Caldecott Medal Books at Barnes and Noble

Today my two-year old son Banner and I ventured into Barnes and Noble.  My purpose was to read as many of the Caldecott picture books I could get my hands on.  I was hoping they would have a section devoted to just Caldecott Medal Books, but this was not the case.  So I perused, while my son played with Thomas the Train toys...great distraction! I was able to locate a few of the books on my bibliography list...

 Jerry Pinkney's book, The Lion and the Mouse, was my first read.  I am a huge fan of Pinkney's amazing water color paintings and he definitely did not disappoint in the book.  Beautiful, beautiful illustrations!  And that's a good thing because that was all there was to look at.  I did not realize this book was a wordless picture book.  Being a classic fable, it did not need dialogue however and the illustrations helped the story flow with ease. 

                I am also a big fan of Kevin Henkes and love reading his books like Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse, and Crysthanthemum, and Julius, Baby of the World to my children.  So, I am happy to see that Henkes was awarded a Caldecott Medal.  I wasn't especially impressed with this book though.  The illustrations were simple and clean, without the clutter of lots of color.  The story itself reminded me of a story called A Bucketful of Moon by Toby Talbot that my mother used to read to me as a child. Same scenerio, except with an old "Babi Yaga" type woman who tries to "catch" the moon.  Anyways, it brought a smile to my face thinking about how much I loved that book as a child.  Overall, Kitten's First Full Moon was a cute story but Caldecott Medal worthy?  Maybe it was just due time for Henkes to catch a nod. 

            I think, given the circumstances of when this book was written (Post 9/11), it couldn't help but receive the Caldecott Medal.  Celebrating a true story of about the twin towers that would enthrall children and adults?  It was a win-win in my opinion.  It was truly fascinating to hear the details of this historical and virtually unknown event.  The only thing I didn't like?  The font.  Not sure why, but it just didn't appeal to me.  I would love to research more about Phillipe Petit and this story.