GreenBeanTeenQueen

This year my library hosted our first ever Mock Newbery! We hosted it just for staff, but I think it would be great to host one with our patrons someday as well.  We had a shortlist of six titles that we read and discussed. After much discussion and voting, we came up with our winner and two honor books: Winner:  Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Our group was impressed by the lyrical writing of Brown Girl Dreaming and how each poem stood alone but also contributed to the larger story. There were also comments on the characterization, which is very well drawn out. Even when we are introduced to a character with very little detail and background, we still felt that we knew them. Honor Books:  A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd West of the Moon by Margi Preus  The group again loved the well developed characters in A Snicker of Magic. There was lots of discussion about the wonderful wordplay and excellent world building and se...

My library is hosting our second annual Mock Caldecott this month, so I'm sharing my thoughts on the list I put together (we have ten titles we're discussing). Do you think any of these books have a chance at winning a Caldecott in 2014? The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen -Jon Klassen won the Caldecott Medal and a Caldecott Honor last year, so of course this book is on everyone's award radar. I think it's another fantastic outing from Klassen and his use of light and dark really reflect the story well. One of my favorite comments about this book comes from Mr. Hankins, who said the last time he felt this scared reading a book was with There's a Monster at the End of This Book . And that's some high praise! I have to agree with Mr. Hankins' assessment of the tone of this book and the illustrations do a wonderful job of expressing that tone and making the reader have a sense of fear. I like the use of shadows as well. My only down...

My library is hosting our second annual Mock Caldecott this month, so I'm sharing my thoughts on the list I put together (we have ten titles we're discussing). Do you think any of these books have a chance at winning a Caldecott in 2014? Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown - Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is my other top choice for Caldecott this year. ( See my review of Journey by Aaron Becker ) It's graphic design that has an old fashioned feel. It doesn't feel overly designed and has a nice nod to classic illustrations which gives it a great blend of old and new. The illustrations feel crisp and clean and the lines are so symmetrical it's a treat to look at. The illustrations might fall into the gutter (the middle section of the book) but they never look misplaced or disjointed. Instead, the gutter placements work well with the illustrations and they continue to feel very sharp, even when they are full page with a gutter break. The full page illustrations-where we...

My library is hosting our second annual Mock Caldecott this month, so I'm sharing my thoughts on the list I put together (we have ten titles we're discussing). Do you think any of these books have a chance at winning a Caldecott in 2014? Stardines Swim High Across The Sky and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Carin Berger -I love unique books that have a possibility of a Caldecott run. And Carin Berger's diorama's in Stardines are very unique! I love how each page is filled with a random collection of items-it's fun as a reader to look through each one and see what was used to create each illustration. I do think each page looks a bit flat though-I think this is a problem with the way they were photographed. I would expect more of a 3D feel and texture to them and they don't really have that. I also thought the diorama's themselves lacked a bit of texture to them. It's an interesting book with fun illustrations and I'm intereste...

My library is hosting our second annual Mock Caldecott this month, so I'm sharing my thoughts on the list I put together (we have ten titles we're discussing). Do you think any of these books have a chance at winning a Caldecott in 2014? Bluebird by Bob Staake -2013 was quite an interesting year when it came to wordless picture books. Bluebird is one of the standout ones in my opinion. When I first read it earlier in the year, I thought for sure this one was a lock for Caldecott, but going back to it time and again (and committee work is all about re-reading and analyzing!) I'm not so sure about it's chances. I wonder if the graphic design to the book is distinguished enough-the more I read it, the more it looks like graphic design and I feel like the flow of the design isn't there. It feels too produced illustration wise. I like the varying shades of blue throughout, but I also see this as a flaw, because I don't know that it ever really adds anythin...

My library is hosting our second annual Mock Caldecott this month, so I'm sharing my thoughts on the list I put together (we have ten titles we're discussing). Do you think any of these books have a chance at winning a Caldecott in 2014? Locomotive by Brian Floca -Nonfiction is always interesting to me when it comes to possible Caldecott candidates. I guess in my head, when I think picture books, I don't always think of nonfiction, so when something like Locomotive comes along, it surprises me and makes me very excited! This is the type of book that can get kids excited about reading nonfiction and it's one I will hand over to all my train enthusiasts. When you first open the book, you notice the end papers which are filled with all sorts of details like maps and various details, objects and facts about trains. You know exactly what you're in for and you want to examine each page to learn more. The illustrations throughout show everything you can imagine ...