Did you have a favorite page turn, a wow moment that stood out to you?
Michele: There were a couple. In Brendan Wenzel’s A Stone Sat Still, we come to a multipanel page looking at colors in nature, then suddenly we turn the page to come face to face with the texture of the fur of a moose that is not only depicted in a double-page spread but whose body bleeds off the page. I really like that juxtaposition. I have a similar feeling about Lucy Ruth Cummins’s illustration in Truman when over three double-page spreads I move from seeing the whole room to the whole carpet, to eyeball to eyeball with a large menacing doll on the rug. My kindergarteners went wild over this. Going back to The Undefeated I mentioned earlier, the plain white page accompanying the words “And the ones that didn’t” left me speechless.
Jill: The Undefeated had several “Wow” moments for me. I also was mesmerized by Phillip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead’s Music for Mister Moon. The illustrations are dreamlike, beautiful, and subtly layered, much like I imagine the expressive music emanating from Hank’s cello.
For fun, I chuckle every time I read Bear Came Along and turn to the page when the animals are at the edge of the waterfall. As an avid comics reader, I appreciate LeUyen Pham’s use of panels and fun interplay with the reader to show the movement of the animals along the river.
Are there any graphic novels this year that you think are solid Caldecott contenders?
Michele: It would be a dark horse, but I would not rule out Jen Wang’s Stargazing. The art was so expressive, and moments she chose to break out of panels really set the pacing for me as a reader.
Also, while not about Caldecott, an aside, if I were a YALSA member, I would consider George Takei for an Alex Award for They Call Us Enemy. We should definitely talk more about this book later when we focus on graphic novels.
Jill: I wonder about Pilu of the Woods. This is another book I keep going back and rereading.
Michele: Let’s talk more about Pilu of the Woods. I feel like I missed quite a bit on the first read-through. It took me several pages to understand the bottle of emotions. The reoccurring magnolia blossom was also an element that once I picked up on it, I helped students pick up on, then it dominated discussion of the book. I shared that one with 4th & 5th grade as a read-aloud with the help of a document camera. I guess what I’m saying is that by the 5th read through, I was blown away, but not so much on reading one. Will the committee give it the slow time this fast read deserves?
Jill: That’s the beauty of well done graphic storytelling for me. With every reading and investment by the reader, the story becomes richer and richer.
Any non-fiction Caldecott contenders on your list or books with Siebert potential that also have exceptional art?
Michele: Jerry Pickney outdid himself creating the art for Barry Wittenstein’s A Place to Land. To be honest, I did not think my library needed another MLK book until I opened this one up. Watercolor, collage, pencil work… Jerry threw the kitchen sink into this book, and it is beautiful.
I thought the mapmaking in Jennifer Thermes Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island award-worthy. I know this book already got an Orbis Award, but I’m not sure it’s done on the podium this year. I also was blown away by An Infinite Hope, the memoir of WWII service of Ashley Bryan. Bryan has won so many awards over the years that it would never count his art out. This book includes sketches, paintings, letters, and photography. I know Daniel Minter helped with piece selection. I also feel like there also ought to be a special award for whomever did the page layout work. That could have easily filled a year full time.
Jill: I second A Place to Land. I loved that book so much that it was one of my go-to selections for gifts this year. The Women Who Caught The Babies was a beautiful and fascinating picture book. I learned so much about a topic not often covered for children. An Infinite Hope deserves an entire blog post to itself. I cannot wait to have my students analyze the choices and mixed media when they design their museum exhibits at the end of the year. Incredible story, but the art inspires potential creativity created by the reader.
Do you have a most unusual picture book of the year?
Michele: Who Wet My Pants is hilarious, but it is weird. I sometimes wonder how Zachariah Ohora spends his time that these ideas come to him. The blame game is so elaborate! That Bob Shea would run with this and be so precise in his use of color and placement for the wet spot doesn’t surprise me at all.
My kindergarteners were over the moon for another oddity, Vera Brosgol’s The Little Guys. The creatures are so small that they acorn caps for hats but are capable of mugging a bear for his salmon would also go in my “Who thinks of that?” category.
Jill: I love Vera Brosgols’s work and found The Little Guys charming. This question has me stumped. I’m not sure I have a candidate.
Is there a book that you would be shocked if it is overlooked by all three YMA illustrator committees (Caldecott, Pura Belpre, Coretta Scott King)
Jill: The Undefeated and A Stone Stood Still.
Michele: I second The Undefeated and would add Jerry Pickney’s art in A Place to Land. That said, this year, I think the CSK illustrator award will be at least as exciting as the Caldecott. I also loved The Bell Rang, Going Down Home with Daddy, An Infinite Hope, Hands Up! and New Kid.
Do you have a picture book that you believe deserves some medal love, but you don’t think likely to get it?
Michele: I loved Juana Martinez-Neal’s illustrations for Fry Bread.
I’ve never seen a medal go to a board book, but I truly loved Aaron Becker’s You Are Light. It was so simple, but the cutouts and little bits of plastic felt bright and hopeful and as carefully selected as every element of Journey.
Jill: We need to dedicate an entire post to Fry Bread. I am also a big fan of Guojing’s wordless book, Stormy. She is a very talented illustrator, and the story is heartwarming.
The book that I wish I were able to buy for my oldest son, who was a rabid Elvis fan at five-years-old, is Jonah Winter’s Elvis is King. I have not seen it on many lists, but Red Nose Studio’s illustrations would have been an enormous hit during bedtime read aloud in the Gerber house. The illustrations are fascinating, creative, and beautiful. I keep going back to this book.
Michele: Red Nose Studio is creating innovative illustrations. I liked his work on Garage Barge and Running Away from Home a few years ago too.
Would you like to put out a personal shortlist of your Caldecott predictions?
Michele: The Undefeated, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, Fly! (the committee historically has had a soft spot for wordless texts.), and Truman.
Jill: The Undefeated, Truman, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, and Fry Bread.