Looking for the 2010 Rebecca Caudill nominees? Go here! I was right about three of my predictions! - AtL, Feb. 4, 2009
Predictions for the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz awards are all over the kidlitosphere every year. I've participated in a Mock Newbery and a Mock Caldecott this year. But today I'd like to offer some predictions for the 2010 Rebecca Caudill nominees. The list should be out soon and it'll consist of 20 books.
Last year I offered a few predictions and even got a couple of them right. What would I like to see on this year's Caudill list*?
Lesley M.M. Blume's Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters was on the 2009 nominee list. There's no stipulation that an author can't win the award twice and there are two other books by Blume that I liked more than Cornelia. Tennyson, which was out in 2008 and The Rising Star of Rusty Nail, which was out in 2007. I'd be happy to see either of those on the list. (It seems like the Caudills tend not to be published in the previous year, so my money'd be on Rusty Nail.)
I'd love to see something by Lee Weatherly on the list. Breakfast at Sadie's (2006) is my personal favorite, but Kat Got Your Tongue (2007) is another possibility.
Other predictions:
Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller (2007).
The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech (2006) and A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (2007) are both distinct possibilities. I reviewed them both audiobooks here.
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate (2007).
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Laura Tarshis (2007).
No Talking by Andrew Clements (2007).
I'm not sure when the list will be announced, but I suspect it may be next weekend that the committee is meeting. (Is anyone reading on the committee? When will they determine the Master list?)
I'm sure there will be 20 great books on the list, some of which I'll have read and some of which will be new to me. That's one of the things I like best about the Caudill list - it's a way to find great books that I might not otherwise have picked up!
So, Illinois librarians and teachers, what do YOU think might be on the list???
*Note: I'm not and never have been on the Caudill committee, so all of this is purely speculation!