It’s that time of year again: 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: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and the original post in 2015)

Now, without further ado, your distinguished 2026 Caldecott Honorees:

EVERY MONDAY MABEL by Jashar Awan (Simon & Schuster)

OUR LAKE by Angie Kang (Penguin/Kokila)

STALACTITE & STALAGMITE: A Big Tale from a Little Cave by Drew Beckmeyer (Simon & Schuster/Antheneum)

SUNDUST by Zeke Peña (Penguin/Kokila)

…and finally, the winner of the 2026 CALDECOTT MEDAL:

FIREWORKS illustrated by Cátia Chien, words by Matthew Burgess (HarperCollins/Clarion)

CONGRAAAATULAAATIONS to all the winners and honorees—and the committee who sifted through all of this year’s books to select this stellar slate of picture books!