Blog Launch with Double Bass Blues

Blog Launch with Double Bass Blues

Welcome to the brand new Picture Book Summit blog!

What is the perfect way to start a new Picture Book Summit blog? How about featuring the Oscars of the picture book world—the Caldecott Medal and Honor Books? Each year, our founders gather together for an in-depth analysis of the winning books. We analyze the text, the illustrations, and how they combine to create an award-winning picture book. Over the next two weeks, we’ll share our thoughts on each of this year’s amazing books. Most importantly, we hope our conversations will inspire you to look for ways to elevate your own picture book manuscripts.

First off, our hearty congratulations to the 2020 Caldecott Medal and Honors Books! THE UNDEFEATED by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson took home the 2020 Caldecott Medal.

The Caldecott Committee recognized these books as 2020 Caldecott Honor Books: BEAR CAME ALONG by Richard T. Morris and LeUyen Pham, GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY by Kelly Starling Lyons and Daniel Minter, and DOUBLE BASS BLUES by Andrea J. Loney and Rudy Gutierrez.

The American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal each year at its winter conference. But how are these winners chosen? Emma Walton Hamilton sums up the criteria the Caldecott committee uses to choose the winning picture books:

Caldecott Criteria

Now, let’s dig in with our analysis of 2020 Caldecott Honor Book DOUBLE BASS BLUES written by Andrea J. Loney and illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Here’s a brief description of this electrifying, toe-tapping book:

An aspiring musician, Nic’s life spans two different worlds–his suburban school where he wows his friends in orchestra, and the busy city streets of his home where he’s jostled by the crowd. Nic makes his way home from a busy day at school with a double bass on his back, the symphony of his surroundings in his heart, and a sweet surprise for the reader at the end of his journey.

To clarify, the Caldecott is primarily an illustration award. However, all of the honorees this year feature separate author and illustrators. DOUBLE BASS BLUES demonstrates how much the text and art rely on each other for success. Julie Hedlund leads our soulful discussion into the many layers of this award-winning book.

DOUBLE BASS BLUES

Join us right back here on Thursday for our next 2020 Caldecott Honor Book: GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY!

Enjoy!

Wondering how you can write picture books that shine? Check out our Picture Book Summit Revision Strategies.

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