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Great Books that Aren't Caldecott Winners
By Holly E. Newton

The highest — and most notable — children’s book awards, the Caldecott and Newbery Awards, were announced on Monday. The Newbery winner went to The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron, and illustrated by Matt Phelan. The three honor books went to Penny from Heaven, by Jennifer L. Holm, Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson, and Rules, by Cynthia Lord.

The Caldecott winner is Flotsam, by David Weisner and the two honor books are Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, by David McLimans and Moses: When Harriett Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Carole Boston Weatherford.

But here are two incredible books the American Library Association award review committee somehow overlooked. And, hopefully, my book review will motivate you to read both of these great books. That is truly the only way to really see how wonderful they are!

All of the Above, by Shelley Pearsall, is based on a true story about an inner city group of students and their teacher building the world's largest tetrahedron. Ms. Pearsall incorporated fictional characters that reflect the lives of lower income kids and how they overcame huge personal obstacles to build this mathematical object in order to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. The heart of this book lies in the souls of these kids.

Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the four students, the teacher, or a parent. By the time you’ve read just the first two chapters, you already know smart-aleck James and his rude attitude by the way he treats Mr. Collins, the math teacher.

Actually, it’s Mr. Collins you first meet — and your heart immediately goes out to him. He begins the book by briefly defining a tetrahedron. (It’s a geometric solid shape that has four equal faces and appears from the onset to look somewhat like a pyramid. But small tetrahedrons can be joined together in order make larger ones.) By the last part of this very brief chapter (less than two pages) you learn that his “idea for the tetrahedron project began with one of my worst classes in twenty years of teaching.”

James tells about how the project came to be in the next chapter. He is bored to death, as is the rest of the class. Mr. Collins is teaching about shapes and pointing out different shapes all while James thinks about how much he’d rather be somewhere else. Only four students turned in their homework for the week, and practically all failed the quiz.

Mr. Collins is becoming very frustrated when he asks James, “What would make you care about being here?” James immediately tells him, “Nothing. I hate math.” Of course Mr. Collins has to put up with the class laughing, but he keeps his cool. He states that he’s sorry to hear that and turns to James' friend, Terrell, and asks him the same question. Terrell finally answers that maybe a contest would help.

And, so begins the inception of the tetrahedron project. As he writes the word on the board, the teacher asks if anyone knows what it means. Of course, no one raises a hand. Mr. Collins tells the class about the contest and forming a new math club and invites everyone to join. James begins to make fun of Mr. Collins by drawing cartoons of him in his notebook, which Mr. Collins notices. Now James has to come after school to this new math club because of his bad behavior.

Only three kids show up to become part of the club, along with troublemaker James, who acts like he would rather be anywhere but there. But as you read more about James, Mr. Collins and the other three students, you begin to really care about all of them. Eventually, James becomes interested and involved in the project.

Another student, Sharice, lives with a foster parent and is sadly neglected. She rides around on the city bus and sits at the public library for hours because this neglectful adult won’t let her in the house until she comes home.

The contest becomes much more than a club. Each chapter is short, but full of insight, in the struggles and difficulties of inner city life. This powerful book will leave you with so much more than an understanding of the struggles of kids living in the inner city. It will leave you with a desire for kids to have a chance at a better life. The story is so well written and the characters so real, I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it. The pencil drawings, by Javaka Steptoe, of each of the protagonists, along with other drawings, go perfectly with the storyline! This is a heartfelt story for all ages!

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And while I’m on the topic of missed awards, here’s the other book I would have included in the Caldecott awards. Once Upon a Banana, by Jennifer Armstrong, and masterfully illustrated by David Small, is a hilarious and ingenious wordless picture book. The only text is the rhyming sign displayed on each page.

The precarious misadventures begin with a monkey dashing away from his owner/juggler and grabbing a banana from a vendor. After the monkey takes the peel off, an unknowing biker slips on the peel and knocks over a ladder that is holding a painter — and so on. Each page sets the next catastrophe about to take place as you see objects, people or animals about to enter the mess. The banana begins this adventure and ultimately ends it as well.

If you’ve ever doubted that a wordless book could be so fun, think again! More than likely, you’ll find yourself turning the pages back again and again to find more about what just took place! This book will appeal to all!

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