither were stand-outs for illustration for me.
They missed: without question, Float. I loved it. Kids loved it. When it didn’t pick up an Honor, I thought for sure it’d get the Medal. Alas, I was wrong.