PBSummit Roundtable – Caldecott Honor Books 2024 – Part 1

PBSummit Roundtable – Caldecott Honor Books 2024 – Part 1

It’s time for another episode of the Picture Book Summit Roundtable. This is the time of year where we get to discuss the Caldecotts!

We are a chatty bunch—especially when we’re talking about picture books—so today we bring you our chat about two of this year’s Caldecott Honor Books: THERE WAS A PARTY FOR LANGSTON illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey and written by Jason Reynolds and IN EVERY LIFE written and illustrated by Marla Frazee

In the first part of our video, Emma Walton Hamilton shares the judging guidelines for the Caldecott Medal, which is primarily an award for illustration. Then, Julie Hedlund, Katie Davis, and Kelli Panique jump into the discussion about these two marvelous books. Get ready to add them to your TBR list.

These picture books (and the other 2024 Caldecott Honorees) are available on Bookshop.org here. Whether you purchase these books from your local independent bookstore or you check them out from the library, we highly recommend getting ahold of these mini masterpieces and studying them for yourself. Start by asking yourself these questions:

• How do the text and art work together?
• What can you learn by studying the text by itself?
• How does the story progress to its climax and to its inevitable, yet surprising, conclusion?
• In the case of IN EVERY LIFE, is there a prayer, blessing, poem, or other piece of literature that inspires you? How would you turn it into a picture book?

These are just a few jumping off points to get you thinking and inspired by these Caldecott Honor Books. We’d love to know your thoughts on these books. Leave us a comment below!

Interested in more Caldecott coverage? Check out our analysis of past Caldecott winners here.

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