Extreme Caldecott Placement 2024

Yesterday was the day that children’s literature world waits for every year: the #ALAYMA announcements. Having been in this business for a while now, it’s one of my favorite days of the year because so many of my favorite people are being honored for their beautiful work. And my goofy way of celebrating the biggest award in picture books is… EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

For those of you who are new to this tradition (which has become my one and only blogpost of the year), the basic idea is: With such a noteworthy achievement, why stop at placing the Caldecott sticker on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert it inside the book itself? (For those interested in checking out past years, here is exclusive access to the archives: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015… my oh my I’ve been doing this for a long time.)

Now, without further ado, your distinguished 2024 Caldecott Honorees:

IN EVERY LIFE illustrated and written by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster)

JOVITA WORE PANTS: THE STORY OF A MEXICAN FREEDOM FIGHTER, illustrated by Molly Mendoza, written by Aida Salazar (Scholastic)

THERE WAS A PARTY FOR LANGSTON illustrated by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, written by Jason Reynolds (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)

THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS illustrated by Hanna Cha, written by Julie Leung (Henry Holt/Macmillan)

and the winner of this year’s Caldecott Medal, the one and only VASHTI HARRISON!!! (Cheers, friend!)

BIG written and illustrated by Vashti Harrison (Little, Brown)

CONGRAAATS to all of this year’s amazing winners and cheers to the Caldecott committee for selecting such a stellar cohort of picture books!

Extreme Caldecott Placement 2023

It’s January again, which means it’s #ALAYMA season, which also means it’s time for… EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

For those of you who are new to this tradition (which has become my one and only blogpost of the year), the basic idea is: With such a noteworthy achievement, why stop at placing the Caldecott sticker on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert it inside the book itself? (For those interested in checking out past years, here is exclusive access to the archives: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.)

Now, without further ado, your distinguished 2023 Caldecott Honorees:

AIN’T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT illustrated by Jason Griffin, written by Jason Reynolds (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)

BERRY SONG written and illustrated by Michaela Goade (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

CHOOSING BRAVE: HOW MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY AND EMMETT TILL SPARKED THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT illustrated by Janelle Washington, written by Angela Joy (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan)

KNIGHT OWL written and illustrated by Christopher Denise (Christy Ottaviano Books/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

and finally the winner of the 2023 Randolph Caldecott Medal is (drumroll please)…

HOT DOG by Doug Salati (Knopf/Random House)

CONGRATULATIONS to this year’s fantastic awardees—and cheers to the Caldecott Committee for the Herculean task of reading through this year’s full slate of books and narrowing it down to these stellar five! Cheers!

Extreme Caldecott Placement 2022

It’s that time of year again: EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

And I couldn’t be more psyched to celebrate this year’s wonderful Caldecott winners and honorees!

For those of you who are new to this strangely specific and goofy tradition, the basic idea is: With such an incredible honor, why stop at placing the Caldecott sticker on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert it inside the book itself? (For those interested in checking out past years, here is exclusive access to the archives: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.)

Now, without further ado, your distinguished 2022 Caldecott Honorees:

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A FLOWER? written and illustrated by Shawn Harris (Chronicle)

MEL FELL written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor (Balzer + Bray/Harpercollins)

UNSPEAKABLE: THE TULSA RACE MASSACRE illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Carolrhoda/Lerner)

WONDER WALKERS written and illustrated by Micha Archer (Paulsen/Penguin)

and finally, the Caldecott Medal to one of my all-time favorites:

WATERCRESS illustrated by Jason Chin, written by Andrea Wang (Neal Porter/Holiday House)

Confession: I made the above image and then realized that it’s technically ALSO the cover image of the book… so I had to make a bonus one:

Congrats to this year’s amazing Caldecott Cohort (and to the committee who made such great selections)! 👏🏽🍾🥂

Extreme Caldecott Placement 2021

This year’s #ALAYMA21 features a FANTASTIC slate of books… and what better way to celebrate than with my ONLY blogpost of the year? That’s right, it’s that time again: EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

For those of you who are new to this, the basic idea is: With such an incredible honor, why stop at placing the Caldecott sticker on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert it inside the book itself? (For those interested in checking out past years, here is exclusive access to the archives: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.)

Now, without further ado, your distinguished 2021 Caldecott Honorees:

THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO, illustrated Yuko Shimizu, written by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha (Penguin/Putnam)

ME & MAMA by written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera (Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster)

OUTSIDE IN, illustrated by Cindy Derby, written by Deborah Underwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

A PLACE INSIDE OF ME, illustrated by illustrated by Noa Denmon, written by Zetta Elliott (Macmillian/FSG)

and of course, the CALDECOTT MEDAL to the wondrous

WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS, illustrated by Michaela Goade, written by Carole Lindstrom (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)

CONGRATULATIONS to all of this year’s winners and honorees! I hope you’re celebrating wherever you are!

