Hannah showed me up in her last and final Caldecott post. She was absolutely right. My trash talk lacked a certain grace and Hannah in her wisdom called me on it. She gave us all an enlightening history in talking trash, and while you can chose to believe her retelling of our great leaders or scoff at it, the fact is that I fell short. Often when such missteps happen, it’s easy to see one’s entire opinion as a misstep. In this instance, my Caldecott choices might have been tainted, but lords and ladies of the court I am here to not only plead their case, but also to show you two more delectable contestants and to choose a victor for team Emily.
When we lost Maurice Sendak last year, the world lost a great visionary. Yes, he was crotchety, and yes, he probably didn’t actually like children, but he saw children as people and his books spoke to them, not at them. Where the Wild Things Are
was first published in 1963, but it was still touching children’s lives when my brother came of storybook age in the early 1990’s I seriously used to have this book memorized, and there are still parts I can recite. This book was definitely an outlet for our family and really spoke to my brother, who was constantly telling us he was going to run away to the forest. The drawings are the perfect mix of whimsical with a touch of fright, and show us how easy it is to say one thing, but even harder to actually live with those consequences.
As we have been having this Caldecott Hunger Games, I have noticed that the books that touch me the most are the ones that are written by the illustrator whose art garners the award. This story is no exception. The art and text fit together in a way that will forever affect children and their parents.
Another superb example of this melding of art and story is Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. Much longer than some of it’s fellow Caldecott books, this magical book was one I poured over for hours as a child. The illustrations are so detailed and the story so imaginative. A board game that actually brought things to life? Incredible. We read this before we saw the movie and while the movie was a good time, it took away one of my favorite parts: Van Allsburg’s art. If you haven’t seen this book yet, please come by the store and just take five minutes and read it. So. Good.
And with that said, I have presented my five contestants. The first three were debuted here for those of you who didn’t see it. We will be making our final choices here at the store and presenting a winner on Facebook in a week. If you have any opinion you would like to share, please comment here, on our Twitter @lemuriabooks or on our Facebook page. Personally, I am rooting for Where the Wild Things Are, but we shall see!
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