Since 1938, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded every year by the American Library Association to the “artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.” Hot Dog, written and illustrated by Doug Salati, was the Caldecott winner in 2023. The Caldecott Medal is named for English illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886). Caldecott is credited with originating the modern picture book by using his colorful illustrations to help tell the story rather than simply reflect the written words. Created by Rene Paul Chambellan in 1937, the bronze medal’s design is based on one of Randolph Caldecott's illustrations for The Diverting History of John Gilpin. It features the image of a man riding a runaway horse surrounded by geese, dogs and children. To celebrate Picture Book Month in 2023, enjoy some of these gorgeous nonfiction picture books chosen by John Schu and Colby Sharp for their 2024 Mock Caldecott List (!), illustrated by Carin Berger, Sophie Blackall, Aaron Becker, Lauren Castillo, Cátia Chien, Mathew Cordell, Dare Coulter, Michaela Goade, Vashti Harrison, Claire Keane, Jon Klassen, Jessica Lanan, Grace Lin, Steph Littlebird, Barbara McClintock, Daniel Miyares, Oge Mora, Brian Pinkney, Jerry Pinkney, Jarrett Pumphrey, Jerome Pumphrey, Katherine Roy, and Gracey Zhang. Read More

In honor of Picture Book Month 2023, enjoy these beautiful picture books by illustrators Hatem Aly, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Jared Chapman, Bryan Collier, Cori Doerrfeld, Julie Flett, Raissa Figueroa, Abigail Halpin, Eliza Kinkz, Khoa Le, Huynh Kim Liên, Marc Majewski, Marc Martin, Erika Meza, Phùng Nguyên Quang, Hannah Salyer, Lane Smith, Nikkolas Smith, Melissa Sweet, Corey R. Tabor, Kitt Thomas, Evan Turk, Mies Van Hout, Anne Wilson, and Jack Wong. Read More

Ribbon skirts are worn today not only as a symbol of cultural significance, but also as a beautiful fashion statement. While they mean different things to different Indigenous communities, ribbon skirts are broadly considered to symbolize culture and kinship, identity and resilience. In 2021, Deb Haaland wore a ribbon skirt when she was sworn in as the first Native American cabinet secretary of the Department of the Interior. In What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland’s Historic Inauguration written by Alexis Bunten (Aleut/Yup’ik) and illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt (Diné (Navajo) of the Kiiyaa'áanii Clan), we learn that the colors of the ribbons adorning Secretary Haaland’s skirt each had a special meaning – the red ribbon represented strawberries, the orange represented fire, yellow was for the sun, green was for grass, blue was for water and violet was for shells. To celebrate Native American Heritage Month in 2023, you can learn more about ribbon skirts, and other traditions and experiences of Indigenous Americans, through the books below: Read More

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month in 2023 by checking out the books on Jazzy’s new bookshelf! Read More

Cats sleep a lot. In fact, some cats sleep as much as 20 hours per day! But that doesn’t mean that cats spend all that time sound asleep. Most of the time, cats are just dozing and ready to jump up at a moment’s notice. Which is why we say that a person enjoying a quick, light sleep is taking a “cat nap.” :) To Celebrate National Cat Day on October 29, 2023, learn more about cats and their wilder relatives by exploring these great cat books, below. Read More

Here are some great books to celebrate National Cat Day on October 29, 2023! Read More

Each year, lots of families carve jack-o’-lanterns to celebrate Halloween. But did you know that the first jack-o’-lanterns were carved from turnips, not pumpkins? In Ireland and Scotland people hollowed out turnips and gave them creepy faces to celebrate the feast of All Hallows’ Eve. Many years later, when immigrants from the UK arrived in North America, they discovered that the native pumpkin made a much better jack-o’-lantern, because it was larger and softer than a turnip.  Trick-or-treating would look quite different today, without those familiar orange faces glowing in the dark! So here are some wonderful, pumpkin-themed books that will help get you ready to trick or treat in 2023: Read More

Get into the Halloween spirit by checking out Jazzy’s latest bookshelf for 2023! Interested in more books about holidays and celebrations? Check them out here. Read More

The world’s population includes 2 billion children aged 0-14. These children live in 195 different countries, speak more than 7,000 languages, and represent hundreds of different ethnicities. In celebration of World Inclusion Day 2023, enjoy these stories about children whose race, gender, abilities or experiences might differ from yours! Read More

Celebrate World Inclusion Day 2023 with these wonderful stories about honoring and embracing the things that make us different, and help create a kinder, more inclusive world! Read More