Excellence in Ineligible Titles

This year there are a number of delightful beginning readers that, if they were eligible, would be strong contenders. Alas, page limits and the pesky requirement that both author and illustrator be United States residents or citizens rules out many a title. The following are, by our estimation, ineligible* for the Geisel but still deserving of your attention and of being shared widely with young readers.

Meet Yasmin - This new series has so much to recommend it - the confident Yasmin celebrating creativity and problem-solving in a way that feels fresh, her Pakistani American extended family (and an Urdu glossary to help readers unfamiliar with the language to follow along). Each individual story is just the right length for a beginning reader, and we’ll be looking forward to the future adventures of Yasmin.

Peter and Ernesto - Anna Taylor did a great write-up of Peter and Ernesto’s strengths here. The facial expressions of the duo as they pursue their great adventures infuse a lot of feeling into a story written at a beginning reader level.

Space Cows - Engaging illustrations of the wacky rhyming descriptions in the text make this an appropriate pick for early beginning readers. Recommended for young fans who will giggle at the premise, or anyone ready to embrace the absurdity of Space Cows.

Chicken on Vacation - Zoey the Chicken takes two of her more literal-minded friends on an imaginative vacation, recasting their experiences on the farm as a beach vacation complete with treasure hunt. More confident readers will enjoy Zoey’s flights of fancy, but as they differ from the reality depicted in the illustrations will need to already be familiar with the vocabulary. A celebration of imagination and creativity.

Baby Monkey, Private Eye - Selznick and Serlin push the beginning reader format into new territory in this animal mystery. At 191 pages it far exceeds the Geisel page limit criteria, however strong word repetition and visual clues, plus a wonderful page-turning dynamic provide support for more confident developing readers. Although there’s much to appreciate about this title, there has also been discussion around the problematic depictions of monkeys and apes in children’s literature.

*Note that we are only privy to what information we can find in author and illustrator bios in the books themselves or on their websites. If the Real Committee has questions about eligibility, they may work with their ALSC liaison to discreetly look into the matter further. As bloggers, we’re just making our best guess based on the information at hand and would be thrilled if one of the titles above was determined eligible by the committee after all and was deemed worthy of the Geisel Award.