Influenza and the Caldecotts

I had such good intentions.

I had big plans.

They included a Winter Booklist, and just maybe a Valentine's Booklist too.   I've had so much to say.  The Caldecott Awards were awarded for goodness sake!

But instead there was this thing called Influenza.  It had the nerve to visit our house twice since Christmas day.  Which adds up to approximately four weeks of missed school, about 57 boxes of kleenex, lots of tears, one missed book deadline and zero blog posts.

But now we're mostly better, the book is finished, and I'm back.  And I still have lots to say.  Phew.

First, the Caldecotts!  Probably most people don't fantasize about them all year long and secretly (or very publicly) root for the winner.  But I do.

From the moment I read Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, I knew that no other picture book would be as deserving.  I declared it The Most Perfect Picture Book Ever Made.  I fell in love with Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen, and their little heroine, Annabelle.  So when the winners were announced, that's all I wanted.  I wanted Extra Yarn to get its due.

And it kind of did.

It was given the prestige of 2013 Caldecott Honor Book.  Though it didn't win the whole schbang, winning the Caldecott Honor is A Big Deal.

Personally I still think Extra Yarn deserved to win the whole schbang.  But I can live with the fact that it didn't.  But only for one reason:

Extra Yarn's illustrator, Jon Klassen, did win the whole schbang for a book that he both authored and illustrated this year.  Klassen's This Is Not My Hat will go down in the books as the winner of the 2013 Caldecott Medal.

What a year for Jon Klassen.

The other Caldecott Honor books were:

Creepy Carrots, illustrated by Peter Brown (written by Aaron Reynolds).

One Cool Friend by (the awesome) David Small (written by Toni Buzzeo).

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. 

Sleep Like a Tiger by Pamela Zagarenski (written by Mary Logue)

Next time you visit your local library or bookstore, you can go with a very worthy list in hand.