Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

Following Papa's Song by Gianna Marino

Breathe: with audio recording by Scott Magoon

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Daly

What did you think of these contenders for the 2015 Caldecott?

Elizabeth Bird posted Three Bears in a Boat as one of her Caldecott predictions/contenders this year.

http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production...

Along with Firefly July A Year of Very Short Poems, Grandfather Gandhi, and Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons

It's always interesting to see her predictions.

I absolutely love Three Bears in a Boat. Magnificent, detailed illustrations and a very strong story. Perfect.

Got Breathe from my library today. I think I'll be adding it to the storytime shelf, but I'm not certain it's as strong of a contender as some of the other books we've seen this year. The illustrations are incredibly sharp and I think the use of color is quite good, though I'm not certain that will be enough for those who prefer a strongly story-driven book. My favorite spreads are "Dive Down Deep" and "Explore" with the sunken ship, the use of light in that illustration is particularly exciting.

I am still waiting for Emily's Blue Period to come in to our library. While the other three books had some pretty illustrations, the stories weren't strong enough to lift them to the next level for me.
Three Bears in a Boat has so much buzz, that I may have gone in with high expectations. The last part of the book was extremely reminiscent of Toy Boat (which I felt was totally overlooked a few years back). There are even a few spreads that are almost exactly the same. I did, however, really like the ending line.

Three Bears in a Boat really didn't create an emotional response from me. It was a typical children's book. One I would borrow from the library but not purchase.

can't wait to check out some of your recommendations! how many of you are librarians? teachers?? authors??? illustrators????

I'm an elementary school librarian.
I have often been disappointed in some of the winners.
The committee seems often out of touch with how children see the books vs the way they think the way the kids should be seeing the book.
I know what my kids like and what they are drawn to.

Interesting comment, Caren! Certainly, kidlit, like any art is subjective. But there do seem to be some head-scratchers sometimes and always deserving books that are overlooked. Those awards (most any award!) are nice acknowledgements for the authors/illustrators/publishers but an award does not a good book make! I think that's where you children's librarians can be so beneficial by pumping the tires of lesser known, deserving books! Unfortunately, there will always be a percentage who only take out and only buy books that win awards. It is fun to imagine who might take home the awards though. Predicting it can probably be a sobering experience but we can still trumpet the books we believe ought to be there!

Caren, have you heard of the Cybils awards? You can nominate your favorite books at Cybils. I love their selections and have always relied on submissions to find some gems! (www.cybils.com)

Re: Three Bears in a Boat
The beautiful watercolor and ink illustrations fully capture this adventurous quest for a replacement blue shell for Mother Bear's mantel. I especially liked the illustration that contrasted the small boat with the huge whales; the illustration of the small boat alone in the huge ocean, sailing into the light; and the one of the small boat in the huge thunderstorm. The final end papers show a simple map of their journey. IMHO, I believe this book fits the criteria for the Caldecott award for 2015.

Re: Emily's Blue Period
I thought the story was very moving. I liked the pencil, watercolor, and digital collage illustrations, but they are not my favorite of the books this month. For one thing, I am NOT a Picasso fan. But I very much liked Emily's heart collage. I did think the illustration style fit the story well; and the illustrator, Lisa Brown, was generous with the use of blue in the chapter "Blue." One thing I found interesting--the family cat appears in many of the home illustrations, but not in Emily's heart collage. I thought that was strange.

Re: Breathe
I really liked the digital illustrations in this book, but I agree with Kelly above, that I don't think this is a contender for a Caldecott. I also liked the dive deep scene, where one has to turn the book on end to fully appreciate the deepness of the dive. The illustrations did carry most of the book, as words were very sparsely used. I found the illustrations humorous and sweet, and will probably use the book in story time.

Re: Following Papa's Song
I really loved the gouache and gum arabic illustrations in this lovely book: the changing colors of the ocean, the extreme close-ups of the whales, and especially the excellent silhouette of the whales. The textured watercolor paper upon which the illustrations are painted make for very interesting backgrounds. The story is very sweet and heart-warming, but not very original. However, the illustrations do a masterful job of capturing all the action and the emotions of the whale characters.

The illustrations in Following Papa's Song are enchanting. For me the storyline is weak, and it does little to compel me to continue reading. With that said the text is simple enough that a newer reader could tackle most of the text. Will I purchase it for my school library? Probably not.

Breathe--The digital art in Breathe is lovely. The different shades of blue and then the pop of color on each page carry us through the story. I did read this story more than once and it can take on different meanings...adventure and fun, but also exploring and finding alternatives. The copy I have does have gutters that do not match throughout the book. This is also another simple text this year that young kiddos can read.

Three Bears and a Boat--A story where the children (the bears) are taking responsibility for their mistake, how refreshing! There are some wonderful spreads in this book..the whales, and boat sailing on the subsequent pages. The copy I had also had gutter issues. I enjoyed Soman's illustrations illustrations and the message of the story, but I don't think it's Caldecott worthy.

Emily's Blue Period--A clever combination of feelings and art. The story will resonate with children who have recently divorced parents or go between households. While I enjoyed the art and the storyline, the book does not strike me as a Caldecott contender.

I finally got Emily's Blue Period from our library. I can't recall ever seeing a picture book tackle so many topics: divorce, Picasso biography, art techniques, sibling relationships... I think this would have been more satisfying and appropriate as an Early Chapter book, or could have been pared down to a more singular focus for the picture book. Besides the problems I had with the format of the book, I didn't find the illustrations to be that distinguished. I liked the spread of the neighborhood showing Mom's house and Dad's house best. Lastly, I didn't love the ending.

Jenni wrote: "I finally got Emily's Blue Period from our library. I can't recall ever seeing a picture book tackle so many topics: divorce, Picasso biography, art techniques, sibling relationships... I think ..."

I hadn't thought about it before but I'm inclined to agree with you! On my first reading it struck me as a little strange that the book was divided into chapters; if each one were more fleshed out it might be more fitting for the nuanced subject matter.