Featured Posts
Spring Picture Books on the Radar
Why, hello there! We are running our fingers through a few months’ worth of cyber-dust here at the Calling Caldecott blog, given that our last post was in January. Have you been reading picture books in 2019? You can trust that we have, and we … [Read More...]
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, "a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States." Here are some links, resources, and articles by and about Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to help acknowledge, … [Read More...]
Happy anniversary, CSK!
As you know (and if you don't, you must be new here 😉), the Coretta Scott King Book Awards celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, and the Horn Book's annual special issue is themed around that anniversary. We are honored to have a roster of more … [Read More...]
Game of Thrones read-alikes
Welp, I dunno about you, but I was Not Happy with the most recent episode of Game of Thrones. And given that it was the penultimate episode — ever — I'm getting pretty nervous about the finale on Sunday. Whether you're sticking out the season and … [Read More...]
R.I.P., Grumpy Cat
We are sad to hear of the passing of kitty superstar Tardar Sauce, better known as Grumpy Cat. Her perpetually "grumpy" expression (the result of her unique genetics) has brought smiles to so many and reportedly belied a sweet personality. We'll miss … [Read More...]
Blogs
Horn Book Summer Reading
We've pulled together our annual recommendations for summer reading. As ever, we present books we hope will spur purely recreational reading, which to my mind is the kind of reading most worth doing. I hope you find something your charges will … [Read More...]
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, "a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States." Here are some links, resources, and articles by and about Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to help acknowledge, … [Read More...]
Haiku: A Small Poem with Great Potential
snow melting the village brimming over… with children! --Issa (1763-1828) (translated by David Lanoue) Yes, I was taught that a haiku, a short poem that originated in Japan centuries ago, was supposed to consist of three lines of five, seven, … [Read More...]
Spring Picture Books on the Radar
Why, hello there! We are running our fingers through a few months’ worth of cyber-dust here at the Calling Caldecott blog, given that our last post was in January. Have you been reading picture books in 2019? You can trust that we have, and we … [Read More...]
Review of the Week
Review of You Are New
You Are New by Lucy Knisley; illus. by the author Preschool Chronicle 48 pp. 3/19 978-1-4521-6156-3 $17.99 Knisley chronicled her wedding in her 2016 adult graphic-novel memoir Something New; her latest, Kid Gloves (2019), is about pregnancy; and concurrently she has authored her first picture book — about a newborn baby. In lilting, lighthearted rhyme, the direct-address text describes the things a new baby can do: “You can doze and nap and snooze. / It makes you sleepy, being … [Read More...]
App Review of the Week
Sesame Street app review
Can you tell me how to get to…tons of wonderful educational videos and games for preschoolers? Just like the neighborhood itself, the Sesame Street companion app (Sesame Workshop, 2014; iOS and Android) is the place to be: a free account gives a child access to a large selection of games as well as new and classic (ad-free) video clips from the television show. The home screen offers a handful of featured videos and games. Below that, large icons link to additional videos organized by topic … [Read More...]
Recommended Books
Review of You Are New
You Are New by Lucy Knisley; illus. by the author Preschool Chronicle 48 pp. 3/19 978-1-4521-6156-3 $17.99 Knisley chronicled her wedding in her 2016 adult graphic-novel memoir … [Read More...]
Review of Enemy Child: The Story of Norman Mineta, a Boy Imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp During World War II
Enemy Child: The Story of Norman Mineta, a Boy Imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp During World War II by Andrea Warren Intermediate, Middle School Ferguson/Holiday 214 … [Read More...]
Review of My Papi Has a Motorcycle
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero; illus. by Zeke Peña Primary Kokila/Penguin 40 pp. g 5/19 978-0-525-55341-0 $17.99 Spanish ed. 978-0-525-55494-3 $17.99 Quintero’s … [Read More...]
Review of Harold & Hog Pretend for Real!
Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! [Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!] by Dan Santat; illus. by the author; with additional illustrations by Mo Willems Primary Hyperion 64 pp. g 5/19 … [Read More...]
Review of B Is for Baby
B Is for Baby by Atinuke; illus. by Angela Brooksbank Preschool Candlewick 40 pp. 3/19 978-1-5362-0166-6 $16.99 Atinuke and Brooksbank (Baby Goes to Market) reunite for another … [Read More...]
Interviews
Summer Reading 2019: Five Questions for Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña
Author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña previously collaborated on 2018 Boston Globe–Horn Book Nonfiction Award–winning graphic novel Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide (Getty, 12 … [Read More...]
David Elliott Talks with Roger
Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored by In 2017's Bull, poet David Elliott … [Read More...]
Five questions for Raúl the Third
There's so much to see in Raúl the Third's comics-influenced picture book ¡Vamos!: Let's Go to the Market! (Versify/Houghton, 5–8 years). The story takes place in and around the bustling Mercado … [Read More...]
Five questions for Christian Robinson
Another (Atheneum, 3–7 years) is the debut of acclaimed illustrator Christian Robinson working as both author and illustrator…in a wordless, sci-fi picture book about cats, wormholes (or maybe … [Read More...]
Five questions for Laurie Halse Anderson
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Laurie Halse Anderson’s landmark novel Speak (Farrar, 12–16 years), about Melinda, a teenage rape victim who reclaims her voice. Now in SHOUT (Viking, 14 … [Read More...]
