Caldecott+Award+Books

The Caldecott Medal is given annually, awarded to an illustrator of a children's picture book. The award is presented by the Association of Library Service to Children. The award(medal) in named in honor of a nineteenth century English illustrator, Randolph Caldecott. Along with the Newbery Medal, it is considered the most prestigious American children's book award. The first Caldecott was awarded in 1938. In 1971, the ALSC began the Caldecott Honor, recognizing the runner-ups to the medal. Though the Caldecott Honor began later runner-ups were retroactively named for previous years.


 * ** Year ** || ** Illustrator ** || Book Title || Comments ||
 * ** 2012 ** || ** Chris Raschka ** || A Ball for Daisy || This picture book is another winner without words allowing students to create the storyline using their own voice. ||
 * ** 2011 ** || ** Erin E. Stead ** || A Sick Day for Amos McGee || Amos is a great friend to all the animals of the zoo as he knows what activities each animal enjoys doing. When he falls sick, the animals become concerned and leave to take care of their friend. Who would you like to visit you when you are sick? ||
 * ** 2010 ** || ** Jerry Pinkney ** || The Lion & the Mouse || I greatly enjoy picture books without text. Jerry Pinkney uses his wonderful gift of art to illustrate this Aesop fable. Though this book is intended to be used with early childhood, I also see it as a tool for older students to come up with their own expressive text to match what they see in the story. The only words are the sounds of the animals and the vehicle. My favorite picture is the lion's face as the mouse appears to tell the lion that he will set him free. What a great lesson, that not matter what your size you can still be of help to someone. Or even the strong and powerful need help too from time to time. ||
 * ** 2009 ** || ** Beth Krommes ** || The House in the Night || I loved the pictures. I remember myself as a child turning a paper black with heavy crayon then scratching out my own picture. The detail and texture that Beth Krommes used in her illustrations is amazing. The accents of gold color corresponds with the telling of the story. A story that ends at the same place as it began ||
 * ** 2008 ** || ** Brian Selznick ** || The Invention of Hugo Cabret || This book was a bit intimidating by virtue of the number of pages. I was interested in the fact that a novel had won the Caldecott Award. Brian Selznick's use of multiple illustrations to take over the telling of the story in multiple areas of the book is refreshing. I love that he bridged the area between picture books and graphic novels. I hope to see more books formatted this way. The character Hugo is a child left to care for the clocks at the station. He hopes to rebuild the automaton using his father's notes. As Hugo works off a debt to the shopkeeper he discovers the man has secrets of his own. Though this book had 553 pages, the illustrations propelled me through the story which I read in two days ||
 * ** 2007 ** || ** David Wiesner ** || Flotsam || I shared this book with my six year daughter. We were both intrigued by this story without words. I allowed my daughter to voice her telling of various pages. She was excited to tell the story herself and frequently ran her fingers across the pictures. The camera was a unique way to bring the reader into the world under the water. Some of the pictures are a story by themselves. It was fun to look for the camera in the different underwater scenes. ||
 * ** 2006 ** || ** Chris Raschka ** || The Hello, Goodbye Window || A sweet story of grandparents that take care of their grandchild while the parents are at work. The grandchild's view of her grandparents and their special home is made of a child's utter and complete trust and love. The simple day full of love and play. The illustrations are of a child like quality with wonderful use of bold colors. I did pick up on the thought that the grandparents were of different ethnic backgrounds as were also the parents at the end of the story. It was a sutble hint so not to distract from the story. ||
 * ** 2005 ** || ** Kevin Henkes ** || Kitten's First Full Moon || The simple drawings without color seem so warm and inviting. The kitten is delightful to follow in her pursuit of a bowl of milk, she is so thirsty!. My own kindergartener giggled and predicted what would happen next with the kitten. She also compared the story kitten to her own kitty. "Look she's going to pounce like Belle." ||
 * ** 2004 ** || ** Mordicai Gerstein ** || The Man Who Walked Between the Towers ||  ||
