My Mock Caldecott Lists

Without further ado....The Short List:

1.  Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Written and illustrated by Peter Brown

Author and Illustrator Peter Brown On His Process from School Library Journal on Vimeo.

Peter Brown's TeachingBooks.net page.
Read my review!

2.  Journey 
Written and illustrated by Aaron Becker

Aaron Becker's TeachingBooks.net page.

3.  Flora and the Flamingo

Written and illustrated by Molly Idle 

Molly Idle's TeachingBooks.net page.

4.  Little Red Writing
Written by Joan Holub and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Melissa Sweet's TeachingBooks.net page.

Read my review!

5.  Building Our House
Written and illustrated by Jonathan Bean

Jonathan Bean's TeachingBooks.net page.

6. Bluebird
Written and illustrated by Bob Staake

Bob Staake's TeachingBooks.net page.

7. Locomotive

Written and illustrated by Brian Floca

8. The Story of Fish and Snail

Written and illustrated by Deborah Freedman

9. The Dark

Written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen

Jon Klassen's TeachingBooks.net page.

10. Inside Outside

Written and illustrated by Lizi Boyd

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long list...the above titles plus
(in no particular order)

A Splash of Red
Brave Girl
Sophie's Squash
The Boy Who Loved Math
Mr. Wuffles
Steam Train, Dream Train
Exclamation Mark
Night Song
Train
Warning: Do Not Open This Book
Hello, My Name is Ruby
Matchbox Diary
The Day the Crayons Quit
The Boy and the Airplane
Daisy Gets Lost
Nelson
Stardines
Mighty Lalouche
Frog Song
Round is a Tortilla
Super Hair-O and the Barber of Doom
Beginners Guide to Running Away from Home
Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?
Red Hat
This is Not a Good Idea
On a Beam of Light
A Long Way Away
Tortoise and the Hare
This is the Rope
Open this Little Book


What are you waiting for? Get Reading!

Little Red Writing

Joan Holub and Melissa Sweet have created an engaging way to introduce and/or remind young (and old) writers about the perils of storytelling.  Little Red Writing is a typical Melissa Sweet production - a beautifully created and rendered book.

I'd like to tell you how much I like this book. How much the verbs and adjectives and conjunctions and adverbs are so totally, amazingly, stupendous. How the funny, exciting, scary, suspenseful story is accompanied by beautiful, rich, engaging, detailed, energetic, illustrations. I'd like to tell you that I learned a lot about grammar and sentence structure and it was all very exciting and very fun!

Thankfully, I did read this book.

Thankfully, I did pick up some storytelling tips.

I equipped myself with the implements for writing...

Once upon a time...

There was a Little Red Pencil.  She was no pushover like some of her other red riding hood story mates.  She was a go-getter, willing and happy to take on the challenges of storytelling.  She attended school with other, themed pencils, such as basketball and birthday. She had a wonderful teacher named Ms. 2.

Little Red Pencil had trouble.  She needed to write a story and writing stories can be perilous.  Things like boring verbs, overly descriptive passages with out-of-control adjectives, carnivorous conjunctions, sloppy sentence structure and inadequate punctuation can destroy a good story.

There was even bigger trouble: The Wolf.   

Luckily, Little Red fixes the problem.  Courageous and quick thinking, this Little Red is a role model for all.  

The End.

~~~~

This book is sure to be a hit with teachers and students alike.   Just opening the cover pulls the reader in. The end papers kick off the action...

of this incredibly punny and exciting story.

Why, thank you, I will!

Danger, humor, excitement, adventure, mystery, suspense and writing advice all in one?  This one's a keeper!

A Splash of Red

"Make a picture for us, Horace!"

I love Jen Bryant's books. Jen Bryant has safely delivered many an important human cargo to the reader and I love Melissa Sweet's illustrations.  Melissa Sweet has captured time and place and the people who inhabit those realms again and again. Together they are amazing.

What's not to love? Nothing.  

I took my book out into the world and what did I notice? 

A splash of red!

There are many great elements to this book about Horace Pippin, an artist who overcame great odds and became an American master painter.

It is beautifully crafted and rendered.  Text and illustrations play off one another and flow one into the next.

Bryant's writing is crisp and clean yet rhythmic and flowing. Events in Pippin's life are presented with the appropriate amount of detail.  Bryant provides context for the reader, I will remember Pippin's birthday for many Februarys to come.  Readers will understand and empathize with Pippin's journey.  His life in West Chester and then Gosham.  His life before and after the war.  The importance of his mother, grandmother and wife, Jennie. There is plenty for a reader to learn here, but those readers wanting more can explore the historical note, author's note, illustrator's note and page of resources for further reading.

Bryant's "Make a picture for us, Horace!" refrain creates a thread to the story and provides a connection to the reader. We all want Horace to make a picture - for them and for us.

Sweet's illustrations sing of the hard yet beautiful life of a person who saw life around him. Her illustrations call the reader to slow down - to look and look again at:

The endpapers that get the story started and finish it off just right.

The rich textures and patterns that tell Pippin's own story.

The perspective that provides a window into his world.

The varied artistic styles that capture the stages in his life.

The color that captures what he saw around him.

This book is a full course of writing and art.  A beautiful tribute to a talented artist.

Both Bryant and Sweet handle with dignity Pippin's life after the war and his struggle to create art once again.  They create compassion and respect for him.  Readers will be calling out, 

"Make a picture for us, Horace!"