The first snowfall of the year, the anticipation of Christmas, the wealth of holiday traditions: the end of the year is filled with opportunities for joy and fascination for the young (and young at heart). It’s no surprise, then, that the list of Caldecott award winners is filled with winter tales. It’s the perfect time of year to snuggle up with loved ones and read a book, so here are some classics to enjoy, from The Polar Express to The Big Snow.
Each year the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the children's book most representative of the highest level of quality and skill in the industry. While sometimes the author and illustrator are one in the same, as with Barbara Cooney's 1958 win for Chanticleer and the Fox, just as often the illustrator in question did not write the book, which is the case for Cooney's 1980 win for her collaboration on Donald Hall's Ox-Cart Man. Cooney is a perfect example of what a recipient should be. Her work is prized not only for the exceptional addition it makes to children's books, but as folk art. After her death, her work began to appear more and more in museums. Cooney is famously noted to have said that she did not believe that children were too young to read about larger issues, that they should not be limited to only what they understand. Her work exemplified this push for a greater understanding and, most importantly for children's books, she never talked down to children. Join us as we take a closer look at the career of this remarkable illustrator in our continuing Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series.
From the time he was a child, David Macaulay evidenced a fascination with how machines operated. He soon began to make models of machines and began drawing illustrations of these machines. Soon he was constructing elevators out of shoe boxes, tape, and string and devising intricate systems of moving cable cars made with empty thread spools.
Something about children's books—whether it be the simple stories and lessons or the vibrant artwork—inspires a love that lasts beyond childhood. Numerous adults collect children's books for themselves while others seek out the best examples to add to their own children's bookshelves. It's a genre that inspires happiness and paves the way for a lifetime love of reading. Each year, the Caldecott Medal recognizes the best newly published children's books, those whose illustrations represent the finest children's literature has to offer. Today we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look at 1957's winner, Marc Simont.
While hundreds of children's books are published every year in the United States, only a select few are ever granted the highly esteemed Caldecott Medal, which is awarded annually for the best example of quality in children's book illustration. While the addition of Caldecott Honor book seals allows more than one exceptional book to be recognized, per year only one book is given the prestigious Caldecott Medal. These books often become classics, beloved for their amazing illustrations and captivating stories, in addition to becoming highly sought after items for collectors interested in children's literature. Today we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look at the winner of the 1956 winner, Feodor Rojankovsky.
Every year the Caldecott Medal is awarded to a committee-selected children's book that showcases the best work being produced in the field of children's book illustration. One of the biggest awards in American children's literature, to even be named a Caldecott Honor book is a massive accolade. In 1955 Marcia Brown received this honor for her book Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper. And then she won again in 1962 for Once a Mouse. She won a third time for Shadow in 1983, making her one of only two illustrators in the history of the Caldecott Medal to be awarded three times. Brown continued to make history by being named a Caldecott Honor recipient six times as well. She is the most Caldecott-decorated illustrator of all time. Let's take a closer look at this icon of the industry as we continue with our Caldecott Winning Illustrator Series.
Each year, the Caldecott Medal is awarded to a children's book that exemplifies the best work being produce in the field of children's book illustration. The award is a massive professional accolade and often results in a certain desirability from the reading public and from collectors. It is hard to imagine a book more enduring and beloved than 1955's winner, Madeline's Rescue, written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. Come learn more about this iconic illustrator and his beloved Madeline series as we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrator Series.
Every year the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the children's book that best displays a new level of excellence and creativity in the field. These books often come to represent a gold standard for children's book illustration and become favorites of not only children but also of collectors. Sometimes, as in the case of the 1953 winner, the illustrator is not just a major figure in children's book illustration, but in other artistic fields as well. Join us as we continue our Caldecott Medal Winning Illustrators series by exploring the life and career of legendary illustrator Lynd Ward, who not only left behind an impressive legacy in the world of children's book illustration but also was a trail blazer in the field of graphic novels, a genre he is credited with bringing to the U.S. in its earliest form.
Every year a book that represents the best that children's book illustrations have to offer is awarded the Caldecott Medal. The Caldecott Medal is considered one of the most prestigious awards that an American children's book can receive and illustrators awarded this honor are widely acknowledged to be the best in the business. Often times, the medal is an indicator of an already impressive career or a sign of great things to come from the illustrator. The Caldecott Medal often ensures continuous print for an awarded book, and good things for the illustrator's future work. Even so, sometimes the illustrator—despite the impressive nature of their work—does not necessarily achieve household name status. The 1952 winner of the Caldecott Medal, Nicholas Mordvinoff, is one such illustrator. Though he had great success within his field, providing beautiful art for dozens of books during his career, the majority of the books to which he contributed are no longer in print. Let's continue our Caldecott Medal Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look Mordvinoff, who has in recent years become one of the more obscure winners.
For American illustrators, one of the highest honors is The Caldecott Medal. The medal is awarded yearly to a book that exemplifies the very best in children's book illustrations. To even be named a Caldecott Honor book is to be deemed one of the best artists in the business. Children's books are one of the rare types of literature that appeal to everyone at one point in their life or another (and, in many cases, for one's entire life!). Whether a person comes to a children's book as a child or as an adult reading to a child, the stories and illustrations touch the hearts of many. Often, Caldecott-winning illustrators and books go on to be remembered far longer than an unhonored book might. We continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators series by examining one such illustrator—Katherine Milhous—who earned the award for her illustrations in the 1951 Caldecott winner, The Egg Tree.
