I taught two sections of my graduate course on the picture book at Simmons College this year, one at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, and one at Simmons College’s main campus in Boston. We wrapped up our course with Mock Caldecott debates, which culminated in the following choices:

Medal: They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

Four Honor Books:

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, illustrated by Rafael López

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen

 

Medal: Before Morning by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes

Two Honor Books:

The Storyteller by Evan Turk

Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

 

 

 

 

 

I’m very proud of my students’ work this semester, and I think they’ve made some excellent picks. I like each and every one of these books.

BUT! I would like to see more women illustrators represented in these selections, and I want to close this post by specifically highlighting Yuyi Morales’s outstanding illustrations in Sherman Alexie’s picture book, Thunder Boy, Jr., which is my top pick for Caldecott gold this year (though there are several other titles I’d be very happy to see win, too).

I won’t be at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta in January when the Caldecott Committee announces its pick, but I will be watching the live-stream of the announcement on Monday January 23, 2017.

What are your picks this year?