And the Winners Are . . .

The Newberry and Caldecott Awards were announced two weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to get a hold of them ever since.  I’m number 217 on the library waiting list for The One and Only Ivan, this year’s Newberry, but I’ve managed to read most of the 2013 Caldecotts.  I thought I’d review the winners, and some books I think should have won.

This year’s Caldecott Medal winner is This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen.  It’s a funny story about a small fish that steals a hat from a much larger fish and expects to get away with it.  It would be clever, except that last year Klassen wrote I Want My Hat back about bear looking for his stolen hat.  In this case, it’s an unfortunate rabbit who took the hat.  I do like that we have to infer what happens to the thieves at the end of both books, but I’m not sure it deserved to win.  It’s not nearly as good as last year’s winner, Chris Raschka’s wordless picture book, A Ball for Daisy. 

The Caldecott Honor Books include the rather strange Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, about a field of carrots that haunt a rabbit until he stops eating them.  The illustrations are comicesque – drawn in black and white with carrot orange detail. (I should point out that the Caldecott is really an award for illustrations, not story, so I can’t complain too much.)  However, Sleep Like a Tiger and Extra Yarn are delightful stories, that I think did deserve the nod.  The first is a bed time tale of a not-so-sleepy little girl, and the second a fairy tale about a never ending box of colorful yarn that brightens up a gray world.  Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a beautiful book about the color green.  With minimal text and cleverly placed cut-outs, she describes the every shade of green, from the jungle green of a tiger’s eyes to the no green of a snowy day.  The last honor book is One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, and I haven’t been able to get my hands on it yet.  But since it’s about a boy who sneaks a penguin home from the aquarium in his backpack, I think I might love it. 

I thought I’d also include some other great picture books that didn’t medal, but could have.  There’s Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, about a boy who’s kite gets stuck in a tree, so he throws his shoe up, but it gets stuck, too, as does a boat, a gorilla and the kitchen sink. I also love Neville by Norton Juster.  In it, Neville discovers an unorthodox way of making friends when his family moves to a new town.  Other fun picture books are Perfect Square, Chopsticks, Zoozical, and The Annoying ABC.  Enjoy!

Caldecott Winners and Some Extras

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen – 2013 Medal Winner

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds – 2013 Honor Book

Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue – 2013 Honor Book

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen – 2013 Honor Book

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger – 2013 Honor Book

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo – 2013 Honor Book

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka – 2012 Medal Winner

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Neville by Norton Juster

Perfect Square by Michael Hall

Zoozical by Judy Sierra

The Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner

Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal