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What To Do With a Box by Jane Yolen illustrations by Chris Sheban

Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley illustrations by Lauren Castillo

Steamboat School by Deborah Hopkinson illustrations by Ron Husband

The Airport Book by Lisa Brown

Are any of these books worthy of a Caldecott?

I've seen all of these titles except Twenty Yawns. I believe Twenty Yawns would be my favorite since I am a huge fan of both author and illustrator. However, I don't think many stores are carrying it. It is published by Amazon Publishing. In Barnes & Noble it is a pre-paid order. You have to pay for it before you even see it. Not sure the indies would be a fan of carrying it either, unfortunately. The Airport Book is really cute, vibrant and has a lot going on. That would be my next choice.

Laura wrote: "I've seen all of these titles except Twenty Yawns. I believe Twenty Yawns would be my favorite since I am a huge fan of both author and illustrator. However, I don't think many stores are carrying ..."

Interesting. Many libraries in my area have Twenty Yawns, so I'll put myself on the holds list.

The Airport Book
I think this is a great book for introducing children to the whole airport/airplane ride experience. And the reader can try to find the little girl's toy monkey in every spread. The colorful illustrations are very adept at depicting everything in the airport and on the airplane.
And while I like the illustrations very much, I don't think that they are particularly extraordinary or outstanding.

Twenty Yawns is lovely, but I found The Airport Book holds up better on multiple reads (both were a hit with my test audience, but The Airport Book unfolded more and more layers each time - so many different stories in the pictures, plus the text, plus the actual information about air travel - really great).

Twenty Yawns
What Jess said above is true, but The Airport Book is aimed at older (elementary age), more sophisticated readers than Twenty Yawns, which is aimed at very small children. Twenty Yawns is a sweet bedtime story, and yes, I counted the yawns, and there are 20. I loved the textured looking illustrations, and the contrast between the bright day at the beach and the dim night at home. The colors of the sunset were especially beautiful.

What to Do With a Box
This is basically an illustrated poem, which, according to the blurb, is illustrated in textured, cardboard-esque art. The illustrations are large and aptly depict the wild imaginations of the two children who are playing with the box. I really liked this artwork and found it unique and engaging.

Steamboat School
According to his blog, the illustrator Ron Husband first did sketches, then used mechanical pen and ink to make the finished drawings, then he added color in photoshop over an aged paper background to finish the illustrations. Only a little color is used here and there, some dark blues and dark reds, but mostly browns, blacks and whites. The result is that the illustrations resemble photographs from that era. The illustrations also do an excellent job of depicting the action in the story, and helping readers see what life was like for African Americans at that time. The fictional story (set in the mid 1800s) is based on the true story of a preacher/teacher, who got around Missouri's law of not educating African Americans by constructing a steamboat in the middle of the Mississippi River, and rowing the students out to it.

Beverly wrote: "What Jess said above is true, but The Airport Book is aimed at older (elementary age), more sophisticated readers than Twenty Yawns, which is aimed at very small children. y..."

I'm sure elementary-age kids would get a lot more out of The Airport Book, but my test audience is 3 years old and chose it over and over again. Not that the age appeal matters for the Caldecott, but from a librarian point of view I'd recommend it for preschool and up.

Finally; a month when I was able to get my hands on all four books!

I wasn't very impressed with Twenty Yawns. The illustrations are soft and cuddly, but the story just didn't do much for me.

I can see the appeal of The Airport Book to children (heck, I even liked seeing the dog cuddle with the missing Monkey during the flight), but at the end I just felt exhausted at the thought of having to actually fly with a little one. lol Still, the illustrations are clear and engaging and I can see the order of events keeping the attention of little readers.

I very much enjoyed What to Do With a Box! I looooved the way the cardboard and the imagined surrounding melded together leaving both visible. The story was sweet and simple as well.

My favorite this month, though, was Steamboat School. I love stories of underdogs triumphing over corrupt people in positions of power and the fact that this story was based on the truth made it even more enjoyable and gratifying. I loved the way the illustrations made me feel like I was in the past with only a few pops of color.