2017 Caldecott Medal and Honors

Each year the Caldecott Award is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This morning the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of  the American Library Association, awarded the 2017 Caldecott Medal to Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat written and illustrated by Javanka Steptoe.

The Honor books are:

Leave Me Alone illustrated and written by Vera Brosgol

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Freedom in Congo Square illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Do Iz Tak? illustrated and written by Carson Ellis

They All Saw A Cat illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel 

You can read my review here. This book is genius, the Honor is well deserved.

They All Saw A Cat

Since I tutor first graders in reading, I am always looking for books with engaging stories, few words, lots of repetition and large, widely spaced text. They All Saw A Cat  by Brendan Wenzel delivers.

We have one cat and many observers: a child sees a friendly, smiling cat; the dog, a more sinister, unfriendly cat and the mouse a ferocious monster cat. A fish sees the cat through a watery filter, the bee's compound eyes see a pointillist cat and a skunk sees a grey-toned cat. Sometimes what an animal sees is due to perspective: a bird sees a different cat than a flea, worm or a bat. What does the cat see when she looks in a pond?

Each of Brendan Wenzel's illustrations perfectly illustrates what each of the observers see. There is no need for kids to decode words like ferocious, pointillist or sinister. The picture tells the story. There is a good deal of Caldecott buzz about this book right now.

The Sonoma County Library has seven copies. The AR level is 1.9.