James Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse has won this year’s coveted Randolph Caldecott Medal for most distinguished picture book. But who, you may wonder, chooses the winner of this prestigious award each year?

The Caldecott Committee, under the auspices of the Association for Library Service to Children, consists of fifteen librarians and children’s literature enthusiasts who spend a year reviewing books and making selections.
For 2011, Lake Travis Community Library Director Morgan McMillian has been appointed to the committee.
“The Board of Lake Travis Community Library is very honored to have a library director who has been selected to serve on the committee,” said LTCL Board President Carol Black. “We recognize that it is an outstanding honor in the library community, nation-wide.”
McMillian has been the Library Director for LTCL since the summer of 2009. She graduated from the School of Information at the University of Texas and has been an active member of the American Library Association serving on various committees. She has worked at Austin Public Library, Dell Children’s Medical Center Family Resource Center, Family Connections Family Place Library, and was an independent children’s bookseller in Washington, D.C. for six years.
“I am so thrilled to be able to participate in awarding next year’s Caldecott,” said McMillian. “The committee will consider every picture book that is published in the United States in the 2010 calendar year, so we have a big task. I look forward to hearing feedback from our patrons on their favorite picture books of the year!”
The 2010 Youth Media Awards were announced last week at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, including not only the Caldecott Award, but also the Newbery Award for most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, which this year went to Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me.
Visit Lake Travis Community Library to borrow this year’s winners. Contact the library at 263-2885 or www.laketravislibrary.org.