The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding American children’s picture book. The first medal was awarded in 1938, and winners include books with ethnic art and Native American artwork. The illustrations have the ability to transport readers to another world and bring a sense of nostalgia.
Caldecott medals are named after a 19th century artist and illustrator, Randolph Caldecott. They are awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to an artist of an outstanding American children’s picture book. The Caldecott Medal winners make up a collection of some of the most beautifully illustrated books in the world and are well worth finding for a child’s library.
The first of the Caldecott Medals was awarded in 1938 to Dorothy Lathrop for her work on Animals in the Bible, A Picture Book. This detailed book remains in print even 70 years after its original publication and is a wonderful pen and ink illustrated guide to Bible stories. This is an excellent book for teaching children about the Bible and contains many Bible quotes.
Caldecott Medals have long graced books celebrating different styles and illustrations of ethnic art. In 1950 the prize was awarded to the author and illustrator Leo Politi, for Il canto delle rondini. This handsome book tells the story of the swallows’ annual return to San Juan Capistrano and features beautifully rendered drawings of the local architecture and Mexican-influenced culture of the area surrounding the California Mission in San Juan Capistrano.
One of the most beloved characters from children’s literature is Madeline, the courageous Parisian student from Ludwig Bemelmans’ books. In 1954, Madeline’s rescue was chosen as the winner of the Caldecott Medal, for its colorful images of Paris locales. The story, in which Madeline has to rescue a lonely dog named Genevieve, is sure to keep young readers engaged as much as the soothing pastel tones of the color palette used in the illustrations.
In Arrow to the Sun, Native American artwork was showcased by illustrator Gerald McDermott. Using bright, almost neon colors against mostly black backgrounds, the iconographic images of the Native Americans of the Pueblo culture used throughout the story are both interesting and unusual. A second Native American story, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by author and illustrator Paul Gobel celebrated the artistic ways of the Plains tribes. Both Arrow to the Sun and The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses were awarded Caldecott Medals, in 1975 and 1979, respectively.
In 2007’s Flotsam Winner, a boy discovers a camera filled with pictures of the ocean floor. The illustrations show incredibly detailed images of fish, marine life and seascapes. The 2008 winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is a 550-page novel featuring hundreds of highly detailed pencil drawings. This story of an orphan and a robot may be one of the most unique of Caldecott Medal winners and is likely to become a children’s classic in time.
Caldecott Medal winners often have the ability to transform the reader into another era or world with the skill of the artist. For many, they can bring a sense of nostalgia as we come across long-forgotten favorite stories. The popularity of Caldecott’s many award-winning books keeps most of them widely available, so older favorites can be collected and shared with an eager new generation.
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