With love and respect, no, no, no! "Who's going to win" is too much with us already as a guiding idea. Let's stick with just enjoying the stories and pictures for a little while longer before beginning to polish the medals.

Oh, I'll go there. If this is the "Oscars for children's literature", I don't think it's too early to start buzzing. I do think Tricia Tusa needs metal (medal?), but not for In a Blue Room - I'm not a fan. I still think she should have gotten some love for Fred. And for heaven's sake, please give Kadir something for We Are the Ship - he has outdone himself with this one. I've also heard whispering about A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann and My Friend, the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Perhaps A Couple of Boys... by Frazee? Or Monkey and Me by Gravett? These are all the books that seem to be ahead of the pack thus far.

That's the spirit! Pip pip and tally-ho! Since these speculations are as likely to hit their target as a shotgun hitting an ant, wondering what might win one award or another is my own personal way of enjoying pictures and stories. That said, I don't think Gravett can get a Caldecott since she's British. But A Kitten Tale is definitely in the running and I haven't even heard of that Lyon book of which you speak. Frazee's long overdue but like McClintock I can see her getting robbed year after year. Fine pen-and-ink lines do not get Caldecotts, unless they're of a Wiesner variety. Now THERE's a statement that needs to be taken down a peg. Have at me!

Are you kidding me? Is this what it's all about? Or is there some attempt here to start altering the river's course? Let it flow a while. Let's just enjoy the stories as Mole rows our boat down this lovely river, wherever it might lead us.

Just 3 months into the year but "Shooting the Moon" definitely on my top five list. Jamie, the main character and narrator, is so real and her words resonate so clearly that, at the conclusion of this book, I would not have been surprised to see her sitting opposite me challenging me to a game of gin rummy.

Re: "altering the river's course" - You are sweet but I couldn't alter a droplet falling down a windowpane. And originally I planned this post for February. You should be pleased I wait as long as I do. Badger me and I'll start predicting 2010. I mean it! I'm crazy!

Double-yes for the Eric Rohmann kitten book. I'm sure there are still countless delights to come in 2008, but the bar's been set mighty high with that one...

Fuse, don't be coy.

Aw. You're no fun. Can't I be a little coy? A little itty bitty teensy weensy smidgen o' coy. By the way, I am definitely naming my band "Smidgen o' Coy" should I ever get the wherewithal to put one together.

So good to see Tricia Tusa love here, too.

You were batting your eyes while writing that bit about being coy, weren't you, Fuse?

I think "Smidgen 'o Coy" would be a fantastic name for a rock band. As would "Pip Pip and the Tally Hos" or "Shotgun Hitting an Ant."

I like Waiting for Normal, but there are quite a few books that I am anxiously waiting to read!

Is Brooklyn Bridge written in verse/diary form? There's not much available (from what I can tell) other than what's on Amazon's site (Karen Hesse doesn't have a website).

The Kitten is certainly a winner in my house with the granddaughters. Kids should pick the winners because they are the ones who will keep a book's story alive.

Nope. The Hesse is not in verse. I'm halfway through now (sloooow reading week) and it's still strong. And I believe that the drummer of Shotgun Hitting an Ant would probably have been poached from the Smidgen o' Coy, leaving fans livid in some fashion. >eyelash bat<

Thanks for this--You've given me a nice list of books to check out! I see nothing wrong with expressing which books you think are the most distinguished so far this year--and that's what those awards are all about!

There is somethng so dear and poignant about Tricia Tusa's work. In every book she has ever illustrated, she chooses to respond (via the medium) in such a unique way to the words. Real heart and soul.