Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews

Grandma in Blue with Red Hat by Scott Menchin

By Trolley Past Thimbledon Bridge by Ashley Bryan

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli

What did you think of them?

Grandma in Blue with Red Hat:
According to Bliss, the illustrator, the illustrations were made with pen and ink, then colored with watercolor. The illustrations of the main character and other people are nice, but unexceptional. What is exceptional is his imitations of famous paintings and sculptures. And the little boy's art show of all the different ways he painted or sculptured his grandmother are also exceptional. The final painting of the grandmother is especially brilliant. But I don't know if this is enough to garner it a Caldecott.

Tricky Vic:
This is an amazing story of a con man that I was not familiar with before. Pizzoli created the artwork with pencil, ink, rubber stamps, halftone photographs, silkscreen, Zipatone, and Photoshop. The collages in muted colors are interesting and varied, but support the text well. It was interesting that Pizzoli chose to illustrate Robert Miller/Count Victor Lustig's face as a thumb (or finger) print. I think that suggested his ability to remain anonymous. Pizzoli tells us that during his life-time Miller used 45 different aliases, but in this short biography, the author only uses the Count Lustig alias. This biography is interesting and different.

Beverly wrote: "Grandma in Blue with Red Hat:
According to Bliss, the illustrator, the illustrations were made with pen and ink, then colored with watercolor. The illustrations of the main character and other peo..."

I would love it to win a Caldecott. Along with my other fav's ofcourse :) Harry Bliss has been fairly overlooked for years. He is amazingly talented. I find every bit of Grandma in Blue with Red Hat to be exceptional.

Kristen wrote: " Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews

I liked Trombone Shorty- I didn't love it. The story was very interesting and well done. A nice addition to a music or non-fiction picture book collection. I don't think it is unique enough to win a Caldecott.

I was fascinated by Tricky Vic: both the story and the art work. I lved the variety of media employed.

Laura wrote: "I find every bit of Grandma in Blue with Red Hat to be exceptional." and "I liked Trombone Shorty- I didn't love it."
I am very much in sync with Laura on both books. I haven't read the other two, yet.

Tricky Vic:
I am a big fan of Pizzoli's The Watermelon Seed, and I think the guy has a lot of talent. But Tricky Vic left me very cold, unfortunately. Some individual pictures are excellent (the scene at the table with Vic and the fish is just great), but I don't think they work smoothly one after the other as they should in a picture book. I feel that the storytelling is done mostly by the words, while the pictures are used as embellishment and not as part of the narration. It's still a good book, with an original and interesting theme. But as a picture book is not as good, in my opinion.

Trombone Shorty:
This was an interesting biography, even more so because the subject is still a young man, instead of this being a biography of a long ago, now deceased musician, which so many music bios are. Perhaps his book will encourage other young ones to take up music. The collage illustrations were very creative and nice, but I don't know if they will be judged Caldecott worthy.

Trombone Shorty could be on the Coretta Scott King short list - seriously. I love music, I loved the mention of the foods and culture of New Orleans (I was completely drawn in by the book in that regard), and I love hard work = success stories. I will say, though, that the whole book I kept waiting for a Hurricane Katrina tie-in, but it didn't happen. I have mixed feelings about that since Katrina was probably too big a part of the author's life to be left out, but I'm glad there was enough of his own story to stand alone without it.

Grandma in Blue.... Love it! Such a darling book with so many layers. Art, Family, etc. I don't know that it's a Caldecott, but it's a great book.

Tricky Vic... I wasn't feeling this one.

By Trolley Past Thimbledon Bridge... This book had a certain dissonance about it. I feel like the author/illustrator pair, while talented, don't know their audience - this book isn't for children.

Kim wrote: "Trombone Shorty could be on the Coretta Scott King short list - seriously. I love music, I loved the mention of the foods and culture of New Orleans (I was completely drawn in by the book in that r..."

I am thrilled that you mentioned Grandma in Blue with Red Hat. It is such a clever, striking book. I would love to see it win a Caldecott Honor.

I adore GRANDMA and TRICKY VIC of this group myself. Both are worthy of Caldecotts. I also like TROMBONE SHORTY quite a bit.

Rereading TRICKY VIC today. This one definitely has something that makes it stand out. I have read TROMBONE SHORTY and will reread that one as well.