Caldecott Hopefuls: This Moose Belongs to Me

My Caldecott Hopefuls are picture books I like a lot, for various and idiosyncratic reasons, and not necessarily ones I think will win the award (although one can hope). Here's what I love about This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel, 2012): the contrast between the grandeur and solemnity of the landscape backgrounds (many of them reprinted from paintings by 20th century American artist Alexander Dzigurski) and, well, Wilfred and his moose (as seen in the image above, which wraps around the covers of the book). Now that I think of it, this style of illustration--Jeffers's artistic borrowing--is especially appropriate to a story about ownership (see Caldecott criteria 1.c). Does this moose belong to me?

According to the copyright page, "the art for this book was made from a mishmash of oil painting onto old linotype and painted landscapes, and a bit of technical wizardry thrown into the mix here and there." In case you want to try this at home (yes, you do), Oliver Jeffers has helpfully made a video called How to Draw a Moose. We didn't have any landscape paintings lying around, so we drew our moose (meese? mice?) onto pages ripped from old National Geographics instead. Kind of like this:

Except at Macchu Picchu.

Thank you, David Levithan

Last night I read Every Day by David Levithan (Knopf, 2012). It's the sort of book I want everyone I know to read, so I can talk about it without giving anything away. Starting with the premise: Every day A wakes up in a different body. Til then, here's Day 6009:

Today I'm a boy named AJ. He has diabetes, so I have a whole other layer of concerns on top of my usual ones. I've been diabetic a couple of times, and the first time was harrowing. Not because diabetes isn't controllable, but because I had to rely on the body's memories to tell me what to look out for, and how to manage it.... Now I feel I can handle it, but I am very attentive to what the body is telling me, much more so than I usually am. (166)

I've read many (many) books, but this is the first time I've spontaneously encountered a person with Type 1 diabetes in one: the prevalence appears to be lower than in the general population. Which is surprising, given that Type 1 is most often diagnosed in children and young adults. Case in point: my son Leo, who was diagnosed at age 11, a year ago this month.

Thankfully, I think Levithan gets it right. Diabetes adds another layer of concern to whatever else--a math test, a crush, a soccer game, lunch--might be happening on any given day. It demands a certain, constant level of attention to the body that most of us rarely require. It's the first thing A thinks about that morning.

But the rest of the day, as written, is not about diabetes. AJ is also a regular kid: "It's a relief, in many ways, to be a guy who doesn't mind riding the bus, who has friends waiting for him when he gets on, who doesn't have to deal with anything more troubling than the fact that he ate breakfast and is still hungry." He even eats french fries for lunch. Leo would love that. I did.

Mini Mock Caldecott

I'm thinking about holding a Mini Mock Caldecott for some of my daughter's third-grade friends at my house later this month. I know Milly would be interested (for my sake, if nothing else), but I'm not sure about anyone else. Maybe it will have to be a Micro-Mini Mock Caldecott?

If I do follow through on this (and writing about it here should help), I'll have to limit the number of books we look at together to about five. I'd like to have time for reading, discussion (of the Caldecott criteria and voting process as well as of the books themselves), and hands-on exploration of some artistic media. And, of course, voting! Here are the books I'm considering:

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook).

Homer by Elisha Cooper (Greenwillow).

Oh No! by Candace Fleming; illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Shwartz and Wade).

Step Gently Out by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder (Candlewick).

Unspoken by Henry Cole (Scholastic).

I chose these based in part on the variety of media: acrylic and oil pastel, watercolor, relief printing, photography, and pencil, respectively. But looking at my list, I wonder if it doesn't need a funny book, too--maybe Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs as retold by Mo Willems (Balzer + Bray)?

It would be lovely if at least one of the books we look at were to be recognized by the actual Caldecott committee: being shut out entirely is one of the risks of limiting the list to only 5, although it could happen with a list of 20. Maybe we should meet again after the winner is announced on January 28--assuming we meet in the first place!

Cybils Reading Challenge

Every year I try to read at least one new book from each of the Cybils shortlists (with the exception of middle grade science fiction and fantasy, since I've read all of those). It's a great way to stretch as a reader, especially for those of us who tend to read and review the same sorts of things the rest of the year. Here's my reading list, in order by category:

Book apps. Ack! I don't own a book app-compatible device, but if I did, I would choose Dragon Brush or The Voyage of Ulysses.

Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books. I've read all but one of the short chapter books: Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot by Anna Bradford (Atheneum). 

Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy. Our panel's list! I wrote the blurb for the delightful Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbet (Harper) and will definitely have more to say about it here.

Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. David Levithan's Every Day (Knopf) was already on my hold list. I might have to reread Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Random House), too--it's one of my favorites.

Fiction Picture Books. Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford; illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (Carolrhoda).

Graphic Novels. Historically, this has not been my favorite category, but I found lots to love on the Elementary/Middle Grade shortlist. I'm going with Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado (First Second). It was nominated by Charlotte, so I'm sure to like it.

Middle Grade Fiction. On the other hand, this category's shortlist was less appealling (to me personally; someone else might love every one of these books). I chose Almost Home by Joan Bauer (Viking) from among the finalists I haven't read, mostly because of the puppy on the cover. Unless giving Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb) a more careful read counts?

Nonfiction for Tweens and Teens. Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from the War by Marsha Skrypuch (Pajama Press).

Nonfiction Picture Books. Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman (Nancy Paulsen). I like Kalman's work, and that is a gorgeous cover.

Poetry. National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar! compiled by J. Patrick Lewis (National Geographic Children's Books). This one is already on my shelf; I checked it out for Milly, my resident animal-lover.

Young Adult (whew). The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis (Amulet). Translated from the German.

There are a couple more categories than there were back when I started the Cybils Reading Challenge, but reading even one new book from a different category is worth doing, I think. This time I'm hoping to get to all of them.