Look, I could beat around the bush, but I’m just going to tell you straight: nothing gets the attention of the Caldecott committee like a wordless book. Wordless is Caldecott catnip. “Yeah, yeah, Travis, what do you know?” Well, I know that my 2014 committee gave Honors to not one but three of them — Flora and the Flamingo (Molly Idle), Mr. Wuffles! (David Wiesner), and Journey (Aaron Becker). The Caldecott is an award for illustration, and a wordless book says, “Hey, you’re interested in illustration? Look at me! I’m ALL illustration!” Getting rid of all that pesky text can have the effect of distilling a book’s distinguished qualities.

So it is with all of this in mind that I approach Field Trip to the Moon, John Hare’s debut picture book about an outer space field trip gone awry. It’s wordless, and oh are there some details for the committee to talk about.

Can we first talk about the glorious way the story BEGINS ON THE COVER OF THE DANG BOOK? A class of kids boards an astrobus and (after bright, school bus–yellow endpapers) blasts off through the title and copyright pages, making a soft, perfectly timed lunar touchdown on the opening panoramic spread of the book. That, my friends, is a distinguished example of (from the criteria) “delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures.”

In an era when illustration notes can sometimes read like pretentious wine list descriptions (“elements of collage with hints of pencil and watercolor; notes of Photoshop and barnwood texture; gouache essences”), Hare keeps it simple: acrylic paint. If we’re talking about “appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept” — and we are, because that’s in the Caldecott criteria — this art hits the nail on the head. Humor is not a straight line, and Hare knows it, imbuing everything with a roundness that lets the reader know instantly that this book is not all serious.

But don’t be fooled, because there is plenty of excellence in the execution of this artwork. Of particular note is Hare’s use of light and shading. Both are so effective that the illustrations take on a three-dimensional, almost claymation quality. If the great Aardman animation studio decided to make a picture book, it might look a little like this.

So, while wordless can draw the Caldecott committee in, the book has to give them reason to get excited (see: checking boxes in the criteria). Field Trip to the Moon does this, and here’s hoping it makes its way into the committee discussion.