Caldecott Calendar Project: An Introduction

As many of you already know, I've re-discovered a of love picture books since my son was born -- almost 3 years ago now! In large part thanks to Julie's Newbery Challenges, I've been purposely seeking out Caldecott books and can hardly believe how many winner and honor titles there have been over the years. A great many of these books I'm actually just reading on my own, though I hope that more and more of them will capture my son's interest as he gets older. While he regularly surprises me with a longer attention span when he's really interested in a particular character or topic, a lot of the Caldecott titles aren't exactly toddler fare.

I love reading seasonally, especially when it comes to picture books, even if, ahem, my toddler isn't always on board (Christmas and Halloween books in March, anyone?) So I've been trying to figure out which Caldecott books fit various categories, holidays, seasons, etc. throughout the year. I've looked for lists of them online and been surprised by how little I've found. General lists that might include a Caldecott or two abound, but that wasn't really what I was looking for. So it seemed like one of those things I'd have to put together myself if I wanted to have it as a resource -- so here we are!
                                                                                                         
While it feels like I've read a TON of Caldecott books, I still have so many left to discover which is why I kept pushing off this idea. But if I keep pushing it off, I don't think it will ever happen! So please bear with me as I kick off this blog series in the next week or so with Caldecott Books for April. I will be as comprehensive as I can, but I still may miss things and need to add/revise lists later on. I will have a permanent tab up top for this project so you can find the latest updates. Please let me know if you notice any errors or omissions as we go!

I'll end now with just one Caldecott book for March to give you an idea of what I'm trying for with this project. Also, it is so perfect for this time of year (in northern New York, anyway!) that I don't want to wait a whole year to share it :)

First Sign of Spring

The Happy Day, written by Ruth Krauss & illustrated by Marc Simont

1950 Caldecott Honor

The world is still covered in snow when the animals start coming out of hibernation and find the first sign of spring. Perfect for those days when the calendar says spring is here, but it doesn't quite feel like it yet! This one has large illustrations and short, simple text, so it's one of the Caldecott titles that does work for the toddler set, at least in theory :)