The Mohansicott Winners!

First graders chose the winners of our first annual Mohansicott Award! Students evaluated what makes a "distinguished" picture book, as described in the Caldecott Terms & Criteria. We looked at several past winners to help us identify "distinguished" attributes, such as details in the illustration, colorful pictures, something new and different we had never seen before, and illustrations that shared a feeling from the story.

The winner is A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann! Students enjoyed the colorful and playful illustrations complementing a sweet story of kittens enjoying winter's first snow. Our two Honor titles are Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken illustrated by Harry Bliss and written by Kate DiCamillo, and Old Bear by Kevin Henkes. The illustrations in Louise matched the adventures in the story: exciting and fun! Louise looked like a cartoon! In Old Bear, Kevin Henkes told the story of a bear who went to sleep for the winter and dreamed of the changing seasons. We loved how we could tell from the illustrations which season Old Bear was dreaming of.

We enjoyed sharing the Caldecott Committee's choice, The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson. Some first graders noticed that this cumulative tale tells a story then "rewinds" to tell the tale in reverse. Many students loved the beautiful etched illustrations with its careful use of golden color.

Special thanks to polldaddy for helping us tally our votes. We will soon have a medal designed for the winning and honor books that will be placed on the book covers in the Mohansic Library. Can't wait until next year!