Big is the 2024 Caldecott award winner. It tells the story of a girl with big dreams. However as she grows bigger and bigger, she encounters more and more problems due to her size.
Everyone around her either bullies her or tries to fix her problem. Big is a wonderful picture book that shows how her discovery of self love helps her break away from all the judgements and prejudices of the world.
Big is a great mentor text for aspiring picture book writers. The pictures and words tell different parts of the tale , working together to reveal the entire story.
The wordless pages tell so much more than words can. Vashti Harrison incorporating words in the art was a stroke of genius. Text, speech bubbles, and words in the illustrations combine together to paint the full picture of the story.
Next time choose Big to read aloud to your students. Have them make predictions before each page turn. What do they expect to happen? It ‘s the perfect book to share during Random Acts of Kindness Week in 2025 which takes place February 9-15.