Eagle Point Elementary School students

form Caldecott Book Club

ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 20, 2009) -- Several students at Eagle Point Elementary School, under the guidance of reading teacher Jennifer Carey Fusco, recently formed a Caldecott Book Club. The club was designed to emulate the Caldecott Book Award, which is chosen each year by the American Library Association (ALA) as the children’s book that has the most distinguished illustrations from the previous year.

The club began by reading about the history of the Caldecott Award and the man it is named after, Randolph Caldecott. They then looked at past winners and learned how to evaluate illustrations according to the ALA’s guidelines.

In the middle weeks, the club learned more about parts of books, including copyright date, end pages, double page spreads, and gutters. In 

addition, the students discussed the different          Caldecott Book Club members with their four nominees for the award.

mediums – such as watercolors, acrylics,             (L-R) Jaime Kendrick, Katerina Cakri, Ceirra Falero, and Creedence 

colored pencils, and pastels - used by                       Cameron  

illustrators. During this time, students also                   

honed their evaluation skills by sharing with each other what they liked and disliked about previous winners of the award.                                                                                               

Lastly, on Tuesday, January 20, the Eagle Point Elementary School Caldecott Book Club held elections to determine their favorite illustrated books.

The winners:

1^st place - Old Bear.

2^nd place - In a Blue Room

3^rd place (tie) - Lincoln’s Boys and Night of the Veggie Monster

The club will now wait to compare their choices with the ALA Caldecott Award winners, which will be chosen at the ALA midwinter conference held in Denver on January 26.

According to Mrs. Fusco, the club - besides being fun - helps students become active readers. 

"As a reading teacher, it is my charge to improve student's literacy skills.  Instilling a love and interest in books, such as Caldecott awarded books, helps with this goal.  It was rewarding to see the smiles, laughter, and thoughts of the club members as they evaluated the books.  I hope the interest and evaluation skills the students learned about books will stay with them as they continue to grow as readers and learners."

The City School District of Albany serves approximately 8,400 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students. The district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students succeed in the 21st century.