2018 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 2018 Caldecott Medal to Wolf in the Snow, written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell.

An almost wordless book, Wolf in the Snow tells a compelling story about a girl who finds a lost wolf cub and returns him to his family. The wolves return the favor when the girl, exhausted by her journey lays down for a nap in the cold snow. The Sonoma County Library has five copies.

The Honors were awarded to:

Big Cat, little cat written and illustrated by Elisha Cooper.

 Big Cat, little cat reminds me so much of the relationship between two of my dogs, Piper and Gracie; it could be their story. Warning: you could shed a tear at the ending, I did. The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies.

Crown, An Ode to the Fresh Cut illustrated by Gordon C. James and written by Derrick Barnes.

Each award has its own committee that reads and follows books published in the category the award honors, Crown, An Ode to the Fresh Cut also won a Newbery Honor and both the Coretta Scott King author and illustrator Honors. The Sonoma County Library has six copies.

A Different Pond illustrated by Thi Bui and written by Bao Phi.

A true  father/son fishing story that takes place in my home town, Minneapolis, about the struggles of the past in Vietnam and the present in the early eighties Minnesota. The Sonoma County Library has five copies. 

Grand Canyon illustrated and written by Jason Chin.

A father and daughter explore the Grand Canyon's geology, animal and plant life in both the past and present. I am a big geology geek (thanks Uncle Peter and Cousin Mike) so I especially love the maps and back matter that goes further into the formation story. The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies.

Happy National Dog Day

It is no secret that this blog likes dogs, one of the most accessed posts is Dogs at the Book Fair. Over the years we have accumulated quite a collection of books about dogs and even one that is narrated by a dog.

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Caldecott Honor recipient, Christian Robinson, features two dog families who meet in the park, a family of poodles who have a French bulldog member and a family of French bulldogs who have a poodle member. Clearly, there has been a mistake. A switch is made, can you guess how it turns out? The book is worth reading if only to read the the girl poodle names out loud: Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo and Ooh-La-La in your very best French accent. The Sonoma County Library has nine copies and the AR is 2.8.

I'm My Own Dog is written and illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner, David Ezra Stein. Our hero declares that, "I'm my own dog. No one owns me. I own myself." He takes care of everything he needs except for a little place on his back that needs a scratch that he can't reach.  A little guy scratches his back then follows him home. What is a dog to do but let him stay. He trains the little guy and soon they become best friends. The Sonoma County Library has eight copies and the AR is 1.5.

 Mrs. Birdhead has had it with Bobo's bad behavior in How To Be A Good Dog  by Gail Page. She sends him to the dog house. But Cat misses Bobo. Armed with a dog training manual, Cat  teaches Bobo to shake, fetch, heel, lie down, roll over and stay. All goes well until Mrs. Birdhead comes home from the grocery store. How does Bobo get back in her good graces? The Sonoma County Library has one copy and the AR is 1.4.

Homer by Elisha Cooper is a celebration of old dogs. Homer's family is at the beach house. does he want to play chase with the other dogs? No, sitting on the porch is fine. He also declines to explore the field, go to the beach and swim in the waves. Eventually everyone comes back and joins him on the porch and shares their adventures. Does he need anything? No he has everything he needs, he has his family. We have an old dog much like Homer, this story rings true. The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies and the AR is 1.8.

Percy loves puddles of all kinds but the one he loves most of all does not love him back because it is occupied by Mama Pig and her piglets. A big storm comes and a tree falls in the perfect puddle scattering Mama and her piglets. One is missing. Where could she be? Percy finds her and now the perfect puddle loves him back. The rhyming in this book is a great vocabulary builder.
Sonoma County Library has one copy and the AR is 2.4.

 A few more dog books reviewed over the years:

An easy reader, A Dog Is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan.

Atticus, the aforementioned dog narrator knows what is going on, his co-narrator, Ben, has no clue in Road Trip by Gary and Jim Paulsen.

Pug and Other Animal Poetry by Valerie Worth and illustrated by Stephan Jenkins is a collection of eighteen short poems about animal behavior.

Since National Dog Day is a celebration of rescue, it is only fitting that Trouper by Meg Kearney is included.

One more link from Brightly, 21 Woof-tastic Children's Books About Dogs. Enjoy!