Throughout the month of January, Waverly Park Elementary School students have been embarking on a Caldecott adventure under the guidance of librarian Mrs. Heather Cocozza.

Each January, the Association for Library Services to Children awards one distinguished American Picture book with the Caldecott Medal. Caldecott Honors are awarded to a few other titles that are recognized for excellence in their book's illustrations.

Waverly Wonders were provided the opportunity to become the judges for Waverly Caldecott 2023! The students reviewed and analyzed the illustrations of five select titles from the Waverly Park Library. While using a rubric, the students traveled from table to table to work with peers and engage in discussion on the illustrations. The criteria they utilized were derived from that of the real Caldecott analysis. For each criterion, the students had to rate the titles on a scale from 1-5 (5 being the best).

The criteria were as follows:
- Excellence in the book cover: Choose your favorite book cover.
- Are the images throughout the book essential or important to the overall story? (Are the images pivotal to the telling of this story)
- Do the images tell the story well throughout the book? (Are the images cohesive and fluid with the story throughout the whole book?)

Using their Learning Management Systems, Seesaw and Schoology, the students used their rubric of criteria to vote for their favorite book to be awarded the Waverly Caldecott, and their “runner up” to be awarded the Waverly Caldecott Honor. Students analyzed “Change Sings” by Amanda Gorman, “Milo Imagines the World” by Matt de la Pena, “The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh” by Supriya Kelkar, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” by Mac Barnett, and “Eddie the Bully” by Henry Cole.

Through analysis and consideration, the Waverly Park students awarded the title “Change Sings” as the 2023 Waverly Caldecott winner, and “Eddie the Bully” as the Waverly Caldecott Honoree!

Date Added: 2/1/2023