Caldecott Medal


The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Besides the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
The Caldecott Medal was first proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1937. The award was named after English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Unchanged since its founding, the medal, which is given to every winner, features two of Caldecott's illustrations. The awarding process has changed several times over the years, including the use of the term "Honor" for the runner-ups beginning in 1971. There have been between one and five honor books named each year.
To be eligible for a Caldecott, the book must be published in English, in the United States first, and be drawn by an American illustrator. An award committee decides on a winner in January or February, voting using a multi-round point system. The committee judges books on several criteria to meet the Caldecott's goal of recognizing "distinguished illustrations in a picture book and for excellence of pictorial presentation for children."
Winning the award can lead to a substantial rise in books sold. It can also increase the prominence of illustrators. Illustrator and author Marcia Brown is the most recognized Caldecott illustrator, having won three medals and having six honor books. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of minority characters and illustrators recognized. However, this is something which has fluctuated over the history of the award.

History

The Caldecott was suggested in 1937 by Frederic G. Melcher, former editor of Publishers Weekly, following the establishment of the Newbery Medal in 1921. The American Library Association adopted Melcher's suggestion of awarding a medal to the illustrator "who had created the most distinguished picture book of the year." According to children's literature expert Leonard S. Marcus, the award helped draw American artists into the field of children's books.
The award has been tweaked over the years, with the most recent changes in 2009. When the award was founded, books could be considered either for the Newbery or the Caldecott, with the same committee judging both awards. The committee noted other books of merit, which were frequently referred to as runner-ups. In 1971, these books were formally named Caldecott Honor books, with this name applied retroactively. In 1977, books became eligible for both awards and, beginning with the 1980 award, separate committees for each award were formed. Until 1958, a previous winner could win again only by unanimous vote of the committee, and it was only in 1963 when joint winners were first permitted.

Medal

The award is named for Randolph Caldecott, a nineteenth-century English illustrator. Rene Paul Chambellan designed the Medal in 1937. The obverse scene is derived from Randolph Caldecott's front cover illustration for The Diverting History of John Gilpin, which depicts John Gilpin astride a runaway horse. The reverse is based on "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie", one of Caldecott's illustrations for the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence".
Each illustrator receives a bronze copy of the medal, which, despite being awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, lists Children's Librarian's Section, the original awarding group, for historical reasons.

Eligibility and criteria

A picture book, according to the award criteria, provides "a visual experience. A picture book has a collective unity of storyline, theme, or concept, developed through the series of pictures" that constitute the book. The Medal is "for distinguished illustrations in a picture book and for excellence of pictorial presentation for children". Specifically, the illustrations are judged on their artistic technique, interpretation of the book's story and theme, the fit between the illustrations and the story and themes, the precision of depiction of elements of the book, like characters and mood, and how well the illustrations serve their targeted audience. Honor books need to fulfill the same criteria. The book must be self-contained, independent of other media for its enjoyment. Components other than illustration, including the book's text or overall design, may be considered as they affect the overall effectiveness of the book's illustrations.
To be eligible for the Caldecott, the artist must be a US citizen or resident, the book must have been published in English, in the United States first, or simultaneously in other countries. Picture books for any audience up to the age of 14 may be considered. In December 2019, children's literature expert Leonard S. Marcus suggested that the Caldecott had achieved its mission in the US and the award should be expanded so children's book illustrations from anywhere in the world be considered.

Selection process

The committee that decides on the Caldecott Award winner comprises fifteen members of ALSC. Seven members are elected by the entire ALSC membership and eight, including the chairperson, are appointed by the ALSC President. Members are chosen based on their experience. Consideration is also done to ensure a diversity of libraries, and geographical areas are represented as well. Publishers send copies of books to the committee; in 2009, each member received more than 700. However, a book does not need to be sent to the committee to be considered. Instead, to help identify possible contenders, committee members formally nominate seven books in three rounds over the year, and less formally recommend others.
At ALSC's annual midwinter meeting, held in late January or early February, the committee will discuss the nominations and hold a vote on the winner. When voting, committee members list their first place, second place, and third place selections. Each vote is assigned a point value, with first place votes receiving four points, second place three points, and third place two points. The winner must receive at least eight first place votes and be at least eight points ahead of the second-place finisher. After a winner is selected, the committee can decide whether to award any honor books. They may be chosen from runner-ups to the winner, or be selected in a separate ballot. The winner and honor books are kept secret until they are publicly announced, with the committee calling the winning illustrators the morning of the announcement.
In 2015, K. T. Horning of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Cooperative Children's Book Center proposed to ALSC that old discussions of the Newbery and Caldecott be made public in the service of researchers and historians. This proposal was met with both support and criticism by former committee members and recognized authors., no change has been made.

