Calling Caldecott is all about the appreciation and evaluation of picture books, and today we kick off the season with a list (ever-evolving, for sure not definitive) of the 2022 Caldecott-eligible books we aim to cover:

• John's Turn (illustrated by Kate Berube/written by Mac Barnett)
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff (John Klassen/Mac Barnett)
• Farmhouse (Sophie Blackall)
• Blue (Daniel Minter/Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond)
• Isla to Island (Alexis Castellanos)
• The Universe in You (Jason Chin)
• Patchwork (Corinna Luyken/Matt de la Pena)
• Berry Song (Michaela Goade)
• Ablaze with Color (Loveis Wise/Jeanne Harvey)
• H Is for Harlem (April Harrison/Dinah Johnson)
• Choosing Brave (Janelle Washington/Angela Joy)
• Where Butterflies Fill the Sky (Zahra Marwan)
• Hope Is an Arrow (Ekua Holmes/Cory McCarthy)
• Action! (Meghan McCarthy)
• Kick Push (Frank Morrison)
• A Seed Grows (Antoinette Portis)
• Mardi Gras Almost Didn't Happen (Carl Joe Williams/Kathy Z. Price)
• Somewhere in the Bayou (Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey)
• Ain't Burned All the Bright (Jason Griffin/Jason Reynolds)
• Hot Dog (Doug Salati)
• Every Dog in the Neighborhood (Matthew Cordell/Philip Stead)
• Off the Wall (Theodore Taylor III)
• The World Belonged to Us (Leo Espinosa/Jacqueline Woodson)
• Emile and the Field (Chioma Ebinaba/Kevin Young)

For the first time in my memory, this list is equally balanced between male and female illustrators — and it happened organically. That's big in my mind, because of the edge male artists, historically, have had over women artists when it comes to Caldecott recognition. I know it's just my li'l list...but it's encouraging nonetheless.

And I sure didn't have to try to find books by BIPoC creators worthy of Caldecott consideration. They are plentiful; they are glorious. 

I haven't seen every 2022 title yet, and I'm sure I'm missing some contenders, so please leave suggestions for further coverage in the comment section below. Remember the Caldecott criteria that require illustrators to have either US citizenship or residency. Already I'm sad not to be able to discuss — to name just a few — The Waiting Place, illustrated with photographs (yep, it would have been great to introduce photography into the Caldecott conversation) by Anna Bosch Miralpeix; Our Fort, illustrated by Marie Dorleans; A Day for Sandcastles, illustrated by Qin Leng; The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky, illustrated by Kim Jihyun. If there are any sleuths out there who want to investigate eligibility, either to add books onto the list or take books off, have at it! (In Real Life, of course, the Caldecott Committee's priority consultant would research any queries the committee had about an illustrator's eligibility.)

Thanks, all!