Caldecott Critique: FIREWORKS by Matthew Burgess and Cátia Chien (+ Giveaways)

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

Jan 20, 2026

❄️ Note: In 11 days, I’m giving away a framed piece of original art from my book JUST ONE FLAKE. Everyone who joins my paid tier is entered to win. More details (way) below.

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

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Hello esteemed Caldecott committee members. I want to begin today by calling for a 15 minute bathroom break. If you thought I was long-winded last time, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Because FIREWORKS, illustrated by Cátia Chien and written by Matthew Burgess excels in every category of the Caldecott criteria, making it perhaps the most distinguished picture book of the year.

Let’s get into it.

In lesser picture books, the half-title page is a throwaway, but great illustrators know it’s an opportunity to set the tone for the whole book. With this little pigeon vignette, Chien does a couple things:

Delineation of setting. The pigeons allow the reader to infer that a city story is about to unfold.
It also establishes the pigeons as a motif that could be used later on in the book (and, as you’ll see, it is).

Next, the full-title page pays off on that mini “big city” inference.

A lone pigeon on the right side of the spread. Perhaps it just finished eating down on the sidewalk and has taken flight? It leads us past the open window of our main characters and toward the hot-pink title. The pigeons have brought us into this story.

Delineation of character begins immediately: one child has a big smile, holding a stuffed animal, the other stretching (or is that cheering?). They’re waking up and excited. I get the sense they know this is a day that will end with a grand fireworks show. They face right, in essence “looking ahead” to the the story of this day.

Next, we really begin to learn about the characters.

Based on the text (“In the summer, the sun rises between buildings on our block to greet us at breakfast”), this spread could have been an image of the sun rising between the buildings, but Chien is one step ahead - she showed that on the title page, so on this spread she can begin where the text ends - “breakfast”, adding to the forward momentum.

Committee members, we’ve been trained to always notice what happens in, around, and over the gutter of a picture book. Here it’s an opportunity to show sibling love, as the brother reaches over the gutter to make a connection with his sister (I’m going to assume that’s the dynamic here), delivering a spoonful to her open mouth. It’s a visual act of love that, importantly, isn’t mentioned in the text. That’s some excellent “pictorial interpretation of story” right there.

In the background, we see what I assume is the grandmother, cooking something at the stove. Her back could have been turned, but isn’t - she’s watching, subtly showing her attentiveness and cluing us in on her character.

And this spread is so rich. From the laundry basket to the kids’ art to the crowded kitchen countertop, this is an apartment that isn’t just looking pretty in the background - it’s being LIVED in. This deep sense of place is a theme that runs throughout the book (and the apartment returns later in an important way)

Textbook delineation of setting and mood in this spread. The foreground red lanterns looming at the top of the page and the hazy background make the heat feel oppressive (more on this feeling in the next spread).

Brother and sister are positioned on opposite ends of the spread. They are ants in this big, hot city. Brother leads the way but stops and turns back to check on his sibling. Even when the main focus of this spread is setting and mood, Chien slips in a subtle touch of character building.

On the next spread, some potential relief from the heat.

More mood-setting. The heat feels inescapable. Brother and sister are facing left - their forward momentum has stopped and the “walls” are closing in - the sweating figures in the foreground are obscuring the action. You almost have to bob and weave to see what’s going on.

But while the main characters aren’t moving right, on the far left, a hydrant is opening and the water is just beginning to spray. Man, talk about setting up a page turn.

And the turn is worth it.

Dang. One of the best spreads of the year. It’s alive with movement. You can feel the release after the last couple spreads of rising temps. The warm reds and yellows of the previous spreads give way to blues, greens, and white.

How much better is this largely visual spread than one saying “We played in the water and it felt so good”? This is showing, not telling - or to put it in Caldecott criteria terms, “Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story”. Any time the illustrations “carry the storytelling load” it’s a form of pictorial interpretation.

Chien gives a wide view in this spread that continues the stellar delineation of setting. Mood and theme come into play here as well as the yellow saxophone sound waves drift up and to the right, walking the reader right into another page turn.

This spread so perfectly encapsulates how the artwork in this book prioritizes feeling, which we will see on display again and again in the next spreads.

And check out this juxtaposition:

Most picture books are lucky if they manage one showstopper spread. FIREWORKS is bursting with them.

We go from wide view to close up, keeping readers on their toes. Sister and brother each have their own side of the spread.

But look at that dripping elbow ever so slightly extending over the gutter. Gutter crossings tell a story, and this one is further reinforcing a connection between these two characters. The watermelon slice on the right side can’t even be contained by the page - it’s extending off to the right. This barely noticeable choice makes it clear that the page can’t even contain this slice. A true feast.

This spread and the one before it also act as a respite. I’m not saying anything new here, but the energy of a picture book (or an album, or a movie, etc.) is most effective when it isn’t a straight line up and to the right. Things need to calm down a bit, so when they ramp back up, it means more.

This book smartly modulates the energy a few times. We have a fireworks show later, after all, and we don’t want to be totally worn out by then.

But before the show, there’s a little more exploring.

