ALA Midwinter has traditionally been the time for the ALSC book award committees to make their choices, but now there is no more Midwinter (here we go, LibLearnX!) and because the committees meet virtually, due to the pandemic, it's not even clear when the committees might be convening to decide on their final roster of recognized titles. But in any case, they will be announced on Monday, January 24 — i.e., a week from today.

Today, meanwhile, we begin our mock vote here on Calling Caldecott. As usual, we will attempt to mimic the actual committee's process by handing you all a ballot from which you must choose three titles, and rank them in order from first to third. The reason for that is that first-place choices (with 4 points) get more points than second- (3 points) and third-place (2 points) choices.

Of course, we are not mimicking the actual process exactly. The Real Committee will discuss and discuss and discuss some more before they vote; they will then take the winnowed-down roster of titles that results from that vote and discuss again; they will then take another vote...and continue to do so until they have a clear first-place winner. (For a complete explanation of the process, see the Caldecott manual.) 

We ask you to remember that here, at Calling Caldecott, we are staging a mock vote. Mock, meaning "not real." It is not predictive. It has no bearing on the real world, or the Real Committee's deliberations and choices. We hold the vote so that our readers can feel part of the process. Yes, it's all about process, not outcome. So, as we ask every year, please refrain from engaging in or promoting ballot stuffing. It's pointless and counterproductive.

So, without further ado, here are the 21 books on this year's ballot:

Born on the Water (Nikkolas Smith)

Bright Star (Yuyi Morales)

Circle Under Berry (Carter Higgins)

Have You Ever Seen a Flower? (Shawn Harris)

Inside Cat (Brendan Wenzel)

It Fell from the Sky (Fan Brothers)

Keeping the City Going (Brian Floca)

Little Witch Hazel (Phoebe Wahl)

Mel Fell (Corey Tabor)

Milo Imagines the World (Christian Robinson)

Nicky & Vera (Peter Sis)

Nina (Christian Robinson)

Off-Limits (Helen Yoon)

The People's Painter (Evan Turk)

The Rock from the Sky (Jon Klassen)

Someone Builds the Dream (Loren Long)

Strollercoaster (Raul the Third)

Survivor Tree (Aaron Becker)

Unspeakable (Floyd Cooper)

Watercress (Jason Chin)

Wishes (Victo Ngai) 

When you have thought and agonized and thought again and made your final three choices, in ranked order, head here for the ballot. 

The ballot will be open from now until noon EST on Wednesday, January 19th. On Thursday we will announce our Calling Caldecott winner and honor books.