ALA/ALSC announces Caldecott

by Lolly Robinson
Jan 23, 2012 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
A Ball for Daisy

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka won and the honor books were

Blackout          Me...Jane


Blackout by John Rocco, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith, and Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell.

Did you all listen to the awards live? Robin is in Dallas and will probably call me sometime today. I was here at work with the gals huddled around Cindy's computer.

We'll post an official response to the announcement later, but for now I wanted to spread the word and give you all a place to discuss this. I am very happy to see A Ball for Daisy on the top of this page.  How about you?

Lolly Robinson

Lolly Robinson is a freelance designer and consultant with degrees in studio art and children’s literature. She is the former creative director for The Horn Book, Inc., and has taught children’s literature at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She has served on the Caldecott and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award committees and blogged for Calling Caldecott and Lolly's Classroom on this site.

 

7 COMMENTS
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.
Fill out the form or Login / Register to comment:
(All fields required)

kimu

I was pleased to discover my city's library already had 8 copies of A Ball for Daisy in their collection, even before this announcement. A question for those with more experience reading to children: how do you read a book without words like this to younger children? Do you describe what's going on, or do you just let the child try to sort it out? Asking because when I've read some of the previous wordless winners like The Lion and the Mouse, I struggle with helping my 2 year old connect to the material. For anyone mourning over I Want My Hat Back not making the honors list, check out the new book from Barnett and Klassen, Extra Yarn. I love the illustrations in a way that I didn't in I Want My Hat Back and the story is really fun. I'm a knitter though, so I'm a bit biased on the topic :)

Posted : Jan 24, 2012 03:29

Robin

Kimu, I think that's a great question. Thanks for asking it. I bet there are many answers to your question about reading a wordless book to children. When I shared A BALL FOR DAISY with my students, I had them just watch the pictures like a silent movie the first time. Unless it got nutty, I just let them say what was happening as I turned the page. I think I ended up just picking one child to "narrate" what she saw. Then, we went through it slowly to figure out where our eyes were to go, especially on the spreads where the panels traveled all the way across the gutter. Since we were talking about the Caldecott criteria, we noticed color and line and mood. It was pretty amazing to see what they noticed in the illustrations, especially the long horizontal panels that got across the gutter and show Daisy playing with her ball and the eight square frames showing her trying to shake the ball back to life. My children caught the background color changes and figured they reflected Daisy's mood. If I was reading this as a lap book, I think I would ask the child to tell me what he is seeing. I would probably ask how Daisy is feeling. I would probably tell the story as a narrator would and make it all about Daisy's feelings. But, since I haven't had a toddler in quite a while, I wonder what others do.

Posted : Jan 24, 2012 03:29

Robin

I am home now. It was a wonderful morning of announcements--always emotional from beginning to end. I loved the choices of the committee--and I know how tough it is to make these decisions. I admire and appreciate their hard work. The other truly wonderful thing about going to ALA is seeing all the books that will be published in the coming months. I am pretty tired now and need to get caught up on this and that. For now, here is a lovely interview with Chris Raschka on All Things Considered. http://www.npr.org/2012/01/23/145656652/caldecott-winner-chris-raschka-discusses-his-book?live=1

Posted : Jan 24, 2012 01:12

MotherReader

It's funny, I was just about to argue the case for "Grandpa Green" as the more artistically interesting of the books, but as I scrolled up to check the exact title of "A Ball for Daisy" something changed. Looking at the books together, I can see the youth appeal to "Daisy" jumping off the screen - the colors of the cover, the playfulness of the dog, the loose structure of the artwork. I could come to like this choice.

Posted : Jan 23, 2012 11:13

LInda Baie

It's a great book, and I really liked Me...Jane too, so happy to see it as an honor.

Posted : Jan 23, 2012 04:08

Margie Culver

We had an Ice Day courtesy of Mother Nature so I was able to watch and listen during the podcast here at home. I cheered for each and every one of the titles. They are all on my Mock ballott this year. Congratulations to a distinguished group of people.

Posted : Jan 23, 2012 03:45

View More Comments

RELATED 

CALLING CALDECOTT

The 2025 Robin Smith Picture Book Prize
by Dean Schneider
CALLING CALDECOTT

The 2025 Caldecott Announcement
by Kitty Flynn, Annisha Jeffries, and Adrienne L. Pettinelli
CALLING CALDECOTT

Countdown to Caldecott: Celebrating Conversations and Community
by Kitty Flynn, Annisha Jeffries, and Adrienne L. Pettinelli
CALLING CALDECOTT

Results of the 2025 Calling Caldecott Mock Vote
by Kitty Flynn, Annisha Jeffries, and Adrienne L. Pettinelli
CALLING CALDECOTT

2025 Calling Caldecott Mock Ballot — Now Open!
by Kitty Flynn, Annisha Jeffries, and Adrienne L. Pettinelli
CALLING CALDECOTT

Other picture book awards
by Adrienne L. Pettinelli
More
RECOMMENDED
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?