Extreme Caldecott Placement 2020

A few weeks ago, the world of children’s literature gathered for the 2020 ALA Youth Media Award (#ALAYMA20), celebrating the best children’s books of the year. Which means that now it is time for: EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

(Note: I apologize for the delay as I worked out some photoshop kinks… you would think I could be more timely given that this is my only blogpost of the year.)

For those of you who are new to this, the basic idea is: With such an incredible honor, why stop at placing the Caldecott medal on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert the medal inside the book itself? (For those interested in checking out past years, here is exclusive access to the archives: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.)

Now, without further ado, your distinguished 2020 Caldecott Honorees:

BEAR CAME ALONG, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, written by Richard T. Morris

published by Little, Brown and Company

DOUBLE BASS BLUES, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Andrea J. Loney

published by Alfred A. Knopf/Random House

GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY, illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons

Published by Peachtree Publishers

and finally, the Caldecott Medal for the undeniable, the unparalleled…

THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Kwame Alexander

published by Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Congratulations to this year’s winners and honorees (and of course the committee who chose these stellar books)! Until next year!

Extreme Caldecott Placement: 2018 Edition

I'm a little slow this year, but with the 2018 ALA Youth Media Award (#ALAYMA18) in our rearview mirror, it's time for the annual EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

For those of you who are new to this, the basic idea is: With such an incredible honor, why stop at placing the Caldecott medal on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert the medal inside the book itself? (For the historians among you, here are links to past years: 2017, 2016, and 2015.)

First up, your distinguished 2018 Caldecott Honorees:

BIG CAT, LITTLE CAT by Elisha Cooper (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)

CROWN: AN ODE TO THE FRESH CUT by Derrick Barnes, ill. Gordon C. James (Agate/Denene Millner)

h/t to Betsy Bird for already addressing the important question of "Where Do I Fit All My Medals?"

A DIFFERENT POND by Bao Phi, ill. Thi Bui (Capstone)

GRAND CANYON by Jason Chin (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)

and last but not least... (drumroll please)... your 2018 Caldecott Medalist!

WOLF IN THE SNOW by Matthew Cordell (Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends)

and there we have it! Congratulations to all of the 2018 Caldecott winners. And I'll see you back here next year for the next edition of EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT! (cue cheering crowds, fainting masses, etc.)

The Yarn Podcast

This past summer while at NerdCamp, Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp were kind enough to invite me to chat with them on The Yarn Podcast about Let Me Finish! 

I also get to share news about Book #2 and the mystery illustrator... check it out here!

Thanks Travis and Colby!

Extreme Caldecott Placement: 2017 Edition

The ALA Youth Media Award winners were just announced, which means it's time for the 3rd Annual Edition of EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

This started in 2015 and then again in 2016 with a simple idea: why stop at placing the Caldecott medal on the book's cover? With such a huge honor, why not insert the medal into the book itself?

So, without further ado, here is the 2017 edition of  Extreme Caldecott Placement! 

First, the distinguished honorees:

DU IZ TAK? by Carson Ellis

FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (author Carole Boston Weatherford)

LEAVE ME ALONE! by Vera Brosgol

THEY ALL SAW A CAT by Brendan Wenzel

and now (drumroll please) the 2017 Caldecott Medalist:

RADIANT CHILD by Javaka Steptoe

Guest Post: Calling Caldecott

The Horn Book's Calling Caldecott blog is one of my favorites, so I was thrilled when they asked me to do a guest post for them. So here I am, making the case for one of my favorites of the year: THE SOUND OF SILENCE by Katrina Goldsaito and Julia Kuo (Little, Brown).

Interview with Picture Book Builders

Many thanks to the generous and talented Tammi Sauer (author of the lovely Your Alien among many many others) for inviting me onto Picture Book Builders to talk about Let Me Finish! 

Me and the boys reading Your Alien by Tammi Sauer

First Half Recap of 2016 Picture Books (Huffington Post)

In each of the past few years, one book has separated itself from the pack early on (Last Stop on Market Street in 2015 and The Adventures of Beekle in 2014). Now that we’re past the halfway point of this year, another book has once again distinguished itself from the pack: Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales (Little, Brown).

A heartwarming story about a young boy literally trying to make a name for himself in the world, Alexie and Morales have created a touching family portrait that feels both modern and timeless. (I had the pleasure of reviewing the book for the New York Times Book Review, so you can read more here.)

But while Thunder Boy Jr. has taken the world by storm, there are several titles challenging for the honor of Best Picture Book of the Year (for example, as my colleagues Betsy Bird and Travis Jonker said: They All Saw a Cat feels like it was built in the Caldecott laboratory). With that in mind, here’s a quick run through of some of the favorites (in alphabetical order) that I’ve come across during the first half of 2016.

