Every year, before the big awards announcement, Calling Caldecott takes a moment to thank our guest bloggers — all the observant and impassioned and articulate aficianados of picture books who make this blog possible. I am immensely grateful for their contributions — especially this year. Thank you to Julie Hakim Azzam, Joel Bangilan, Eti Berland, Betsy Bird, Ericka Brunson-Rochette, Jules Danielson, Christina Dorr, Shoshana Flax, Patrick Gall, Monique Harris, Jonathan Hunt, Shelley Isaacson, Allison Grover Khoury, Linda Klein, Megan Dowd Lambert, Michelle H. Martin, Lisa Meidl, Cathie Mercier, Nicholl Denice Montgomery, Adrienne Pettinelli, Julie Roach, Hill Saxton, Dean Schneider, Scot Smith, Vicky Smith, and Brian Wilson. So many deep dives into individual books; many fascinating conversations, too.

Thank you, too, to the Horn Book's consulting editor Kitty Flynn and managing editor Cynthia Ritter, who provided invaluable behind-the-scenes help.

And, as always, huge thanks to Media Source's Research Manager Laura Girmscheid, who creates the poll for Calling Caldecott's mock vote. Laura is so generous with her time, and we couldn't stage our vote without her. Thank you, Laura!

If you missed the results of that mock vote yesterday, they are here. Thanks to everyone who voted, and to everyone who didn't vote but still followed the blog this fall/winter — and to everyone who continues to care about picture books.