 * ** 2003 ** || ** Eric Rohmann ** || My Friend Rabbit || What a good friendship between rabbit and mouse. Even though a friend can get into trouble doesn't mean they're a bad person. This is such a playful story, delightfully illustrated! My favorite page was the one you had to turn the book to see how all the animals were stacked. Asked my daughter if she would stack the hippo on top of the bear, deer and goose. "They'd get squished." ||
 * ** 2002 ** || ** David Wiesner ** || The Three Pigs ||  ||
 * ** 2001 ** || ** David Small ** || So You Want to Be President? ||  ||
 * ** 2000 ** || ** Simms Taback ** || Joseph Had a Little Overcoat ||  ||
 * ** 1999 ** || ** Mary Azarian ** || Snowflake Bentley ||  ||
 * ** 1998 ** || ** Paul O. Zelinsky ** || Rapunzel || This is an older version of Rapunzel that I had not read before. I liked that the origin of Rapunzel's name was included in the story. The illustrations were stunning, it was like viewing a painting in a museum. The Renaissance feel of the pictures added a sense of history and depth to this version. I always wondered about the scorceress and how she could take another's baby but take such good care of the child (to the point of over protecting). ||
 * ** 1997 ** || ** David Wisniewski ** || Golem ||  ||
 * ** 1996 ** || ** Peggy Rathmann ** || Officer Buckle and Gloria || Delightful and simple look at ducks raising their young in the city of Boston. I enjoyed the setting and looked for familiar landmarks in the pictures. I love the illustrations and the absence of color brought me back to a slower pace of life. The attention by the police to protect the ducks shows the wonderment of nature despite the bustle of city life. ||
 * ** 1995 ** || ** David Diaz ** || Smoky Night ||  ||
 * ** 1994 ** || ** Allen Say ** || Grandfather's Journey ||  ||
 * ** 1993 ** || ** Emily Arnold McCully ** || Mirette on the High Wire ||  ||
 * ** 1992 ** || ** David Wiesner ** || Tuesday ||  ||
 * ** 1991 ** || ** David Macaulay ** || Black and White ||  ||
 * ** 1990 ** || ** Ed Young ** || Lon Po Po || A wonderful version of Red Riding Hood from China. This version has three children with the oldest recognizing the trick of grandmother wolf. The children excape from the house and climb a tree. They then entice the wolf to try to keep climbing until it falls and dies. I love the strength of the illustrations, the menacing eyes of the wolf versus the frightened eyes of the children. I would hesitate to read this to younger children based on the illustrations. My own kindergartener would not let me read this to her as the pictures were too scary ||
 * ** 1989 ** || ** Stephen Gammell ** || Song and Dance man ||  ||
 * ** 1988 ** || ** John Schoenherr ** || Owl Moon ||  ||
 * ** 1987 ** || ** Richard Egielski ** || Hey, Al || Al and his dog Eddie are hard working yet have a very humble existence. They complain about their lives and shortly after a mysterious bird appears. This bird offers them a place to come and enjoy. Al and Eddie go with the bird to an island in the sky. After staying a while in "paradise," Al and Eddie begin changing into birds. They panic and flee to their home in the city. They realize that "life is what you make of it." This story has elements that similiar to others. When Al and Eddie begin to change into birds, I am reminded of Pinocchio and the boys changing into donkeys. The Greek myth of Icarus, who flew to close to the sun with wings of feathers and wax, reminded me of Eddie falling into the water. The story ended much like a fable, a lesson on how to conduct our lives ||
 * ** 1986 ** || ** Chris Van Allsburg ** || The Polar Express ||  ||
 * ** 1985 ** || ** Trina Schart Hyman ** || Saint George and the Dragon ||  ||
 * ** 1984 ** || ** Alice & Martin Provensen ** |||| The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot ||
 * ** 1983 ** || ** Marcia Brown ** || Shadow ||  ||
 * ** 1982 ** || ** Chris Van Allsburg ** || Jumanji ||  ||
 * ** 1981 ** || ** Arnold Lobel ** || Fables || An interesting collection of fables. I like lesson learned at the end of each fable. It would be fun to read a few then allow students to figure out the lesson learned. It would also be fun to compare with Aesop's fables. The illustrations are playful with most of the animal characters wearing some form of human clothing. A fable per page lends to sharing a fable per day. ||
