A Family Affair

The Caldecott Challenge is becoming a family affair.  As the kiddos read in bed last night, my almost five year old gave a shout out from down the hall, "Mom, did Officer Buckle and Gloria win a Caldecott Medal or an Honor?" Tonight, I was late too story time, and stumbled upon this delightful scene.

Husband and Kiddos reading Olivia. Notice F. making a connection.

The kiddos chose Caldecotts again tonight.  They read Olivia (honor book 2001) and Where the Wild Things Are (winner 1965).  Olivia is a favorite at our house because F. has so much in common with this adorable pig.  I love Olivia too--the only fault I have with this book is the recent commercialization of so many "Olivia" books that are not near the same quality.  As I reread Where the Wild Things Are for what seemed like the millionth time, I was again enamored with Maurice Sendak's illustrations and arrangement of his pictures on the page.  Love. Love. Love. This book (but who doesn't?!)

As I went to take photos of Yo! Yes? and Wee Gillis (our reads last night) I could not find them anywhere.  They along with The Big Snow were in our guest bedroom, as F. had chosen them for quiet time today.  These books really do have lasting value, with illustrations that can help a very beginning reader retell a story.

Wee Gillis by Munroe Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson (you might know these two as the guys that brought you Ferdinand) was surprisingly a fun read. The pictures and story were quite delightful.We liked this book a lot.

My Favorite illustrations and todays quiet time favorites

I had read Yo! Yes? (written and illustrated by Chris Raschka) the Honor book for 1994, many times before, but never outloud.  My perceptions of this book changed dramatically as I read it to my kids and as I watched F. reread it to her brother using the different kinds of punctuation to change her expression.  What a fun story. I am now embarrased to say I didn't like it before.

It's not to late to join the Caldecott Challenge.  My family and I would be excited to see what you are reading.

Caldecott Challenge Is On!

After much thought, I have decided to read the Caldecotts and Honor Books in the order that makes sense for me on any given day (very technical of me I know!)  Today, I wanted to begin, so I chose books I thought my kiddos could sit through at story time before bed. Many of the books I have right now had a lot of text in them (if you are a parent trying to get your kids to bed--this is sometime not the best mix). 

I frequently test read-a-loud books out on my own kids, so they were excited to hear about the Caldecott Challenge and help me out.  We dug out all of our "medal" books and went though the bag that Laura brought over today.  We finally decided on The Big Snow and Madeline to read together.

My favorite illustration in the book--and me and the kids reading:

The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader won the award in 1949. My daughter F. made it through the entire story.  O. was rolling around on the floor midway through.  The pictures are delightful--the text got a bit long--although F. said she enjoyed it. I wonder if the book is better if read silently? F.did ask me if it was fiction or non-fiction so we got to have a good conversation about realistic fiction.

 Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans the Honor book for 1940 was a book I remember enjoying as a child.  As seen in the photos, it was a much bigger hit.  Here is F. "rereading" the story to her younger brother.  The rhyme helped the story move along.  She did ask me what it meant to "Pooh pooh" someone as Madeline did to the tiger, which made me laugh--I guess that isn't a term used too often anymore.

 F's favorite illustrations from Madeline: