Mock Caldecott 2026 discussion

The Last Stand by Antwan Eady




Jimmy's Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin by Michelle Meadows and Jamiel Law




My Block Looks Like by Janelle Harper and illustrated by Frank Morrison




Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio and illustrated by E.B. Lewis


I'm excited to kick off our 2025 year with these publications.

Could these picture books be a future Caldecott award winner?

The Last Stand
Finally received a library copy.
The Pumphrey brothers have pulled off another illustration coup with their homemade stamp illustrations of this hopeful story. The illustrations support and expand this story of a farmer's market where only one stand is operating; but by the end of the book, one more stand has opened up; letting the reader hope that more stands will also open up in the future. It is also a heartwarming story of a young boy helping his grandfather operate the last farmer's market stand.
I do believe this book may be Caldecott-worthy.

All terrific books. Although I am kind of tired of block/urban neighborhood books (there have been so many wonderful ones in the last few years), My Block Looks Like may be the one to finally win Frank Morrison a Caldecott. He really gives energy and vibrance to this title. I love The Last Stand, too. I believe it is a Caldecott worthy book.

My review:

This picture book tells the story of the last open market stall at the farmer’s market operated by the narrator’s grandfather. This man has worked the land his whole life and sold vegetables to the surrounding community. The plot follows the boy and his grandfather selling their wares from the grandmother’s handwoven baskets, friends coming by to purchase pumpkins, eggs, plums, and peppers, and the reader sees the mantle pass from the grandfather to the grandson.

This text is truly a love letter to the rural south and Black farming, as Eady notes in the back matter, remarking on the times changing, the disparity of assistance, and the hardships dealt with by Black farmers in the South. It is a wonderful book for a read-aloud to show not only the plight of black farmers but the sweetness of a relationship between grandfather and grandson as they do work that feeds the community around them. I love the Phumphrey’s illustrations - these are a combination of handmade stamps and digital artwork. I adore a book that can take a weighty topic and make it palatable and enjoyable to read for a younger crowd, giving them the joy of a good story while educating and enlightening them without being didactic.

My Block Looks Like
Frank Morrison's beginnings as a graffiti artist certainly shows in this book, set in NYC, with graffiti art on buildings throughout the book. I especially liked the birds'-eye view of the block. Art and text together give a good view of a "concrete jungle." The artwork is vibrant and colorful, with ethnically diverse people roaming the streets.
While the young girl in the book loves her block, I, personally, prefer the many trees, green grass, and birds in my neighborhood.

I found all four of these picture books to be Caldecott-worthy. The Last Stand presents heartwarming text and illustrations; My Block Looks Like is full of vibrant life and color; and Jimmy's Rhythm & Blues did an admirable job of helping us see how truly "extraordinary" James Baldwin's life was, coupling detailed, expressive illustrations with lyrical text that also incorporates Baldwin's own distinctive, musical writing. My personal favorite of the bunch was Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem, which features E.B. Lewis's gorgeous watercolor illustrations that, ironically, are not in focus the way a photograph would be but still enable us to envision how Roy DeCarava's photos evoked more than what they captured in momentary snapshots of the beauty of Harlem.

My review of My Block Looks Like:

My Block Looks Like is a journey through one girl’s afternoon as she walks her neighborhood. The stoccato verse describing her block - the streetlights, the subway, the playground - sounding so much like a heartbeat, like spoken word, all highlighted with Morrison’s fluid artwork. Every picture feels like it’s moving with our narrator as she journeys to the dance studio and eventually home.

I can’t help it - I am a sucker for Frank Morrison. It’s an absolute pleasure to delve into this picture book. The art is striking, the verse is pumping, urging the reader to read on, and the story is filled with love for her neighborhood, which is so, so sweet. I think respecting and appreciating our space, the place where we live or where we are from, is a wonderful thing to be reminded of. Janelle Harper writes an ode to her neighborhood that transcends the reader having to know what it’s like to live in NYC, she makes us all feel love and happiness for our place. She describes her neighborhood so well we are transported and we can enjoy her little slice-of-life.

Morrison's work is outstanding!!! I was looking to see if he has ever won the Caldecott - and I was surprised to not find a win in that category. He did have Coretta Scott King's and many other awards for his work. Am I just missing something? His artwork is so detailed!

Margaret wrote: "Morrison's work is outstanding!!! I was looking to see if he has ever won the Caldecott - and I was surprised to not find a win in that category. He did have Coretta Scott King's and many other awa..."

People often think Frank Morrison (like Barbara McClintock), is a Caldecott award winner. He is so prolific and so amazingly good. It is a mystery how he hasn't won the award by now.