Thursday, January 22, 2009

Caldecott speculation

The two most prestigious awards in children's publishing are the Newbery (given to an author for excellence in writing, almost always a novel) and the Caldecott (given to an artist for excellence in illustration, almost always a traditional picture book).

For several months, librarians, bloggers, and assorted others have been posting speculative lists about who could win these awards. The American Library Association gives the awards and will announce the actual recipients on Monday, January 26.

One of the speculators, Scripps Howard News Service, broke its lists into "top contenders" and "other contenders." With regard to the Caldecott, Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (smashingly illustrated by Ross MacDonald) made the second list.

While I am far from a defeatist, the competition is exceptional and, based on the top contenders on the majority of the lists, I know we won't cinch it. However, it is an honor to be speculatively nominated!

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