Caldecott & Newbery Contenders

Ok, here’s my stab at next week’s ALA Award Announcements.  I have short and long lists for both the Caldecott and Newbery Awards, hoping that some from the long list might be good contenders for other awards, like the Theodore Geisel, Scott O’Dell or Prinz Awards.  My apologies if any Canadians snuck on the list (extracted two to my knowledge so far, those tricky Canucks), and a few I haven’t seen on other prediction lists but seem so obvious to me that there must be some reason for disqualification, or else why aren’t they on everyone’s list?  Here ’tis:

Caldecott Top Contenders:
Chalk by Bill Thomson
Art & Max by David Wiesner
City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems, illustrated Jon J. Muth
Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile

Caldecott Alternate Contenders:
Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu
Old Bear and His Cub by Olivier Dunrea
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Flora’s Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall, illustrated by Matt Phelan
Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot by Syd Montgomery
Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin
We Are in a Book by Mo Willems

Newbery Top Contenders:
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Zora and Me by Victoria Bond
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan
Countdown by Deborah Wiles
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb

Newbery Alternate Contenders:
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez
Keeper by Kathi Appelt
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins