Caldecott Books
The Caldecott Medal is awarded “to the artist of the most
distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the
Caldecott Winners 1985 to date
2010 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Jerry Pinkney
2009, 40 pages, $17 list
In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's
wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an
unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a
ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse
later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid
depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn
characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special
retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.
Swanson:
The House in the Night
2009
Winner of Caldecott Award
By Susan
Marie Swanson
2008, 40
pages, $17 list
A young girl is given a golden key to a house. A spare, patterned text
and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in
this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both
comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless
book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.
Selznick: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
2008 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Brian Selznick
2007, 544 pages, $23 list
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of
a busy
2007 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Wiesner
2006, 40 pages, $17 list
On a seemingly ordinary day at the beach, a budding young
scientist makes a fabulous discovery. A
barnacle-encrusted underwater camera has washed up on the shore, holding a reel
of film of fantastical images that no human eye has seen. Moving cities, an octopus in a lounge chair,
a clockwork fish. And yet, there is one
more secret, even more astonishing than these surreal scenes: the camera has
journeyed not only through the depths of the ocean but through the past, hiding
in its last photo a visual timeline of children from around the world.
Juster: The Hello, Goodbye Window
2006 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Chris Raschka and Norton Juster
2005, 32 pages, $16 list
The kitchen window at Nanna
and Poppy’s house is, for one little girl, a magic gateway. Everything important happens near it, through
it, or beyond it. Told in her voice, her
story is both a voyage of discovery and a celebration of the commonplace
wonders that define childhood. It is
also a love song devoted to that special relationship between grandparents and
grandchild. The world for this little
girl will soon grow larger and more complex but never more enchanting or deeply
felt.
Henkes: Kitten's First Full Moon
2005 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Kevin Henkes
2004, 40 pages, $17 list
In this beautiful picture book, Kevin Henkes,
captures the sweet, sometimes slapstick struggle of Kitten, who sees her first
full moon and thinks it's a bowl of milk in the sky. Any child who has yearned for anything will
understand how much Kitten wants that elusive bowl of milk. Readers will giggle as she tries to lick the
faraway moon and gets a bug on her tongue, or leaps to catch it and falls down
the stairs.
Gerstein:
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
2004 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Mordicai Gerstein
2007, 40 pages, $7 list
In 1974, French aerialist Philippe
Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the
2003 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Eric Rohmann
2007, 32 pages, $7 list
When Mouse lets his best friend,
Rabbit, play with his brand-new airplane, trouble isn't far behind. From Caldecott Honor award winner Eric Rohmann comes a brand-new picture book about friends and
toys and trouble, illustrated in robust, expressive prints.
2002 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Wiesner
2001, 40 pages, $16 list
Once upon a time three pigs built three houses, out of
straw, sticks, and bricks. Along came a
wolf, who huffed and puffed... So, you think you know the rest? Think again.
With David Wiesner at the helm, it's never
safe to assume too much. When the wolf
approaches the first house, for example, and blows it in, he somehow manages to
blow the pig right out of the story frame.
Small: So
you Want to Be President?
2001 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Small
2008, 56 pages, $10 list
So you want to be President!
Why not? Presidents have come in
every variety. They've been generals
like George Washington and
actors like Ronald Reagan, big
like William Howard Taft and
small like James Madison,
handsome like Franklin Pierce
and homely like Abraham Lincoln. From the embarrassment of skinny-dipping John Quincy Adams to the mischievous
adventure of Theodore Roosevelt's
pony, Judith St. George shares
the backroom facts, the spitfire comments, and the comical anecdotes that have
been part and parcel of
Taback: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
2000 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Simms Taback
1999, 32 pages, $12 list
Joseph had a little overcoat, but it was full of holes, just
like this book! When Joseph's coat got
too old and shabby, he made it into a jacket.
But what did he make it into after that?
And after that? As children turn
the pages of this book, they can use the die-cut holes to guess what Joseph
will be making next from his amazing overcoat, while they laugh at the bold,
cheerful artwork and learn that you can always make something, even out of
nothing.
1999 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Mary Azarian and Jacqueline
Briggs Martin
1998, 32 pages, $16 list
From the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley saw
snowflakes as small miracles. And he
determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the
tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for
photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience
and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike;
and each one is startlingly beautiful.
His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts,
giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and
perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature.
1998 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Paul Zelinsky
2002, 48 pages, $8 list
Trapped in a tower with no door, Rapunzel
is allowed to see no one but the sorceress who has imprisoned her, until the
day a young prince hears her singing to the forest birds. The timeless tale of Rapunzel
is vividly and magnificently brought to life through Paul O. Zelinsky's powerful sense of narrative and his stunning oil
paintings.
