Here is the truth of the matter: in less than three months, each individual Caldecott committee member will nominate seven books out of the hundreds he or she has seen this year. It's kind of a sickening task: either you appreciate SO MANY that you have trouble cutting any out, or you really only have found a few that make your heart go pitter-patter. I won't say what kind of year I am having with the 2014 books,  but I am going to limit myself to seven right now. I always fear that I will overwhelm others if I name too many. In no particular order, here are the seven that are on my top shelf right now, either because they really wow me or because I am intrigued by them and want to hear further discussion. (Because I live in mortal fear of Missing Something, I must say that I am waiting on a few books right now, including The Iridescence of Birds, A Letter for Leo, and Nana in the City. I know there are many more to come, so I am clearly hedging my bets here.) (And don't try to figure out what is on the tiny shelf adjacent to my dining table. It's one of many shelves, incomprehensible even to me.)

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus (illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant)

Separate Is Never Equal (by Duncan Tontatiuh)

Hug Machine (by Scott Campbell)

All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom (illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Angela Johnson)

The Farmer and the Clown (by Marla Frazee)

Gaston (illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Kelly DiPucchio)

Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads (illustrated by Lane Smith, written by Bob Shea)

I can't wait to see what Lolly and Martha have in mind right now. Of course our minds will change many, many times over the next few months. I look forward to the roller coaster.