The Caldecott Medel

You might have noticed on a children’s book medals that are placed on the cover of the book. Typically, those medals are not read in detail but the fact that they are there signifies that the book you are holding is deserving of your attention. One of those medals is the Randolph Caldecott Medal.

The American Library Association had for years been awarding the Newberry Medal for the most outstanding children’s book that was written in the previous year. It began to be mentioned that many books had illustrations that were just as deserving of recognition as the text. The ALA agreed. In 1937, the Randolph Caldecott Medal was designed and awarded to the book with the most outstanding illustrations.

Named after one of the most respected children’s illustrators in the 1800s, this medal has been awarded each year to amazing books. Many books are nominated for this award, but only one is chosen. Yet, many other books are worthy of acknowledgment. Those books become that year’s Honor Books.

When you see the Randolph Caldecott Medal on the cover of a book, you know before opening the pages that it is an outstandingly illustrated piece. This medal draws your attention and many times can help you in deciding which books to read with your child. Here is a list of the previous winners of the Randolph Caldecott Medal with the illustrator’s name:

1938 - Animals of the Bible- Dorothy P. Lathrop
1939 - Mei Li- Thomas Handforth
1940 - Abraham Lincoln (Dell Picture Yearling Special)- Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
1941 - They Were Strong and Good- Robert Lawson
1942 - Make Way for Ducklings (Live Oak Read-along)- Robert McCloskey
1943 - The Little House Board Book- Virginia Lee Burton
1944 - Many Moons (A Harcourt Brace contemporary classic) (Paperback)- Louis Slobodkin
1945 - Prayer for a Child- Elizabeth Orton Jones
1946 - The Rooster Crows : A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles- Maud and Miska Petersham
1947 - The Little Island (Dell Picture Yearling)- Leonard Weisgard
1948 - White Snow, Bright Snow- Roger Duvoisin
1949 - The Big Snow- Berta and Elmer Hader
1950 - Song of the Swallows- Leo Politi
1951 - The Egg Tree- Katherine Milhous
1952 - Finders Keepers (Voyager)- Nicholas Mordvinoff
1953 - The Biggest Bear- Lynd Ward
1954 - Madeline's Rescue (Viking Kestrel picture books)- Ludwig Bemelmans
1955 - Cinderella- Marcia Brown
1956 - Frog Went A-Courtin'- Feodor Rojankovsky
1957 - A Tree Is Nice- Marc Simont
1958 - Time of Wonder (Picture Puffins)- Robert McCloskey
1959 - Chanticleer and the Fox- Barbara Cooney
1960 - Nine Days to Christmas: A Story of Mexico (Picture Puffins)- Marie Hall Ets
1961 - Baboushka and the Three Kings- Nicolas Sidjakov
1962 - Once a Mouse...- Marcia Brown
1963 - The Snowy Day: 50th Anniversary Edition- Ezra Jack Keats
1964 - Where the Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak
1965 - May I Bring a Friend?- Beni Montresor
1966 - Always Room for One More (Owlet Book)- Nonny Hogrogian
1967 - Sam, Bangs & Moonshine (Owlet Book)- Evaline Ness
1968 - Drummer Hoff- Ed Emberley
1969 - The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: A Russian Tale- Uri Shulevitz
1970 - Sylvester and the Magic Pebble- William Steig
1971 - A Story, a Story- Gail E. Haley
1972 - One Fine Day- Nonny Hogrogian
1973 - The Funny Little Woman (Picture Puffins)- Blair Lent
1974 - Duffy and the Devil (Sunburst Book)- Margot Zemach
1975 - Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale (Picture Puffins)- Gerald McDermott
1976 - Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale- Leo & Diane Dillon
1977 - Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (Picture Puffin Books)- Leo & Diane Dillon
1978 - Noah's Ark (Picture Yearling Book)- Peter Spier
1979 - The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Hardcover))- Paul Goble
1980 - Miss Rumphius- Barbara Cooney
1981 - Fables- Arnold Lobel
1982 - Jumanji 30th Anniversary Edition- Chris Van Allsburg
1983 - Shadow (From the French of Blaise Cendrars)- Marcia Brown
1984 - The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909- Alice & Martin Provensen
1985 - Saint George and the Dragon- Trina Schart Hyman
1986 - The Polar Express- Chris Van Allsburg
1987 - Hey, Al- Richard Egielski
1988 - Owl Moon- John Schoenherr
1989 - Song and Dance Man- Stephen Gammell
1990 - Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China- Ed Young
1991 - Black and White- David Macaulay
1992 - Tuesday- David Wiesner
1993 - Mirette on the High Wire- Emily Arnold McCully
1994 - Grandfather's Journey- Allen Say
1995 - Smoky Night- David Diaz
1996 - Officer Buckle & Gloria (Caldecott Medal Book)- Peggy Rathmann
1997 - Golem- David Wisniewski
1998 - Rapunzel (Picture Puffin Books)- Paul O. Zelinsky
1999 - Snowflake Bentley- Mary Azarian
2000 - Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Caldecott Medal Book)- Simms Taback
2001 - So You Want to be President? Revised and Updated Edition- David Small
2002 - The Three Pigs- David Wiesner
2003 - My Friend Rabbit- Eric Rohmann
2004 - The Man Who Walked Between the Towers- Mordicai Gerstein
2005 - Kitten's First Full Moon- Kevin Henkes
2006 - The Hello, Goodbye Window- Chris Raschka
2007 - Flotsam- David Wiesner
2008 - The Invention of Hugo Cabret- Brian Selznick
2009 - The House in the Night- Beth Krommes
2010 - The Lion & the Mouse- Jerry Pinkney
2011 - A Sick Day for Amos McGee- Erin E. Stead