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Lift written by Minh Lê and illustrated by Dan Santat.



We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade.



Swashby and the Sea written by Beth Ferry and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal.



Outside In written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy Derby.

I'm very excited about a couple of these. What did you think of them?

Two of my favorite books of the year are listed. I am over the moon for Swashby and the Sea. It is everything a perfect (classic) children’s book should be. Clever, original, humorous, warm and absolutely gorgeous. I love how the introduction of friendly, caring and patient ppl can change the bad habits and life of one person so completely. It is a phenomenal read aloud that will delight children of all ages. I am routing for the Caldecott gold for Swashby and the Sea. Outside In is also amazing. And incredibly timely. Another extraordinary work that has a very high chance at the gold. I love Water Protectors, too. Stunning. May have a chance at an honor. The illustrations for Lift are terrific. They are by Dan Santat after all. I did feel kind of let down. Maybe my expectations were too high. It is very cute with humor that kids will adore. I thought it was heading in another direction. It lacked the adventure I was sure I would find. It is a great book for teachers and parents. They can encourage children to use their imaginations as to what might come next.

We Are Water Protectors is beautifully illustrated. The colors are bold, setting a serious yet inviting tone. Water flows throughout the pages, even depicted in the protagonist's hair. This is a powerfully illustrated book and an important telling of indigenous-led movements to preserve water. Furthermore, it does not resemble other picture book illustration styles and choices; which I think warrants it inclusion for Caldecott contention.

I am in the process of obtaining the other July books.

Lift
I watched the author and illustrator read their book together on YouTube. I really liked the fact that they showed one panel on a page at a time as the presentation progressed. I enjoyed the reading and the book, and loved the illustrations, which depicted the characters' emotions and facial expressions very well.

We Are Water Protectors
I loved the illustrations--they were an excellent match for the text, and were great in depicting the Native culture and their concerns for the environment.

Swashby and the Sea
I adored this sweet story of a salty old seaman softening his heart towards his new neighbors. I loved how the sea re-wrote his sand messages. The illustrations were spot on; the roly poly people were so appealing, as well as all the small beach creatures.

I absolutely agree. It's beautiful and such a lovely story. I've bought a batch of these; I usually pick a book a year to give to new babies...this is my pick, hands down.. I hope my class supports it in our Mock Caldecott next year!

Cara wrote: "I absolutely agree. It's beautiful and such a lovely story. I've bought a batch of these; I usually pick a book a year to give to new babies...this is my pick, hands down.. I hope my class supports..."

It’s an extraordinary book. It gives you the warm fuzzies, too. Always nice!

When a great story comes along, I share the book with my 3 and 5-year-old grandchildren. It just so happens that three are on this month's reading list. LIFT is mesmerizing for sure! Children will listen to this story and then head out for similar adventures of their own, in imaginative play! Thus, this is a GREAT book with a sweet encouragement to play with others. Swashby is a delightful story of friendship and love. Pictures are incredible. And Outside In has amazing artwork! -- Lift and Swashby take my 2nd and 3rd place for Caldecott. Outside In comes in within my top 15 favorite picture books for 2020.

What's your Caldecott pick?

Outside In
My library system finally got in a copy of this book.
I did like the celebration of all things outdoors, and the concept of the outdoors coming inside as well. I liked the loose and free flowing watercolor and powdered graphite paintings. I was amused to read that the illustrator created some of the lines with dried flower stems and thread soaked in ink.

Beverly wrote: "Outside In
My library system finally got in a copy of this book.
I did like the celebration of all things outdoors, and the concept of the outdoors coming inside as well. I liked the loose and free..."

It is a gorgeous book. So perfect for our present time.

Check out “Fern and Otto: A Story about Two Best Friends�� by Stephanie Graegin.
Love it! All sorts of nursery rhyme/fairy tale critters are strolling in the woods. It’s a great mentor text for writing, too. Illustrations are sophisticated yet �� child-like��.

I have to admit, I loved all four of these titles the first time I read them, so I requested them all again, months later, to see what I thought of them on a second read. I still love them and would be thrilled to see any of them get some recognition.

Of the four, Lift is my favorite. I've always enjoyed picture books that tell a story with humor and heart, and this one has it in spades; in fact, it could almost be wordless and still tell the story - hats off to Santat for accomplishing that. I can imagine a child wanting to read it over and over, especially a child who has one or more siblings; for example, as an older sister, I could easily relate to Iris in this story.

Outside In is also in my top five overall. The illustrations are so gorgeous and evocative. They make me sigh with pleasure and contentment - and wish for warmer weather to return so that I can go outside and sit on the back deck and enjoy nature as I sip on some tea before going for a stroll.

Water Protectors packs a powerful visual punch and was very informative as well. Maybe because I live near the East Coast, I had not been aware of the activism surrounding pipelines. This book sheds light on the amazing insight that indigenous people have had for this issue all along. It will hopefully inspire a lot of discussion in households and classrooms and increase everyone's appreciation of the wisdom that can be learned from cultures that have lived more harmoniously with nature as we confront the challenges of climate change.

Last but definitely not least, Swashby was a delightful read. I don't personally find the illustrations all that amazing, but I love the spunk and playfulness of the story.

Anyone else motice the lack of male characters in Watet Protectors. I understand it in the symbolic illistrations, but even in the depictions of the protests, i'm not seeing any, which is odd.

This Facebook post implies that all water protectors are female, but I’m not sure. (Also a gentle reminder that can’t always infer gender from appearance.)

Maggi wrote: "This Facebook post implies that all water protectors are female, but I’m not sure. (Also a gentle reminder that can’t always infer gender from appearance.) ..."

I believe in Native American culture women are the water protectors because they are seen as having a strong connection to the water. I think it might have something to do with pregnancy as well.