Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom




How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander




Maribel's Year by Michelle Sterling




Remember by Joy Harjo



Could any of these publications be a Caldecott contender?

I have not yet read Maribel's Year. It does look good. All of the other books are wonderful. I do think How to Write a Poem is too similar to Kwame Alexander and Melissa Sweet's previous collaboration; How to Read a Book. Remember by U.S. Poet Laureate and Mvskoke Nation member, Joy Harjo is one of my top favorite 2023 releases. Multiple Caldecott award winner, Michaela Goade illustrates this title. Remember is defiinitely Caldecott worthy. I am a little worried that it might not win because Goade is a recent multiple Caldecott winner. I believe this has unfairly been the case for recent Caldecott award worthy titles that were passed over. Fingers crossed it won't happen again.

Maribel's Year -A year is a long time to be separated from a loved one, who lives far away, but a great time to remember what they mean to you and have taught you! This story looks at what makes life special, month by month, for a child. It is also a wonderful Filipino cultural book. The illustrations are muted, yet vivid in color.

How to Write a Poem encourages children to see power in words through the mechanics and process of writing. This book gives children confidence to channel their emotions, lift their voices, and change the world. The illustrations used in this book, likewise, encourage readers to use their imaginations, recyclables, and inventive resources to give art to the stories they write. Quite the positive book to use with children!!! Caldecott worthy: Yes! I believe this book can have an impact on learning, reading, writing, and thinking!

My Powerful Hair is an intense historical fiction told on multi-levels per age level of understanding. The story addresses generational patterns of how families wore their hair and why, what the hair represents, and emotions attachment to one's hair. Carole Lindstrom's first book, We Are the Water Protectors, won Caldecott Gold. Lindstrom books most definitely record the true history of Native / Indigenous people. She does not sugar coat the story. There is backmatter regarding the history of hair in the author's American past. This piece is emotional and best discussed in a group. The illustrations are in-depth colors. The pictures flow as does long hair and nature. The pictures are often outlined in yellow and seem to radiate a powerful source. Perfect choice of illustrations for the story's meaning.

Remember
--gives thanks for all we are given in this world. Together the words of Harjo's poems and the illustrations by Michaela Goade ask us to give thanks to our Earth and universe, nature, the skies, the waters, and our ancestors. If the Caldecott Committee is looking for a beautiful book of being thankful, remembering one's own story, and appreciating the world around us - this is the one!

How to Write a Poem
Alexander has not written a treatise on the techniques of poem writing; instead, this is a picture book encouraging young readers to let their imaginations soar. For example, one double-page spread reads: "Close your eyes, open the window of your mind, and climb out, like a seedling reaching for tomorrow." Some of the text is hand-lettered and some is composed of cut-out letters. Melissa Sweet's collage illustrations are rendered with vintage and handmade papers, paint, pencils, printed letterforms, and beach pebbles. A lovely book.

My Powerful Hair
The author (Anishinaabe-Métis) emphasizes how important one's hair is in Native culture through the eyes of a young girl. They view it as strength and a keeper of memories. Steph Littlebird's illustrations, rendered in Procreate, are lush and colorful with thick outlines. Some of the double-page spreads fuse a person with nature; for example, a woman's head rising from the ground like a mountain, with her hair flowing away as a river. This is a beautiful and unique book, and I think deserving of a Caldecott award.

Remember
Goade illustrates Harjo's 1983 poem in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, using traditional Tlingit art styles and formline design. The reddish hues of the book's cover are carried through in some form in most of the interior paintings. These illustrations expertly depict the essence of each line of the poem, which is about the connection of people with nature and each other.

Maribel's Year
Maribel and her mother have emigrated from the Philippines to an English-speaking country (not specified, but where it snows in the winter). For a year, Maribel misses her father, but writes to him, until he finally reunites with the family in December. New illustrator of picture books, Sarah Gonzales (of Filipino heritage) infuses her illustrations, which take up most of every page, with the warmth of family ties and the longing for the father's coming. The colors are muted and soft, almost fuzzy in places, and incorporate many cultural details. A lovely book.

My Powerful Hair has such bold and unique illustrations that I think it is definitely worthy of the Caldecott. It is beautiful! I also agree about Remember. Goade is an amazing illustrator but may not be selected due to multiple awards, which should not matter because each piece is unique.

This selection of books is top-notch; the eloquent responses listed above act as a testament to the powerful effect these picture books can have on readers.

My favorite of the bunch is Remember, illustrated by Michaela Goade, who has been honored by the Caldecott Committee twice in the past two years. Its gorgeous tribute to the connection between humans and the world (and universe) can inspire any young reader, so I hope the book will receive recognition, regardless of past awards.

My Powerful Hair and How to Write a Poem are also wonderful picture books and are award-worthy. As someone who has spent most of my life with long hair, I was fascinated to learn its significance in Native American cultures, and Alexander and Sweet score another homerun with their playful and imaginative ode to the creative process of conjuring poetry. I think Alexander even has a shot at a Newbery for this (though I am biased because I love just about every word he puts on paper!).

Maribel's Year is also a lovely book, but I question whether it is eligible. The illustrator, who calls herself a Filipino-Canadian in her book bio, was raised in Alberta and lives in Montreal, according to online sources. Can someone hopefully correct that information?

Beth wrote: "This selection of books is top-notch; the eloquent responses listed above act as a testament to the powerful effect these picture books can have on readers.

My favorite of the bunch is Remember, ..."

I don't believe she is eligible. Sarah was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Canada from what I read.