Caldecott Critique: EVERY MONDAY MABEL by Jashar Awan (+ Giveaway)

A closer look at one the best picture books of the year.

I will now present this book as if I was a member of the 2026 Caldecott committee . . .

Click here for the official Caldecott Medal Terms and Criteria

My fellow Caldecottians - can I call you Caldecottians? No? Okay, that’s probably for the best. My fellow committee members, I’ve gathered you all here to discuss EVERY MONDAY MABEL by Jashar Awan. As you’ll see, it’s truly one of the most distinguished American picture books of the year.

Let’s begin.

Bam. Right here on the fricking TITLE PAGE (do you mind if I drop an occasional frick bomb during this presentation, fellow committee members?) we have our first example of excellent delineation of character and setting (an important part of the Caldecott criteria). Through this simple image, we understand that Mabel is in her house, and she is waiting and watching for something (something hinted at on the cover of the book).

Note the color behind her - that will come into play later.

Now, this first page turn is perfect.

The perspective shifts from outside the house looking in, to inside the house. The window you see is the same window Mabel was anxiously peering out of in the last spread. As we enter the house, we officially “enter” the story.

And it doesn’t take long for the momentum to begin building.

Awan uses each side of the spread as its own panel, as Mabel puts on her sweater and begins walking to the right, giving a sense of forward movement that runs throughout the book, compelling readers to keep turning pages.

This next page turn gets dramatic.

We see that Mabel has grabbed the chair and the light from the window is projecting a large shadow on the wall. This accentuates the “forward” (to the right) progress, and also emphasizes the mystery of Mabel’s task - where is she headed? Talk about delineation of mood.

Now that the character of Mabel has been established, it’s time to bring some others into the fold.

We see Mabel pass big sister Mira’s room. Mira’s eye roll visually expands on the text - she doesn’t have to say a word.

Notice that Mabel isn’t perfectly framed in the doorway - we just see her back leg, her hair, and her arm dragging the chair. She’s in such a hurry that the “camera” can’t quite catch her, and, importantly, makes it clear that Mabel DOESN’T CARE that her sister doesn’t understand her obsession. She’s on a mission. Another visual indication of her character.

Where is Mabel heading?

Mabel stops in the kitchen to get cereal. It’s spilling out of the bowl, further indicating that she’s in a hurry. Mom has her first line, but we only get a glimpse of her hand watering a plant. This spread does two things beautifully:

1. Even though we only see her hand, we already have a sense of the mom: she is a plant lover and nurturer (as we see her watering/caring for her plant).

2. It subtly ramps up the anticipation for the upcoming page turn. We want to see the mini-reveal of the mom, along the way to the larger reveal of Mabel’s destination with the chair.

I love this next spread.

The left side of the spread is crammed with flora, contrasting the “lone wolf” status of Mabel on the right. We get a sense of Mabel’s determination, as she keeps marching with that chair while holding a bowl of dry cereal.

Mom’s body is facing left (this happens with all the members of Mabel’s family), indicating she isn’t on this journey with Mabel. Note the lone vine crossing the gutter, adding forward momentum and leading the eye to the main character. The color palette, composition, and execution of this spread show that Awan has full fluency of the principles of art.

Note the green of the plants and pink of the Mom’s dress mirrored in Mabel’s outfit, unifying the image.

This next spread is a real feat.

Whoa. There’s so much happening here, all masterfully conveyed in an instant.

• Dad enters the story, but Mabel nearly knocks him (and his coffee) over as she continues her single-minded quest.

• Dad reaches over the gutter to open the door for Mabel, who has her hands full.

• We have another example of page-as-panel, as Mabel exits the open door and walks outside into the sunshine.

Notice the window behind Dad, because that’s about to come into play.

Now I’m really getting excited. This spread shows the subtle inventiveness of this book. Dad inside on the left side of the spread, and Mabel outside on the right. The gutter is acting as the wall/window between the two.

Dad’s slightly upturned brow is showing his mix of bemusement and confusion. And, in my favorite piece of visual character building, we can see a framed number five jersey on the wall behind a trophy. We have a sports dad here, folks, and seeing his daughter obsessed with something other than sports might just be the driving force behind his mix of bemusement and confusion.

That’s distinguished visual storytelling.

In the next spread, the perspective shifts, and we see Dad watching at the window while Mabel takes her place.

Remember this spread, because we’re going to revisit it in a minute.

This next spread is the calm before the storm.

How do you illustrate the boredom of waiting? How about two nearly identical pictures of Mabel, with a sliiiightly shifted shadow to show the passage of time?

But the wait is coming to an end.

The combination of the “RRR” sound effect and shadow cutting across the bottom of the right side of the spread begins to ramp the anticipation back up.

Whatever Mabel is waiting for has almost arrived and she’s giddy. The shadow is angled, which as Molly Bang explains in her visual literacy bible PICTURE THIS, wordlessly implies motion or tension. The shadow is also more detailed now, allowing readers to predict what Mabel has been waiting for (“Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience”, anyone?).

And it’s glorious.

No more hints, no more shadows - this is a payoff spread. A full, detailed look at Mabel’s obsession: the local garbage truck.

The entire background fades away into a flood of yellow (and remains that way until the truck moves on). Nothing else exists. Mabel is transfixed.

Over the next three spreads, what was once mundane becomes magical as the garbage truck does its job.

Then we come back to reality.

The background reappears, the ecstatic yellow of the previous spreads becoming a calming wash of blue as Mabel stands triumphant. The satisfaction is palpable. The delineation of mood is perfection.

The story is beginning to come to an end.

I told you we’d revisit this spread. For the very first time in the ENTIRE book, Mabel is turned to the left. Her quest is over, so her “forward” (to the right) momentum has stopped.

Now we can see Dads back turned to the window, and upstairs, the rest of Mabel’s family occupied. They missed it, and the spare text allows the illustration to carry much of the storytelling here.

It also serves as a visual recap of Mabel's walk through the house, revisiting the characters and thus wrapping up their stories.

But the forward momentum isn’t quite finished. There’s one last little push, as the garbage truck hangs a left and begins to exit the right side of the page.

We began the book wondering where Mabel was going, and now we’re asking the same question about the truck.

The yellow returns (but only on half of the spread so as to not overshadow Mabel’s big moment earlier in the book) - Mabel isn’t the only one who’s excited to see the garbage truck. The yellow also appears inside Mikey’s window.

Again, note the use of the gutter here, as it marks the edge of the brick building. This book is masterful in how it uses the gutters for visual effect and efficiency.

And we have a final reveal coming.

Mabel (and Mikey) are not alone. Although it’s presented as a sort of picture frame wall, we instantly understand that these kids are looking out their windows all over the city. What color is the background? Yep - that same yellow, wordlessly reminding you of what everyone is looking at.

Wait, this spread reminds me of something. Remember the title page?

The final spread echos the beginning of the story in composition and color palette.

Bow tied.

Through excellence in the areas of artistic technique, interpretation of story, and delineation of character, setting, and mood, EVERY MONDAY MABEL proves on every page that it is one of the most distinguished picture books of the year.

Now, before we move on to the next book, who brought snacks?

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I’m giving away a copy of EVERY MONDAY MABEL. All you have to do is like, share, restack, or comment to enter. And let me know which 2025 book I should cover next on Caldecott Critiques.