Mock Caldecott 2014 Preview

Each January, the American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." The 2013 winner was Jon Klassen for This Is Not My Hat. Last year's second graders loved it (and so do I). Here is the book trailer:

I've started making my way through some of the best reviewed picture books from the past 8 months. So far, I've winnowed the list down to 12 potential Garden City Mock Caldecott nominees to share with the second graders (and am looking forward to several being published in the fall). As we read them during the second quarter, I'll post titles and related activities. For now, here are the ones with book trailers. They are all available at the public library.

The Dark
Author: Lemony Snicket
Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Exclamation Mark
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrator: Tom Lichtenheld

That Is Not a Good Idea
Mo Willems

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great
Bob Shea