1997 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Wisniewski
2007, 32 pages, $7 list
Golem is the Hebrew word for shapeless man. According to Jewish legend, the renowned
scholar and teacher Rabbi Loew used his powers to
create a Golem from clay in order to protect his people from persecution in the
ghettos of 16th century
Rathmann: Officer Buckle and Gloria
1996 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Peggy Rathmann
1995, 40 pages, $17 list
Officer Buckle is a roly-poly bloke, dedicated to teaching
schoolchildren important safety tips, such as never put anything in your ear
and never stand on a swivel chair. The
problem is, Officer Buckle's school assemblies are dull, dull, dull, and the
children of Napville just sleep, sleep, sleep. That is, until Gloria the police dog is
invited along! Stealthily pantomiming
each safety tip behind Officer Buckle's back, Gloria wins the children's
hearts.
1995 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Diaz and Even Bunting
1999, 36 pages, $7 list
This is a story about cats and people who couldn't get along
until a smoky and fearful night brings them together. The
1994 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Allen Say and Walter Lorraine
1993, 32 pages, $17 list
Home becomes elusive in this story about immigration and
acculturation, pieced together through old pictures and salvaged family
tales. Both the narrator and his
grandfather long to return to
McCully: Mirette on the High Wire
1993 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Emily Arnold McCully
1997, 32 pages, $8 list
Mirette and the "Great Bellini" traverse the
1992 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Wiesner
1997, 32 pages, $7 list
"Tuesday evening, around eight" is a deceptively
mundane beginning for what proves to be a thrilling, miraculous, and surreal
amphibian journey. Slowly and quietly on
this particular Tuesday, a few fat frogs begin hovering over a swamp, riding
lily pads like magic carpets. Clearly satisfied and comfortable, the floating
frogs are as serene as little green buddhas. Gradually, the flying fleet grows in momentum
and number, sailing over the countryside and into an unsuspecting town.
1991 Winner of Caldecott Award
By David Macaulay
1990, 32 pages, $7 list
Black and White is an interesting title for a book that aims
to prove there's no such thing as black and white. But read on and you will see that irony and
playful deception are running themes in this multidimensional, nonlinear
picture story, which was awarded the 1991 Caldecott Medal. In it, a normal-looking cow contains a robber
literally pointing at one of the plot's various possible outcomes, which remain
tentative as long as they are formulated by young readers. Seeing new angles and clues every time they
open the book, these readers will probably astound adult onlookers with their
excitement and ease at navigating the unknown in a literary medium akin to
interactive multimedia.
Young:
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
1990 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Ed Young
1989, 32 pages, $7 list
Three little girls spare no mercy to Lon Po Po, the granny wolf, in this version of Little Red Riding
Hood where they tempt her up a tree and over a limb, to her death. The girls' frightened eyes are juxtaposed
against Lon Po Po's menacing squint and whirling blue costume in one of the
books numerous three-picture sequences, which resemble the decorative panels of
Chinese tradition. Through mixing
abstract and realistic images with complex use of color and shadow, artist and
translator Young has transformed a simple fairy tail into a remarkable work of
art.
1989 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Stephen Gammell and Karen
Ackerman
1988, 32 pages, $16 list
Once a song and dance man, Grandpa reclaims his youth and
profession before the delighted eyes of his three grandchildren one
afternoon. He simply cannot resist the urge
to dress up in clothes left over from his vaudeville days, complete with top
hat and gold-headed cane, and to perform tricks, play banjo and tell
jokes. He taps, twirls and laughs
himself to tears on a thrown-together stage in his attic. Artist Stephen Gammell
takes full advantage of lamplight to render Grandpa in shadow and silhouette,
trivializing the concept of age and creating a feeling of intense nostalgia.
1988 Winner of Caldecott Award
By John Schoenherr and Jane Yolen
1987, 32 pages, $17 list
Among the greatest charms of children is their ability to
view a simple activity as a magical adventure.
Such as a walk in the woods late at night. Jane Yolen
captures this wonderment in a book whose charm rises from its simplicity. "It was late one winter night, long past
my bedtime, when Pa and I went owling." The two walked through the woods with nothing
but hope and each other in a journey that will fascinate many a child. John Schoenherr's
illustrations help bring richness to the countryside adventure.
1987 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Richard Egielski and Arthur Yorinks
1989, 32 pages, $7 list
Al, a janitor, and his faithful dog,
Eddie, live in a single room on the
1986 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Chris Van Allsburg
1985, 32 pages, $19 list
One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise
for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve
only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to
the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for
a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg.
Hyman:
Saint George and the Dragon
1985 Winner of Caldecott Award
By Trina Schart Hyman and Margaret
Hodges
1990, 32 pages, $8 list
This adaptation of The Faerie Queen features illustrations
that "glitter with color and mesmerizing details."
End of Caldecott Books