Impact and analysis

The Caldecott and Newbery awards have historically been considered the most important children's book awards. Anita Silvey, children's book author, editor, and critic, suggests they might even be the most important book awards, saying that "no other award has the economic significance of the Newbery and Caldecott". According to Silvey, a Caldecott winner can have sales increased from 2,000 to 100,000–200,000. Silvey also credits the Caldecott for helping to establish Bradbury Press and Roaring Brook Press as important publishers. It can also be an important recognition for authors. According to Leonard Marcus, Where the Wild Things Ares recognition brought its author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, to national prominence.
A 1999 study on the reading levels of Caldecott recipients suggested that most winners were written at the elementary age level, with the average reading level having decreased over time. A 2007 study of Caldecott recipients found that the prevalence and importance of female characters had risen and fallen several times over the history of the Caldecott. It also found that, unlike recipients of the Pura Belpré Award and Coretta Scott King Award, the behaviors of male and female characters remained distinct and adhered to traditional gender norms. A different 2007 study, by one of the same authors, also found an increase in the number of minority characters following a 1965 critique by Nancy Larrick, however the number of minorities had fallen by the 2000s. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of minority characters and illustrators recognized. The Horn Book Magazine editor Martha Parravano has noted how rarely non-fiction books, especially non-fiction books about science, are recognized by the Caldecott.

