We’re all excited about Monday's Caldecott and other Youth Media Awards announcements! The YMA presentation will be livestreamed from Phoenix starting at 8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. EST). The Caldecott announcement will come toward the end; here’s a link to the video stream. What a weekend the Committee members have before them — best wishes to them! 

As we’re winding down our season here at Calling Caldecott, we want to thank our community. 

First, our guest contributors here have given us so much to think about and helped us see books we were already impressed with in new ways that made us appreciate them even more. Our sincere thanks to Julie Hakim Azzam, Betsy Bird, Monica de los Reyes, Christina Dorr, Shoshana Flax, Stephanie Ford, Elisa Gall, Marva Anne Hinton, Jonathan Hunt, Shelley Isaacson, Allison Grover Khoury, Megan Dowd Lambert, Cathryn M. Mercier, Nicholl Montgomery, Martha V. Parravano, Julie Roach, Dean Schneider, Scot Smith, and Brian Wilson. 

Second, those of you who commented, emailed, and shared posts have let us know someone is paying attention to our efforts, provided us with additional insights, and even more to consider.

Finally, thanks to Media Source’s market research analyst, Mark Brandt, who creates and monitors the poll for Calling Caldecott's mock vote. Without Mark, the ballot/voting would be very messy. Thank you, Mark, for your time and patience (particularly when you just started at MSI two weeks ago!). Missed the results of that vote? They are here.

As we look forward to Monday's announcements, let’s take a moment to celebrate this community and the collective enthusiasm we share for the art of storytelling and illustration. Whether you’re a librarian, educator, illustrator, or simply a lover of picture books, your voice matters, and we’re so grateful for your contributions. 

Let’s keep the conversation going, even as we wrap up this season, because the love of great picture books never takes a break.