Our Caldecott Challenge

It's that time of year!  The kidlit world is a-buzz with "best lists", "top lists", a multitude of award predictions...and my library is no different.

As we prepare to begin our Mock Caldecott unit in January, we've closely examined some previous winners of the Caldecott Medal.

I was fortunate to receive a grant to start a special Caldecott section in our library.  While many of these titles are already in circulation in the library, this allows us to have a set (not complete yet) of Caldecott winners that don't circulate and are always available.

I shared with my students about how several people have attempted (and completed successfully) Newbery and Caldecott challenges....reading ALL of them.  I posed a somewhat modified version of the Caldecott Challenge to my third and fourth graders...to read TWENTY between now and the announcement of the next winner on February 2, 2015.

2000-2014  (choose five)

1990-1999 (choose three)

1980-1989 (choose three)

1970-1979 (choose three)

1960-1969 (choose three)

1938-1959 (choose three)

This activity is completely voluntary and will be done outside of regular library class.  I have 112 third and fourth graders participating!  

Students may choose to work by themselves or with partners.

One day last week we had 63 kids come to the library instead of going outside for recess!

Even though we are still in process with this challenge, I asked some of my third grade students to share a favorite that they have read so far.

Abby S. :  Owl Moon

Maris:  The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Stephen:  Kitten's First Full Moon

Michael:  Tuesday

Abby B:   This is Not My Hat 

I asked a few Nerdy Book Club friends to share a Caldecott winning book that they love and one or two sentences about why they love it...(and keeping a description about a book you love to one or two sentences is not easy!)

Cathy Potter (@cppotter):  I love Tuesday by David Wiesner.  I enjoy watching children's faces light up with each turn of the page as giant frogs float through town at night in this wordless picture book. 

Donna Kouri (@akgal68)   I love The Snowy Day because it captures the pure wonder and joy of a snowfall through the eyes of a child. I think those of us that grew up around snow remember the magic that accompanied a snowfall. The Snowy Day captures this.

Travis Jonker (@100scopenotes): I loved Flotsam by David Wiesner. There is no finer example of unbridled imagination than Wiesner’s 2006 wordless story about a boy who finds amazing things inside an old camera washed up on a beach.

Katherine Sokolowski (@katsok): My favorite Caldecott winner is from 1970, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig. I grew up reading this book and whenever I'd ask my mom what was for dinner, she'd quote, "pickled oats, sassafras salad, and timothy compote." This book represents my childhood.

Margie Myers-Culver (@loveofxena): One of many Caldecott books I love is Tuesday by David Wiesner, the 1992 winner. Even thinking about those frogs makes me smile. The first time I read it after it arrived in a book order I could not stop laughing. I grabbed a colleague from the hall. We laughed ourselves silly. Laughter that lasts is the very best thing. The pig packed a punch too.

Feel free to share a Caldecott winning book that you love (and one or two sentences telling why you love it) in the comments below.