Yes, it's time for the second round of Caldecott "nominations"! As you may recall, in November we put out a call for a first round, asking readers to name their top four choices (so far). Now we are back, asking for THREE more titles. Each member of the Real Committee must nominate seven books; the cumulative list (along with late suggestions of books published in December) will make up what the committee discusses behind those storied closed doors when they meet in January to discuss, discuss, discuss ... and finally choose their winner and honor books. 

Here's the Caldecott manual on this part of the process: 

"The committee then proceeds to discussion ... The merits of each nominated book are discussed. Committee members are reminded that they are comparing books of the year with each other and are not to consider earlier works of any author. Some books may be eliminated from the list during the discussion. No books may be added that were not officially nominated for consideration by the committee members or part of the late suggestions made for books published in December prior to the Midwinter Meeting" [italics ours].

So ... as we are echoing/modeling the Caldecott process, here's your chance to get the books you champion on the virtual table, into the discussion! Nominate three more titles in the comments below.

I'm not too practiced in data analysis, but a quick look at the titles "nominated" here on Calling Caldecott in November shows quite a few books getting multiple mentions. Oge Mora's Saturday leads all comers so far with ten nominations, twice as much as any other book; The Undefeated, Going Down Home with Daddy, and Vroom! each received five. Other books with strong support include River, ¡Vamos!, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, Field Trip to the Moon (wow! lots of books about journeys), and A Stone Sat Still; overall, approximately two dozen (Caldecott eligible) titles were put forward by our readers. The Real Committee members, as they submit their final nominations, will be aware of the support various titles are getting and will have to decide whether to use the clout of their nominations to get different titles into the mix or strengthen the case of books previously nominated by others by nominating those books themselves. It can be tricky!

Enjoy the process. And enjoy the holidays; we will leave this post up through the end of the year. When we return, with more book reviews, it will be January and we will be heading into the home stretch.

Thanks in advance to all who participate. Again, leave your nominations in the comments below.