SA Proves You’re Never Too Old to Enjoy a Good Book

For many years, and like so many other elementary institutions, Sewickley Academy’s Lower School (Grades K - 5) has celebrated the annual selection of a Caldecott Medal-winning book. Sarah DeMicheli, Librarian of the Marion Hutchins (aka Lower School) Library, had attempted to engage the students using methods that had been tried in the past, such as races to read the most potential candidates and trivia competitions. “But I wanted to bring back the joy and spirit of reading these books as well as encourage the students to really analyze the illustrations as opposed to getting through as many books as they could,” she said. 

The Academy’s library team decided that 2023 was the year to take advantage of the school’s PreK - Grade 12 campus and develop a cross-divisional activity to honor the Caldecotts while building community. “Research shows that reading picture books as an adult builds empathy, imagination, and positive aspirations for the future,” said Director of Libraries Ruth Neely. “These are concepts and characteristics that are essential for all of our students, so why limit our Caldecott celebration to our youngest minds?”

Beginning in January, DeMicheli selected seven picture books that she anticipated to be contenders for this year’s Caldecott Medal. In the Middle School (Grades 6 - 8) faculty are reading the books to the students, while in the Senior School (Grades 9 - 12) a series of guest readers have been selected to read the texts while the scanned images are projected on screen. DeMicheli is reading to the Lower School students during their regular visits to the library. “I love reading the same books with different groups of students because they will notice so many things in the illustrations that I didn’t,” she said. 

“Guest readers were invited to join us during Senior School announcements,” said Neely. “The students have really embraced these story sessions. They get the opportunity to see the readers outside of their usual academic and administrative responsibilities.” Guest readers include two faculty members, a member of the housekeeping staff, three of the academy’s top administrators, and a teacher from the Early Childhood program who plans to bring her four-year old class with her to join the “big kids” for a story. 

“I love the picture book project!” said senior and National Merit semifinalist Grace Armutat. “It’s been fun to feel a little like we're kids again. The books are all so endearing, and they bring me a lot of joy. There are a few that I would love to read again on my own. It's also nice to see adults in a bit of a different light than we usually do. Most people haven't seen Ms. Nestor or Mr. Terry tap into their inner child, so this has helped me connect with them in a new way.”

“Our younger students are really thrilled that they are reading the same books as the older students, and so we encouraged our older students to discuss the stories and pictures with their younger siblings,” said Neely. 

Sophomore Nolan Donnelly has a brother, Nashton, in Grade 1. “I asked him about one of the books, and we were able to connect about it. Now he asks me every time he reads a new book, and lets me know what he thought about it. It’s a good little bonding experience for us.”

Though the official 2023 Caldecott winner was announced on January 30, SA’s celebration will last until Spring Break (mid-March) when students will vote on their favorite illustrations. The librarians have been doing their best to keep the winner a secret (spoiler alert, it was Hot Dog illustrated and written by Doug Salati). DeMicheli is proud that three of her seven selections made it to the finals this year – in addition to Hot Dog, Berry Song illustrated and written by Michaela Goade and Knight Owl illustrated and written by Christopher Denise were both named Caldecott honor books. The other four books being read by the SA community include The World Belonged to Us illustrated by Leo Espinosa (written by Jacqueline Woodson), The Blur illustrated by Dan Santat (written by Minh Le), A Spoonful of Frogs illustrated by Vera Brosgol (written by Casey Lyall), and Gibberish written and illustrated by Young Vo.