. . . but that won’t stop speculation. While the winners (and honor books) of ALA’s Newbery and Caldecott Awards posed no surprises in themselves, everyone wants to know what happened to Mr. Tiger. As Calling Caldecott blogger Robin Smith sensibly says, it’s likely that the committee simply found four other books it liked more. But why let common sense get in the way of a good theory? Maybe the committee members did not like the fact that the number of stripes on Tiger’s tail varied from spread to spread. Maybe they felt that since Locomotive has almost as much text as Time of Wonder they would otherwise err on the side of discretion and go full-Monty wordless for the runners-up. Please post your favorite theories in the comments.

Anyone interested in more Thursday-evening quarterbacking should come to Simmons College on February 13th for a panel discussion sponsored by Children’s Books Boston. Please join us for “Why Did THAT Book Win?” a panel discussion with Martha Parravano, Julie Roach, and Vicky Smith, moderated by yours truly. The program begins at 6:00 PM in the Kotzen Room; admission is free but registration is required as space is very limited. Write to CBB @ hbookdotcom if you would like to attend.

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