First the Egg

Here is today's actual post. Wednesday night I'm planning to attend a Mock Caldecott discussion. I mentioned the Caldecott before, and I shouldn't take it for granted that everyone knows what that is. It's those gold and silver medals you see on kid's books. Each year a panel of librarians and educators choose the book they feel had the most distinguished illustrations. They may also pick a few more honor books (the silver medals). The prize is announced in late January. Here's a link to the American Library Association website about Caldecotts:

http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.htm

Some libraries will hold mock Caldecotts before the actual prize is announced. Organizers choose a few books they feel are contenders, everybody reads them, they get together to discuss them, and they choose their favorite. Google 'mock caldecott' and perhaps your state name to see if there's one in your area. There are also Mock Newberys. That's the award for children's novels.

Patty, Maya and I looked through all but two of the contenders last night and picked out our favorites. Our top choice is First the Egg, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. This is a very slight book with a clever twist and rich, dark, thick colors. Each two-page sequence shows a transition, such as "First the EGG then the CHICKEN". The clever part is that there is a hole on each page where the color comes through from either the previous or next page to make the image. For example, the green of the tadpole amid a watery blue is part of the frog on the next page. Look for the eyes on the tadpole, the caterpillar, and the chicken.

We'll talk about our runner-up tomorrow. Good night.