Monday was a very big day in the world of children’s literature. Monday morning, the Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC) announced their annual award winners for outstanding children’s books published in 2018. This is like the Academy Awards of children’s literature. A complete listing of the award winners can be found on the ALSC website
One of the awards announced today was the 2019 Caldecott award. This award is of great interest to our 3rd and 4th grade classes as we just completed a three week Mock Caldecott lesson where we spent each library and art class evaluating the art found in numerous children’s picture books published during 2018. Ms. Taubansee and I generated a list of 12 books that were critically acclaimed and then presented them to our students. Ms. Taubansee even had the students create artwork inspired by the books. Last week our students voted for their favorite picture books and below are their results.
An added experience was that on Monday the students gathered in the new library to watch the press conference live from Seattle. We all waited with baited breath to find out what book would win the Caldecott medal. The SFX 4th place winner Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall was the 2019 recipient of the Caldecott medal so our students have a wonderful eye for great artwork and they were in sync with the national award committee.
Be sure to ask your 3rd or 4th grader about the twelve books we evaluated. They are wonderful and thoughtful critics who brought great insight into the whole process.
Mrs. Sawyer, School Librarian
SFX 1st place winner
SFX 2nd place winner
SFX 3rd place winner
SFX 4th place winner
SFX 5th place winner