To read the full post, click here.

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who participated in the #LetMeFinish Giveaway!

Honestly, Isabel and I feel like the real winners because we got to collect great pictures of classroom libraries... (cue evil laugh, ominous roll of thunder in the distance).  

But the real winner of the #LetMeFinish Giveaway (chosen at random) is...

Ms. Magnafichi (@MsMagnafichi) and her amazing #ClassroomBookADayWall!

Seriously, look at that beautiful wall.  I can't wait to see it fill up!

CONGRATULATIONS, MS. MAGNAFICHI! We'll be sending you a signed copy of Let Me Finish! along with a classroom's worth of bookswag for your students.  Enjoy!

THANK YOU to everyone else who joined in the fun -- we wish we could send goodies to all of you!

And whether you're still in prep mode or classes have already begun, best of luck for the school year and thank you for all that you do!

Minh & Isabel

#LetMeFinish BACK 2 SCHOOL TEACHER/LIBRARIAN GIVEAWAY!

Last week, superstar educators Pernille Ripp and Jillian Heise were kind enough to include Let Me Finish on their #pb10for10 lists as a book that would be good for the classroom. Of course, as someone who works in education, the thought of Let Me Finish being used with a classroom full of children is a dream come true... and it also gave me an idea:

BACK TO SCHOOL TEACHER/LIBRARIAN GIVEAWAY!  

Example: You can get creative if you want, but any photo of your classroom will do. ;)

This is my first time doing a giveaway, so let's keep it simple:

1. Tweet a picture of your classroom by Wednesday August 24th with the hashtag #LetMeFinish (and tag @bottomshelfbks and @studioroxas to make sure we see it).

And that's it, there is no step two! (I meant it when I said simple.)

We'll select a winner from one of those tweets and that teacher/classroom will get:

• A copy of the Let Me Finish! for your classroom (signed by both me and Isabel); and
• A classroom's worth of fun book swag for your students (bookplates and Big Reader stickers; see below).

So, to all you inspiring educators: as you get ready for another incredible year in the classroom, we salute you! Thank you for all you do and we hope we can add a little spoiler-free fun to your school!

Good luck!

Minh & Isabel

Coming Soon(ish): THE YARN

I can't begin to tell you what it means to see my name next to these luminaries... so surreal and humbling. (As I was typing, I actually wrote "numbling" by mistake, which seems even more appropriate). 

Thank you to Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp for inviting me to tape an episode of The Yarn! I will post a link here once it goes live.

Five Questions over at Avery and Augustine

A big thank you to Michelle over at Avery and Augustine for having me and Isabel over for a chat.  We each cover a lot of ground, including this bit of advice I have for non-illustrator authors:

HAMILTON: now starring Elephant & Piggie

Recently, Broadway fans had to learn how to say goodbye as the original cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit Hamilton left the stage. Those of us in the children's literature world could sympathize because we recently shed a collective tear as Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie series took its curtain call with The Thank You Book.

Well, I like to think that Elephant and Piggie were just looking for a change of pace, a new challenge. So without further ado, I bring you:

HAMILTON starring Elephant & Piggie

Of course, tickets are nearly impossible to get, but luckily we have an exclusive sneak peek at a few musical numbers from the show. ENJOY!

ALEXANDER HAMILTON

AARON BURR, SIR

A WINTER'S BALL

GUNS AND SHIPS

(Note: If you're into this kind of thing, you might want to check out Pigeon's off-Broadway performance in Shakespeare's Hamlet.)

Let Me Finish gets the This Picture Book Life Treatment!

A big thank you to the hyper-talented Danielle Davis for featuring Let Me Finish on her site and coming up with this fantastic craft.  AMAZING.  Check out her full post here.

A New Home Bottom Shelf Books

I'm trying to consolidate stuff onto this website, but click here for old Bottom Shelf Books posts!

Diving into the Podcast circuit

While I'm playing catchup on the blog, I have to admit something: one of the biggest surprises of my adult life is that not only do I kind of enjoy doing interviews, the sound of my own voice has not killed me! (Seriously, I was totally convinced that it would.)

It helps when you have such fantastic interviewers or co-hosts. Over the last couple months, I've had the chance to do two podcasts and they were both a lot of fun.

First I got to visit my old Book Riot stomping grounds and co-host and episode the Dear Book Nerd podcast where Rita Meade and I answer bookish questions and stumble our way into literary cliches. 

After that, Isabel and I had the pleasure of joining Matthew Winner (one of the nicest people in kidlit) on his All the Wonders Podcast. I point people to Matthew's work all the time and describe it as Inside the Actor's Studio for kidlit creators, so it was a huge (and surreal) honor to finally join him for an episode. 

A huge thanks to both Rita and Matthew for being such gracious hosts and helping me inoculate myself against the sound of my own voice... I am forever in your debt!