Caldecott Award or Honor

        

The Caldecott is awarded annually to the artist/illustrator of the most distinguished picture book for children published in the United States during the preceding year. Honor books may be named.

            Ehlert, L. (1989). Color zoo. Harper Collins Publishers.

              Concept Picture Book: Board book. This is a triangular concept book, teaching       identification of colors, shapes and animals. Cut-out designs form nine animals; as each page is turned an animal recognizable by young children magically appears. The flip side text is the shape just viewed. Ehlert’s book teaches 10 shapes and 16 colors, all indexed in one-page end-notes. The colors of the background and details of animals are solely those listed in the index. Children can look again and again to see if they got the shape or color right. Over 30 years in publication, it remains one of the best books for teaching concepts of shape and color. Highly recommend to parents of infants through six years, teachers of PK-1^st. Awarded Caldecott Honor, 1990.

 

Bunting, E. (1994). Smoky night. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Co.

      Children’s Picture Book: Realistic. Daniel, an African American boy, narrates his experiences during a night of urban rioting. Friendships in his apartment complex are based on similarity in race and heritage--until a fire forces everyone to evacuate. Terror unites the characters as they seek safety, commiserate together over the well-being of their missing pets, and establish a bond of humanity and hope. The narrative is lengthy for a children’s book, but is necessary to establish setting, character differences and provide a seamless resolution. David Diaz illustrates. His background photographs are all of self-made or found items suggestive of upheaval and tension; his surreal acrylic illustrations of the narrative accurately follow the alternating mood of the story. Recommend read-aloud for ages 7-11. Independent read for all ages. View as especially appropriate for older children, with a focus on theme and use of collage in illustration. Awarded Caldecott Medal and ALA Notable, both in 1995.

Woodson, J. (2004). Coming on home soon. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

            Children’s Picture Book: Historical Fiction. Set in 20^th century wartime, Ruth’s mother must go to Chicago to find work and leaves Ruth with Grandma. When a young kitten finds her way to Grandma's place, Ruth becomes its loving caregiver. As the bond grows between kitten and Ruth, so the bond between Grandma and Ruth strengthens. Woodson weaves an endearing narrative, memories of Mama’s words interspersed and a gentle reminder of the soldiers who won’t be coming home soon. E.B. Lewis’ watercolor illustrations express every individual character’s emotion in this lyrical text, and throughout narrate the theme of longing for a family (and a world) reunited. Recommend read-aloud for children ages 5-11. Independent read for all ages. View as especially appropriate for upper-elementary school children in teaching theme and text variation, middle-school to high school age in layout and illustrative narrative. Awarded Caldecott Honor and ALA notable book, both in 2005.

                 Cronin, D. (2000). Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

        Children’s Picture Book: Fantasy. The animals on Farmer Brown’s farm strike, voicing their demands by typewritten messages. Farmer Brown concedes to some of their requests, trusting Duck (the only neutral party) to be a mediator. The story is written in both personal letter format and narrative text. Betsy Lewin’s murky watercolor illustrations exemplify the ridiculousness of the situation. This is a hilariously engaging book, and the outcome is not predictable to even the adult reader. View as a read-aloud for ages 4-9. For younger children, this is a great introduction to advanced vocabulary, onomatopoeia and story line. For older children, this book can be used as a teaching tool in variation of text, use of figurative language and the reading skill of inferring or predicting outcomes. Awarded Caldecott Honor Book in 2001.

Stewart, S. (1997). The gardener. New York, NY: Farrar-Straus-Giroux.

            Children’s Picture Book: Historical Fiction. This book is set in 1935-36 during the Great Depression. Narrated by a young girl named Lydia, it’s a compilation of her letters after she is sent by her farming family to live with her city-dwelling uncle. Lydia’s connections with her roots help her to thrive in a new environment. David Small’s watercolor illustrations perfectly accompany the letters written by Lydia. The text and illustrative narrative synch to resolve the conflict Lydia encounters with her uncle; and, it comes as no surprise to the adult reader (upon reading the end-notes) that the author and illustrator are married. View as an excellent read-aloud for ages 6-9 for the story line, unique text in letter format, and teaching tool for inferring outcomes. View as a read-aloud or independent read for ages 10-adults. Awarded Caldecott Honor Award and ALA Notable Award, both in 1998.