Way back in May of 2025, Brian Wilson emailed to ask us if he could write about Fireworks for Calling Caldecott, so we have to credit Brian with seeing this winner coming before the year was half over. I admit I thought the gatefold might mean no gold for this book, but Cátia Chien’s colorful, exuberant illustrations won the day. This is one of those Caldecotts readers are going to be enjoying for years.  

I imagine you've all seen the list of award winners by now, but in case you haven’t, you can find the full press release from this year’s Youth Media Awards here.  

I always appreciate when committees award a lot of honors, and the Caldecott committee chose four this year. We covered two of them: Every Monday Mabel and Our Lake. Every Monday Mabel is one of my favorite read-alouds this year, and Jashar Awan is an illustrator I have my eye on. His books are spare but warm, just exactly enough to tell a story. So often books for very small children are overlooked for awards, and I’m glad this one was not. Angie Kang’s evocative illustrations for Our Lake show and hint at so much the text doesn’t quite say, and the rich, summery hues, the way the light plays on the water — it's all so beautiful.  

We didn’t cover two honor books. We considered Drew Beckmeyer’s Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave; I enjoyed the book, it made me smile, but I didn’t see it as a Caldecott, which just goes to show what I know. Zeke Peña’s Sundust is flat-out gorgeous. As far as I’m concerned, that vibrant pink he uses throughout the book is worth an award or two. I didn’t know what to make of this book or how to talk about it, though. I’m not 100% sure I know what happens in it. I need to spend more time studying both these titles.  

We’re surprised that the number-one book in this year’s Calling Caldecott voting, Cat Nap by Brian Lies, didn't win any awards today. However, this excellent book is appearing on best-of-the-year lists, and I won’t be surprised to see it win other awards. ALA isn't the only game in town.  

We were tickled to see two books we covered this season pop up in the Sibert Awards. Nikkolas Smith’s History of We earned an honor, and Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa, written by Sara Andrea Fajardo and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, won the gold. The Siberts honor informational books, and it’s rare to see multiple picture books recognized by this award in the same year. It shows that in addition to high-quality illustrations, these books were high quality all around. 

There weren’t as many books receiving multiple awards this year as we’ve seen over the last few years (although Candace Fleming sure did have a good day), which means more individual books were highlighted. More, as one of my colleagues says, is more. I’m here for it.  

What did you all think of this year’s awards?