Just in case you missed the announcement in our SEMLS sightings newsletter, we are announcing it again! If you believe you have the winning pick for the Caldecott Medal winners or would at least like to find out who is in the running, then sign up for our Mock Caldecott: Can You Pick the Winner? workshop on Tuesday, January 9th at 2 p.m. This workshop will be held at Lakeville Public at 4 Precinct Street Lakeville, MA 02347. Click here to register.

Participate in a discussion of the cream of this year’s crop of picture books and sharpen your evaluation skills in the process. Use the voting procedure of the real Caldecott committee to come up with a SEMLS winner for the most distinguished picture book published in the U.S. by an American resident or citizen during 2006. A list of books to consider will be available December 8. Try to read some of the books in advance, although time will be allotted for examining the books at the meeting. The real Caldecott winners will be announced on Monday, January 22, 2007, at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle. Check the ALA Website at http://www.ala.org/alsc under “Breaking News” around 1:00 p.m. Presenter Melody Allen is a Library Program Specialist at the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services. She also teaches children’s literature at the GSLIS at the University of Rhode Island. Melody serviced twice on the Caldecott committee and has been conducting mock sessions since 1986.