It's that time of year again when children's book lovers get a gambler's gleam in their eyes, weighing the chances for their favorites and feverishly checking rumors about dark horse candidates.

What's the fuss about? It's almost time for the announcement of the "Academy Awards" of children's literature: the Newbery Medal for the best-written children's book, the Caldecott Medal for the best-illustrated children's book, and a host of other awards designed to spotlight the top children's books published in the previous year.

The announcement will be made Monday at the mid-winter meeting of the American Library Association, which sponsors the awards.

Each year, committees of librarians are formed for each of the prizes, which include awards for the best nonfiction children's book (the Sibert Award) and the best young adult novel (the Printz Award). This year, a new annual award, the Dr. Seuss Award, will be given to the best beginning reader book.

In addition, there are awards highlighting books by minority authors and illustrators, including the Coretta Scott King Awards for books by African-American authors and illustrators and the Pura Belpre Award, given every two years for the best book by a Latino author or illustrator.

Although the library association awards committees operate under strict rules of secrecy, it's usually possible to pinpoint some of the most likely candidates for the awards (although the winners could end up being entirely different!).

What follows is the latest list of major contenders for the Caldecott and Newbery medals, drawn from a number of children's book experts, some of whom previously served on Caldecott or Newbery committees.

The experts include: Anita Silvey, author of "100 Best Books for Children" and "The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators;" Leonard S. Marcus, an author, critic and children's book historian; Maria Salvadore, a children's literature professor and former director of children's services at the Washington, D.C., Public Library; Kathleen Horning, director of the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Lisa Dennis, director of children's collections at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; and Cynthia Richey, former head of the ALA's Association for Library Service to Children and director of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library.

2006 Caldecott possibilities

It looks like a race between "Zen Shorts" (Scholastic, $16.95), a fascinating and child-friendly look at three classic Zen stories, written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth, and "Show Way" (Putnam, $16.99), an intimate look at the history of slavery, written by Jacqueline Woodson and beautifully illustrated by Hudson Talbott.

Other possibilities include: "The Hello-Goodbye Window" (Hyperion, $15.95), written by "Phantom Tollbooth" author Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Rashka; "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More" (Harcourt, $16), written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow; "Traction Man Is Here!" (Knopf, $15.95), written and illustrated by Mini Grey, and winner of this year's Boston-Globe-Horn Book award for best picture book; "Kamishibai Man" (Houghton Mifflin, $17), written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Allen Say; "Terrific" (Hyperion, $15.95), written and illustrated by Jon Agee; "The Old African" (Dial, $19.99), written by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney; and "Leaf Man" (Harcourt, $16), written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert.

Two books are regarded as "triple threats" -- possible winners of the Caldecott, Newbery or Sibert awards: "A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms" (Candlewick Press, $17.99) by Paul Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka, and "Song of the Water Boatman" (Houghton Mifflin,$16), an intriguing mix of science and poetry by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Becky Prange.

2006 Newbery Medal possibilities

Top contenders here include "The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and A Very Interesting Boy" (Knopf, $15.95), the debut novel by Jeanne Birdsall, which won the National Book Award for young people's literature; "Each Little Bird That Sings" (Harcourt, $16), written by Deborah Wiles; "The Game of Silence" (HarperCollins, $15.99) by Louise Erdrich; "Day of Tears" by Julius Lester (Hyperion, $15.99), and "Criss Cross" (Greenwillow, $17.99) by Lynne Rae Perkins.

Some also have mentioned a duo of nonfiction books as possible Newbery Medal winners, or Newbery Honor books. They are: "Good Brother, Bad Brother" (Clarion, $22), by John Cross Giblin, and "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" (Scholastic, $19.95) by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.