Your Community: Librarians choose Mock Caldecott Medal Winners
In February, Johnson County Library brought together librarians and youth specialists from across the metro area to choose their favorite books for the mock Caldecott book award. The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the most-distinguished American picture book for children by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
Childhood Memories Recalled
For area librarians, the mock Caldecott is an opportunity to practice critical evaluation skills and to expand their collective knowledge of children’s literature. Preparation for the Mock Caldecott began months prior with librarians evaluating and nominating picture books published in 2017. Organizers shared the list of titles across the metro area. With some titles in the running for other awards and other titles in high demand, librarians scrambled to get their hands on all the nominations before the meeting.
Finalizing the Winners
From character diversity to the arrangement of artistic elements in the book, librarians evaluated each book from cover to cover. Naphtali Faris, Mid-Continent Public Library’s early literacy coordinator and one of the members of the official Caldecott Medal committee, also attended Johnson County Library’s mock event. Naphtali eagerly took notes on the conversation to bring back to the official award committee.
After a two-hours of intense discussion and rounds of voting, Johnson County Library’s Mock Caldecott group chose Dan Santat’s After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again as the winner with honors going to Wolf in the Snow, Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut and Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters.
Official winners for the Caldecott Medal were announced Monday, February 12, at the American Library Association Conference.
Johnson County Library – Nurturing the Community’s Collective Wisdom