Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

Keeping the City Going by Brian Floca




What's Inside a Flower?: And Other Questions about Science & Nature by Rachel Ignotofsky




The Museum of Everything by Lynne Rae Perkins




Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen



October is a wonderful month to curl up with a good book. What did you think of these?

Keeping the City Going is one of my top favorite choices for winning a 2022 Caldecott medal. It is a heartfelt work based on Floca's observations of New York during the early pandemic days. The book is a wonderful tribute to the essential workers. I overheard a hospital worker tell Mr. Floca at a recent book signing how much the book meant to her. For essential workers and most New Yorkers, this title is very personal to us. Almost like a journal with drawings. New York was hit so hard with the pandemic. Amid all the fear and uncertainty, there were heroes out there. A lot of them. The doctors, nurses, service people in so many different fields, showed up and performed their duties so the rest of us would be safe. Brian Floca conveys this very well. He even notes how at 7pm we would make noise outside our houses and apartment windows and balconies to show appreciation for the hospital workers. Every person, vehicle, you name it, is rendered meticulously in ink, watercolor, goache and acryclic. I truly love Keeping the City Going. It is a timely, remarkable work.

What's Inside a Flower is a beautiful, informative work. It has a chance at winning a Sibert award. I don't think it will win a Caldecott.

I love the Survivor Tree. I also really loved This Very Tree by Sean Rubin. They are both beautiful, beautiful works commemorating the revival of the Callery Pear Tree that was nearly destroyed at the Twin Towers on September 11, twenty years ago. Although possible, I don't see two books featuring this almost sacred tree winning a Caldecott in the same year. Caldecott winner Aaron Becker has done a tremendous job with Survivor Tree. It is an amazing art accomplishment. I do think children will like This Very Tree more. So do I. The award is for artistic merit however. Both titles are Caldecott worthy, It will be a tough call for judges on this one.

The Museum of Everything is a really cool, imaginative book. So much to pour over and think about. Definitely a book children will love. It would be terrific if it won a Caldecott.

Keep the City Going
I liked the sentiment, and I liked the illustrations, especially all the detail Floca put into the vehicles and buildings. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It may get some Caldecott love because of the current events theme; but I have liked other books better.

The Museum of Everything
I found this book to be very odd, but also very creative. I loved the collage illustrations and paintings, some of which have ghostly images drawn over them. A few objects appear more than once: the paper bush in the bush garden appears on the windowsill collection of small things; the door on the title page is the same as the door at the end; and the chair in which a child sits examining a seashell is the same chair as in the birthday party diorama. It may be Caldecott material just because it is so unique and unusual.

The Museum of Everything- The story begins, “When the world gets too bug and too loud and too busy, I like to look at little pieces of it, one at a time.” The author ends the story by saying these little pieces all fit together, like the biggest puzzle ever or like notes to a song or like a museum of everything. This book is a visual exploration of what makes our world special. The author collects, compares, and questions what is there to see, if we will slow down and look. The author / illustrator used cut and / or folded paper, sand, stones, twigs, wood, moss, wool, foamcore board, fabric, embroidery thread, modeling clay, lights, sculptures, and many other odds and ends to illustrate this story. The pictures tell a powerful story! Caldecott worthy? YES!

Keep the City Going - Brian Floca writes and illustrates an excellent documentary in poetic prose fashion, honoring the everyday heroes keeping a city operational during the Covid Pandemic of 2020. Though this is a look at New York City, the story resonates across the world the same. A detailed documentary (both in words and illustrations) such as this will be a great story to talk about, as we look back at a difficult year for all. Could garner conversation of Caldecott as a tribute to this global issue of 2020.

What's Inside a Flower - Everything you would want to know about how plants and flowers develop! Excellent science book for K - 6 program. The illustrations are bright, cheerful, and colorful! A great informational book...Sibert award / honor!

Survivor Tree - The survivor tree that survived the 9/11 attack was a Callery Pear tree. This book tells its remarkable story! The art work is done in muted tones of every color on the color wheel. Yet on the pages of the 9/11 disaster, there is a glimpse of bright color, maybe suggesting hope, resiliency, and regrowth.

Readers might like to compare the two Survivor Tree picture books from this year's crop of good literature for children. Both books are incredible. Anytime a book about the resiliency of trees is written, it is outstanding! I believe it is easy to compare oneself to a tree with its roots going deep, the trunk growing taller and stronger over time, and the branches reaching out!

What's Inside a Flower
Excellent science book for pre-school children and early primary students. Lots of colorful, busy illustrations of different flowers; with info on the parts of a flower, pollinators and pollination, and how a flower makes seeds. Includes a bibliography. If it doesn't get a Caldecott, it should at least get a Sibert award or honor.

Survivor Tree
This is a beautiful telling of the 9/11 Survivor Tree’s story. The vertical book orientation accentuates the tree’s shape as well as that of the towers. The illustrations that include below-ground cross-sections depicting roots imply strength. The playful children and warm red tones are comforting as compared with the page of “blackened remains”. The grainy thick paper also enhances the theme of nature’s strength. However, most of the illustrations feel static and freeze-framed. I think this book could be a contender but other titles this year are more dynamic and distinguished.

I enjoyed all of these titles, but Survivor Tree, with its uplifting, lyrical text and gorgeous illustrations, and The Museum of Everything, with its quirky imaginings, both verbal and visual, stood out for me most. Yes, I know that Museum is probably a long shot for any award because it is so strange, but I know my kids would have loved it for making them think and wonder and probably want to start their own museum, so I do applaud this picture book for its provocative inventiveness. Survivor Tree has an appropriately bittersweet feel to it, and I think others are right that this year of the 20th anniversary of the tragedy may sweep it or its counterpart, This Very Tree, to an award; I liked both books, but I think I like this one a little more, primarily because of the illustrations, which both convey the passage of time and also evoke such a range of emotions, including despair, hope, connection, renewal, and peace.