By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
And the winner is… “What To Do With a Box” by Jane Yolen.
That was the book selected about a dozen folks, kids through grandparents, who gathered to consider what should win the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book of 2016.
The winner of the actual Caldecott Medal announced Monday morning at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting is “Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat” by Javaka Steptoe.
Kathy East, retired children’s librarian at Wood County District Public Library, said Sunday during the Mock Caldecott Election that the real committee has already made its choice. The press release was being drafted, and first thing in the morning the winner of the medal and honor books will get a telephone call.
East has been through this before. She served on the committee in 1987 when Richard Egielski won for “Hey, Al” and chaired the committee in 1998 when Paul Zelinsky won for “Rapunzel.”
The award goes to the illustrator.
The committee that awards the prize can start with a field of as many as 500 books. By the time they gather in January that’s been whittled down to 100 or so. Then each of those books must get a simple majority to stay in contention. East said usually 30 make the final draw.
From there the best books rise to the top. The eventual winner, she said, must have more than a simple majority. It must have a significant margin of victory. That requires a number of rounds of balloting.
“You want to make sure everyone on the committee is able to go out and say ‘this is the most distinguished children’s book,’” East said. Not that there aren’t those who later who will later kvetch about the choice. “There’s conversation,” she said.
The rewards for having the image of the Caldecott Medal affixed to the front of the book are significant. “The guarantee for the artist is the book will always stay in print.”
Those gathered at the public library Sunday had a much abbreviated version of the selection process.
Library staff had pulled 49 picture books published in 2016.
They split into two groups, each looking at a random sample of half the books. Each group picked their four favorites from what they had.
Then they cast ballots.
“What To Do With a Box” and Terry Fan’s “The Night Gardener” were locked in a virtual tie. After another ballot, Yolen’s book was the clear winner.
The book shows the wonders a simple box can provide. Alice Walters, a second grader who was the youngest casting a ballot, said the book was her favorite because all the illustrations were actually drawn on cardboard. Besides she loves playing with boxes, and Yolen captured what it felt like.
“You can use what you make with the box,” she said.
“The Night Gardener” about a mysterious topiarist was named an honor book as was Aaron Becker’s “Return.”
East said there’s no set number of honor books that can be designated. There have been as many as five.
The Bowling Green event is the third Caldecott mock election East has presided over this Jaanuary. She did one at the Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books for the museum’s docents.
They selected “Henry & Leo” by Pamela Zagarenski.
She also did one with students at the Bowling Green Middle School library. They selected “The Night Gardener.”
Now everyone will have to wait until Monday morning to see just who gets the Caldecott Gold Medal this year.