 * ** 1980 ** || ** Barbara Cooney ** || Ox-Cart Man || A wonderful depiction of a 19th century New England farm family. The story shows the seasonal work completed by the family to ready for the market and restart of their labor to ready for the following year. The illustrations gave great detail to the lifestyle of the farm family and the style placed me squarely in the era. ||
 * ** 1979 ** || ** Paul Goble ** || The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses ||  ||
 * ** 1978 ** || ** Peter Spier ** || Noah's Ark ||  ||
 * ** 1977 ** || ** Leo & Diane Dillon ** || Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions ||  ||
 * ** 1976 ** || ** Leo & Diane Dillon ** || Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears ||  ||
 * ** 1975 ** || ** Gerald McDermott ** || Arrow to the Sun ||  ||
 * ** 1974 ** || ** Margot Zemach ** || Duffy and the Devil ||  ||
 * ** 1973 ** || ** Blair Lent ** || The Funny Little Woman ||  ||
 * ** 1972 ** || ** Nonny Hogrogian ** || One Fine Day ||  ||
 * ** 1971 ** || ** Gail E. Haley ** || A Story A Story ||  ||
 * ** 1970 ** || ** William Steig ** || Sylvester and the Magic Pebble || This is one of my favorite William Steig books. Sylvester makes a hurried wish which separates him from the things he truly values in his life. Yes we should be careful for what we wish for! The truly valuable things in life are our relationships. So many thoughts and questions about what we need in life and what we desire. A great discussion book for older children. Was fun to look for the red magic pebble in the illustrations. Younger children cheer on Sylvester to making his wish once he is touching the pebble again ||
 * ** 1969 ** || ** Uri Shulevitz ** || The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship ||  ||
 * ** 1968 ** || ** Ed Emberley ** || Drummer Hoff ||  ||
 * ** 1967 ** || ** Evaline Ness ** || Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine ||  ||
 * ** 1966 ** || ** Nonny Hogrogian ** || Always Room for One More ||  ||
 * ** 1965 ** || ** Beni Montresor ** || May I Bring a Friend? ||  ||
 * ** 1964 ** || ** Maurice Sendak ** || Where the Wild Things Are ||  ||
 * ** 1963 ** || ** Ezra Jack Keats ** || The Snowy Day ||  ||
 * ** 1962 ** || ** Marcia Brown ** || Once a Mouse ||  ||
 * ** 1961 ** || ** Nicolas Sidjakov ** || Baboushka and the Three Kings ||  ||
 * ** 1960 ** || ** Marie Hall Ets ** || Nine Days to Christmas ||  ||
 * ** 1959 ** || ** Barbara Cooney ** || Chanticleer and the Fox ||  ||
 * ** 1958 ** || ** Robert McCloskey ** || Time of Wonder ||  ||
 * ** 1957 ** || ** Marc Simont ** || A Tree is Nice ||  ||
 * ** 1956 ** || ** Feodor Rojankovsky ** || Frog Went A-Courtin' ||  ||
 * ** 1955 ** || ** Marcia Brown ** || Cinderella, or the Little Glass Sipper ||  ||
 * ** 1954 ** || ** Ludwig Bemelmans ** || Madeline's Rescue ||  ||
 * ** 1953 ** || ** Lynd Ward ** || The Biggest Bear ||  ||
 * ** 1952 ** || ** Nicholas Mordvinoff ** || Finders Keepers ||  ||
 * ** 1951 ** || ** Katherine Milhous ** || The Egg Tree ||  ||
 * ** 1950 ** || ** Leo Politi ** || Song of the Swallows ||  ||
 * ** 1949 ** || ** Berta & Elmer Hader ** || The Big Snow ||  ||
 * ** 1948 ** || ** Roger Duvoisin ** || White Snow, Bright Snow ||  ||
 * ** 1947 ** || ** Leonard Weisgard ** || The Little Island ||  ||
 * ** 1946 ** || ** Maud & Miska Petersham ** || The Rooster Crows || A great collection of rhymes and jingles. It was interesting to see how many I could remember compared with how many my daughters knew. Many of the rhymes are worded differently than what we say today. Could be a good discussion and research for older students to find out the original meanings to some of these rhymes. The pictures were attractive and captured that time period that the rhymes were relevant. ||
 * ** 1945 ** || ** Elizabeth Orton Jones ** || Prayer for a Child ||  ||
 * ** 1944 ** || ** Louis Slobodkin ** || Many Moons ||  ||
 * ** 1943 ** || ** Virginia Lee Burton ** || The Little House ||  ||
 * ** 1942 ** || ** Robert McCloskey ** || Make Way for Ducklings || Delightful and simple look at ducks raising their young in the city of Boston. I enjoyed the setting and looked for familiar landmarks in the pictures. I love the illustrations and the absence of color brought me back to a slower pace of life. The attention by the police to protect the ducks shows the wonderment of nature despite the bustle of city life. ||
 * ** 1941 ** || ** Robert Lawson ** || The Were Strong and Good ||  ||
 * ** 1940 ** || ** Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire ** || Abraham Lincoln ||  ||
 * ** 1939 ** || ** Thomas Handforth ** || Mei Li ||  ||
 * ** 1938 ** || ** Dorothy P. Lathrop ** || Animals of the Bible ||  ||