Notice that this is the spread where things are beginning to get dark - even though it’s full of movement, it subtly cues the reader that night is falling and the main event is getting closer.

Showing dancing in illustration form is really difficult, and this is where Chien’s ability to capture feeling again shines. The abstract figures in the background (looking through the window into a salsa class?), presented as three layers of staggered color accentuate the joyous movement.

It’s also (again) great pictorial interpretation of story. The choice to have both characters on the left and right side of the spread show a progression, making the reader feel like they are getting snapshots of a scene unfolding and not a static pose.

We’re settling down again here before the big show.

This simple cutaway view of the apartment building reminds us of the communal aspect of a grand fireworks display in a big city. More delineation of setting.

It also introduces the fire escape ladder, which comes into play in the next spread.

Now the characters get to use that fire escape ladder we saw on the last page.

And the pigeons are back! Welcome back, guys. They serve as little guides through this spread. Flying up from the bottom left corner to the top of the left page, then straight across the gutter to the right. Because of this, our eyes follow the climb of the main characters.

TANGENT: This is probably where I would burst out with a “There’s masterful stuff on every friggin’ page! And we haven’t even gotten to the fireworks, in a book titled FIREWORKS!” Then I would apologize to my fellow committee members for my little outburst. TANGENT OVER.

Note the gradient in this spread, from pink at the bottom, to more of a purple at the top, a color choice that practically radiates heat and sunset, wordlessly conveying the line “still soft from the day’s sun”.

The characters have taken a seat, looking with wide eyes and smiles off to the right of the spread. They are the viewers of what’s to come just as we are. The lead pigeon heading that way gives even more forward momentum. The reader is itching to turn that page.

And then things get truly epic.

This is probably a good place to drop the art note from the copyright page:

The artist used mixed media, including pastels, pencils, paint, and scratchboard to create the illustrations for this book.

It’s important to mention that over the next few spreads, Chien uses different materials to convey different types of fireworks (and their accompanying sounds).

Number one in the Caldecott criteria is “Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed”, and during the fireworks display Chien shows excellence in not just one, but a variety of techniques.

The first is a flower of fire, soft petals of light cascading down the page. Likely a lot of pastel and pencil used in this one.

But she switches it up on the next page.

No more soft petals on this spread. The pops are depicted as little bursts of color with defined borders and sharp corners. I can’t tell if this is colorful cut paper added to a black field or a scratchboard technique.

And I love the switch on this next spread.

This definitely looks like scratchboard to me. You know those little scratch drawing books for kids, the ones with the wooden stylus? This is kind of like that.

Beth Krommes used this technique (to a more pastoral effect) in her 2009 Caldecott Medal winning book THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT.

This technique allows little colorful sparks to stand out on the completely black background. Some of the fireworks streak across the page and gutter, emphasizing the onomatopoeia of the text and adding to the sense of movement.

This is a perfect example of “Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept” from the criteria.

This spread uses more hot pink than the previous spreads to emphasize the power of these booming fireworks. I believe all the hot pink in the book is added using a spot color process that allows it to be more vibrant - an excellent design/printing choice that pays off - these spreads seem to emanate light.

And note the pink reflections in the water. The artwork is such a beautiful combination of simplicity and depth.

Time to take a breath.

Like every kid (and every adult) watching a fireworks display, there’s a moment of “Wait, is it over?” This spread conveys that feeling of not knowing, showing “Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.”

The background is dark, but the siblings are glowing from the moonlight. They are in this moment of confusion together, so they face each other, looking up and compelling the reader to raise their eyes to the sky for what’s next.

And it’s grand.

Kaboom! It’s a surprise Garage Door Gatefold (™️ 100 Scope Notes), lifting straight up, that combines every media and technique used in the earlier spreads to show the joyous chaos of the grand finale.

The siblings are nearly ants at the bottom of the page (echoing the crosswalk spread from earlier), standing in front of field of white. The blinding light and sense of scale are off the charts.

And then it’s over. But the story can’t end here.

I love how the spread above transitions in the next one.

We go from the dark of night . . .

. . . back to the brightness of the apartment. Where this whole glorious day began. We haven’s seen this much negative white space since the watermelon spread and it serves as a gear shift into the denouement (“Yes, fellow committee members - I pretend I can speak French sometimes.”) of this story.

The grandma figure is back, helping the siblings wind down and get cozy for bed. Everything here signals safety and love - we’re almost to the end, but Chien is still working that delineation of character, theme, and mood.

We close in on the siblings, eyes closed and smiling, as the text brings the cacophony of the fireworks down to heartbeat level.

But Chien has one last trick up her sleeve.

One final example of the excellence of this book. Sister and brother become silhouettes (“See? French.”) and we see a shower of colorful sparks swirling. The external experience has become internalized.

It’s maybe the most powerful illustration of memory and dream I can remember in a picture book. The perfect closing argument as to why FIREWORKS is undoubtably one the most distinguished American picture book of the year.

And with that, fellow committee members, I hereby call another 15 minute bathroom break.

I’m giving away a copy of FIREWORKS. All you have to do is like, share, restack, or comment to enter. And let me know which 2026 book I should cover next on Caldecott Critiques.

100 Scope Notes

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