Since 1937, every year in the United States, the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the "most distinguished American picture book for children". This award was named in honor of Randolf Caldecott, a nineteenth century English illustrator. The 2015 winner is The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat.
"This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and-at long last-is given his special name: Beekle.
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Dan Santat combines classic storytelling with breathtaking art, creating an unforgettable tale about friendship, imagination, and the courage to find one's place in the world." - review on Good Reads
The Caldecott Honor books for 2015 are...
This week in library, the Grade 1 and 2 classes enjoyed It Could Always Be Worseby Margaret Zemach. It is a Caldecott Honor book from 1978. We highly recommend it as a brilliant reminder that "attitude is the mind's paintbrush. It can colour every situation!" Everyone benefits when we choose to be grateful rather than to complain.
We encourage all of our students to check out a Caldecott Medal winner the next time they are in the library. Nothing beats curling up with a wonderful picture book!
The third picture book nominated for this year's Morning Calm Medal is The Most Magnificent Thing written by Ashley Spires.
"Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. "She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!" But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right." - Amazon Review
Here is a book trailer advertising this new book:
Meet the author:
Biography from Kids Can Press "Ashley Spires grew up in a little town on the coast of B.C. called Tsawwassen with two parents, an older sister, eight cats, a dog and the occasional newt.
For a while she thought that animation was her future, but then photography caught her eye, which led her to bookmaking courses. These classes opened her eyes to the world of illustration and she never looked back. Delighted that there was, in fact, a career that allowed her to remain in her pajamas, hang out with her cats and be productive at the same time, illustration is the perfect job for her.
Ashley spent time living in Toronto and Saskatoon before returning to her home turf of Delta, BC where she now resides with three cats, a dog and her extremely patient fella.
Like Binky, Ashley does not take kindly to insects, though she rarely eats them. She has ingested a number of bugs accidentally during her frequent jogs and bike rides, but trust me, she didn't enjoy it."
This past week in library, in honor of American Thanksgiving, we took time to enjoy Thanksgiving stories and poems.
Grade 1 wrote thankful thoughts on feathers.
Grade 2 wrote a Thanksgiving poem.
Grade 3 wrote an opinion piece from the point of view of a turkey trying not to be eaten for dinner. Grade 4 reflected on who is giving to them and how they can be more giving to others while Grade 5 created thank you cards for their teachers.
Showing appreciation is a super habit to develop. Research shows thankful people live happier, healthier, longer, more enriched lives!
When you need the facts fast... The past two weeks in library, we have had fun browsing print-based and online encyclopedias. Encyclopedias are a great resource for credible, quality, reliable information.
Two reasons to consult a print-based encyclopedia are electricity and batteries are not required and, more importantly, on each page there are new topics capturing our attention that we would never have even thought of exploring. As an added bonus, students remember better what they see on paper compared to on a screen.
Reasons to consult an online encyclopedia include more than one person can access the same information at the same time from anywhere with internet access and the content is updated daily.
The second picture book being considered for the Morning Calm Medal this year is Jenny Offill'sSparky!
"The ingenious author of 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore and a brilliant illustrator and production designer of the Coraline movie have created a hilarious, touching picture book perfect for young animal lovers. Like the Caldecott Medal-winning Officer Buckle and Gloria, Sparky stars a pet who has more to offer than meets the eye. When our narrator orders a sloth through the mail, the creature that arrives isn't good at tricks or hide-and-seek . . . or much of anything. Still, there's something about Sparky that is irresistible." - Amazon review
Here is a book trailer advertising this new book:
Click here for an interview with the author Jenny Offill.
Click here for an interview with the illustrator Chris Appelhans.
We encourage all of our students to check out a Caldecott Medal winner the next time they are in the library. Nothing beats curling up with a wonderful picture book!
