Can July 14 come soon enough? No!

The Pinkney book is a book of art, I was knocked over at SLJ's Day of Dialog when I saw it on the table.....WOW!

I am utterly behind you with Calpurina, Homer, and most, most, most especially Miranda and the gang. I was lucky enough to get one of the ARCs from Ms. Edinger class. I spent part of the weekend reading When You REach Me, and the rest of it gloating about it.

All this talk of "When You Reach Me" is giving me book envy. I have read so many positive reviews on this book. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
But then I got a copy of Catching Fire at BEA and I love that. Maybe that will give someone else book envy.

Mr. Fotheringham---who, indeed, does not wear top hats, despite how it sounds---will be stopping by 7-Imp this week. Maybe even tomorrow. Woot!

Must. read. Calpurnia.

Yeah, I got that reference...I still find the cover of "Homer" incredibly off-putting. For Newbery, I recently read the F&G for "Sweethearts of Rhythm" - Pinkney's art is good but Nelson's poetry is exceptional. *Begs* to be read aloud. I like a number of picture books but they all pale in comparison to "Lion & Mouse". I liked Chin's "Redwoods" and Gerstein's "A Book." And I'm hearing bzzzz about Brown's "Curious Garden."

"Curious Garden" buzz, eh? I knew it was doing particularly well on the old bestseller lists, but hadn't realized that Peter was getting some critical love as well. "Redwoods" is a good point. I very much enjoyed that book. And Nelson's poetry means I shall have to check out her book. Thanks!

NF choice: Charles and Emma: the Darwins' Leap of Faith by Heiligman

Moonshot by Brian Floca displays exquisite storytelling both in words and images. One of the finest marriages of text and pictures on the shelves.

Jules? A 7-Imp feature on Brian Floca?

I adore Calpurnia. Would love it if it won. I have When You Reach Me on order and am anxiously awaiting it.

That man deserves all the accolades and praise we can give him. I need to review that book too. Thanks for the reminder.

The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice and Also Known As Harper by Ann Haywood Leal both feel Newbery-ish to me.

Last year I felt the same way about The Underneath and Savvy, so we'll see!

I love predictions!
Tsunami is a book that has really stuck with us and keeps coming up. Just yesterday my daughter mentioned the book and asked me the question of whether I'd rather be dead or lose all my food (being 6, it wasn't quite as obvious a question as it seems) and of course for the book it was really would you rather other people be dead or lose all your food. I loved the cat poems - a very fun book to read. Not sure my younger kids appreciate all the feline nuances but enjoyed it nonetheless. We have Redwoods from the library right now (but haven't read it yet).

Any mid-year Geisel predictions? :-)

Okay, maybe a longshot, but has anyone read Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock? A non-fic instant classic, as far as I'm concerned! Practically booktalks itself- and chock full of facts!

Wow. Your blog rocks. It's sending me straight to the library then to the bookstore to read these.
Thanks for the inside dope.
JM

Geisel = Rhyming Dust Bunnies. Didn't occur to me until today, but now I'm committed to the idea. An award for Thomas! And now I really need to pull the old "Bubble Homes and Fish Farts" off the shelf. This isn't the first recommendation of it that I have seen . . .

Great predictions! I've read almost all of them and loved them too.

My fav nonfiction so far is Down Down Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins! The narration makes you feel like you have been taken on a deep sea exploration. There is a little bar along each page to show you how deep you have gone so far, and as you go deeper the undersea life becomes more exotic. All are wonderfully rendered with Jenkins' collage. A winner, I tell ya, a winner!!!

How about, "We're All in the Same Boat"?

Would love to chat with Brian Floca. Good ideer.

Excellent! Get him to send you the behind-the-scenes images that helped him to create "The Hinky-Pink". They'll play well in Peoria.

I haven't seen the Mermaid Queen book yet but a mermaid will always get my vote.

I like that Bubble Homes book, but I like that Charlesbridge moon phase book (Faces of the Moon) even more - genius use of die-cuts, super illustrations. And the conspiracy theorist in me thinks that Wabi Sabi got passed over b/c committee members had already seen Tsunami, and didn't want the award to go to Ed Young 2 years in a row!

for Caldecott possibilities I like Me with You, Kristy Dempsy, illus Chris Denise and One Red Apple, Harriet Ziefert and Karla Gudeon illus.

I'd love to see the Geisel go to some actual easy-to-reads for a change instead of young picture books.

Sorry I don't have any NF recommendations, but for the Caldecott I like Little Beauty by Browne and also Moon Rabbit by Russell.

I didn't see as many great NF books this year as last, so I don't have any suggestions there; but I'm disappointed to see that no one has mentioned Wendy Mass' Every Soul a Star for a Newbery.

That is because its publication date was 2008. Alas.

Yes, I realized that after I posted. Pity.

I am looking forward to reading the books thanks for the great suggestions that have been posted on this list. While I know my tastes are quirky and never remotely pick the same winners as the selection committee; I really liked Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Marino.

I hope that Bella and Bean, by Rebecca Kai Dotlich is not overlooked in Caldecottland. It's such a rich book, all about poetry, the creative process, and friendship too. The prose is wonderful, the art by Aileen Leitjen is a perfect match. I love the spread where Bean is showing her beautiful toes to grumpy Bella. Sigh.

I still can't get over When You Reach Me.. I couldn't see anything else taking the Newberry! For the Caldecott I love Down Down Down by Steve Jenkins and Red Sings From Treetops by Joyce Sidman. I'm shocked that nobody else has mentioned it!