Recipients

In 1938, Dorothy P. Lathrop’s illustrations for Animals of the Bible won her the inaugural Caldecott Medal, awarded for the year’s “most distinguished American picture book for children.”
File:Rob and Leo Politi.JPG|alt=Illustrator Leo Politi with publisher Rob Wagner|thumb|Leo Politi, who won the Caldecott Medal and two honors, was called the Italian Dr. Seuss.
File:Ed Young 2013.jpg|alt=Illustrator Ed Young in 2013|thumb|Ed Young won the 1990 Caldecott Medal for his telling of the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood.
File:Dan Santat 2018.jpg|thumb|Caldecott winner Dan Santat turned down the chance to work full time for Google creating their Google Doodles so he could keep pursuing children book illustration.|alt=
File:D03 9553 Brian Selznick.jpg|thumb|Brian Selznick's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret was the first novel to win the Caldecott.
File:Mo Willems Mazza Fall Conference 2012.jpg|thumb|Mo Willems has been honored with other ALA awards including the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video and the Geisel Award for his early readers.|alt=
File:Jillian Tamaki 2019.jpg|thumb|Jillian Tamaki's 2015 winner This One Summer was the first and, as of 2020, only graphic novel to win the Caldecott Honor.
File:Patrick and Amelie Seaside.JPG|thumb|Patrick McDonnell mentioned Jane Goodall in his syndicated Mutts comicstrip. This attracted the Jane Goodall Institute's attention and eventually led to his 2012 honor book Me... Jane.
File:Christian Robinson 2018.jpg|thumb|Last Stop on Market Street won its author, Matt de la Peña, a Newbery Medal while illustrator Christian Robinson won a Caldecott Honor.
File:Javaka Steptoe 2017.jpg|thumb|Javaka Steptoe, 2017's winner, is the son of two-time honors winner John Steptoe.
File:Mary GrandPré, 2011.jpg|thumb|2015 Caldecott Honor recipient Mary GrandPré illustrated the covers and chapter illustrations for the United States editions of the Harry Potter books.
YearIllustratorBookAward
1938Animals of the Bible
1938Four and Twenty Blackbirds
1938Seven Simeons: A Russian Tale
1939Mei Li
1939Andy and the Lion
1939Barkis
1939'
1939Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1939Wee Gillis
1940Abraham Lincoln
1940Cock-a-Doodle Doo
1940Madeline
1940'
1941They Were Strong and Good
1941April's Kittens
1942Make Way for Ducklings
1942'
1942In My Mother's House
1942Paddle-to-the-Sea
1942Nothing at All
1943'
1943Dash and Dart
1943Marshmallow
1944Many Moons
1944Small Rain: Verses From The Bible
1944Pierre Pidgeon
1944'
1944'
1944'
1945Prayer for a Child
1945Mother Goose
1945In the Forest
1945Yonie Wondernose
1945'
1946'
1946Little Lost Lamb
1946Sing Mother Goose
1946My Mother Is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World
1946You Can Write Chinese
1947'
1947Rain Drop Splash
1947Boats on the River
1947Timothy Turtle
1947Pedro, the Angel of Olvera Street
1947Sing in Praise: A Collection of the Best Loved Hymns
1948White Snow, Bright Snow
1948Stone Soup
1948McElligot's Pool
1948Bambino the Clown
1948Roger and the Fox
1948Song of Robin Hood
1949'
1949Blueberries for Sal
1949All Around the Town
1949Juanita
1949Fish in the Air
1950Song of the Swallows
1950America's Ethan Allen
1950'
1950'
1950Bartholomew and the Oobleck
1950Henry Fisherman
1951'
1951Dick Whittington and His Cat
1951'
1951If I Ran the Zoo
1951'
1951T-Bone, the Baby Sitter
1952Finders Keepers
1952Mr. T. W. Anthony Woo
1952Skipper John's Cook
1952All Falling Down
1952Bear Party
1952Feather Mountain
1953'
1953Puss in Boots
1953One Morning in Maine
1953Ape in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals
1953'
1953Five Little Monkeys
1954Madeline's Rescue
1954Journey Cake, Ho!
1954When Will the World Be Mine?
1954'
1954'
1954Green Eyes
1955Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper
1955Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes
1955Wheel on the Chimney
1955'
1956Frog Went A-Courtin
1956Play With Me
1956Crow Boy
1957'
1957Mr. Penny's Race Horse
1957'
1957Anatole
1957Gillespie and the Guards
1957Lion
1958Time of Wonder
1958Fly High, Fly Low
1958Anatole and the Cat
1959Chanticleer and the Fox
1959'
1959What Do You Say, Dear?
1959Umbrella
1960Nine Days to Christmas
1960Houses from the Sea
1960'
1961Baboushka and the Three Kings
1961Inch by Inch
1962Once a Mouse
1962Fox Went out on a Chilly Night: An Old Song
1962Little Bear's Visit
1962'
1963'
1963'
1963Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
1964Where the Wild Things Are
1964Swimmy
1964All in the Morning Early
1964Mother Goose and Nursery Rhymes
1965May I Bring a Friend?
1965Rain Makes Applesauce
1965'
1965'
1966Always Room for One More
1966Hide and Seek Fog
1966Just Me
1966Tom Tit Tot
1967Sam, Bangs & Moonshine
1967One Wide River to Cross
1968Drummer Hoff
1968Frederick
1968Seashore Story
1968'
1969'
1969Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
1970Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
1970Goggles!
1970Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
1970Pop Corn & Ma Goodness
1970Thy Friend, Obadiah
1970'
1971'
1971'
1971Frog and Toad Are Friends
1971In the Night Kitchen
1972One Fine Day
1972Hildilid's Night
1972If All the Seas Were One Sea
1972Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book
1973'
1973Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti
1973Hosie's Alphabet
1973Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs
1973When Clay Sings
1974Duffy and the Devil
1974Three Jovial Huntsmen
1974Cathedral
1975Arrow to the Sun
1975Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book
1976Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
1976'
1976Strega Nona
1977Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions
1977'
1977'
1977Fish for Supper
1977'
1977Hawk, I'm Your Brother
1978Noah's Ark
1978Castle
1978It Could Always Be Worse
1979'
1979Freight Train
1979'
1980Ox-Cart Man
1980Ben's Trumpet
1980'
1980'
1981Fables
1981'
1981'
1981Mice Twice
1981Truck
1982Jumanji
1982Where the Buffaloes Begin
1982On Market Street
1982Outside Over There
1982'
1983Shadow
1983'
1983When I Was Young in the Mountains
1984'
1984Little Red Riding Hood
1984Ten, Nine, Eight
1985Saint George and the Dragon
1985Hansel and Gretel
1985Have You Seen My Duckling?
1985'
1986'
1986'
1986King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
1987Hey, Al
1987'
1987Alphabatics
1987Rumpelstiltskin
1988Owl Moon
1988Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
1989Song and Dance Man
1989'
1989Free Fall
1989Goldilocks and the Three Bears
1989Mirandy and Brother Wind
1990Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
1990Bill Peet: An Autobiography
1990Color Zoo
1990'
1990Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
1991Black and White
1991Puss in Boots
1991
1992Tuesday
1992Tar Beach
1993Mirette on the High Wire
1993'
1993Seven Blind Mice
1993Working Cotton
1994Grandfather's Journey
1994Peppe the Lamplighter
1994In the Small, Small Pond
1994Raven: A Trickster Tale From The Pacific Northwest
1994Owen
1994Yo! Yes?
1995Smoky Night
1995John Henry
1995Swamp Angel
1995Time Flies
1996Officer Buckle and Gloria
1996Alphabet City
1996Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin
1996'
1996Tops & Bottoms
1997Golem
1997Hush!: A Thai Lullaby
1997'
1997'
1997Starry Messenger
1998Rapunzel
1998'
1998Harlem
1998There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
1999Snowflake Bentley
1999Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
1999No, David!
1999Snow
1999Tibet: Through the Red Box
2000Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
2000'
2000Sector 7
2000When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry
2000'
2001So You Want to Be President?
2001Casey at the Bat
2001Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
2001Olivia
2002'
2002'
2002Martin's Big Words: the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2002'
2003My Friend Rabbit
2003'
2003Hondo & Fabian
2003Noah's Ark
2004'
2004Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
2004 and What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?
2004Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
2005Kitten's First Full Moon
2005'
2005Coming on Home Soon
2005Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
2006'
2006Rosa
2006Zen Shorts
2006Hot Air: The True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride
2006Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems
2007Flotsam
2007Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet
2007Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
2008'
2008Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
2008First the Egg
2008'
2008Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
2009'
2009
2009How I Learned Geography
2009'
2010'
2010All the World
2010Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors
2011'
2011Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
2011Interrupting Chicken
2012'
2012Blackout
2012Grandpa Green
2012Me... Jane
2013This is Not My Hat
2013Creepy Carrots!
2013Extra Yarn
2013Green
2013One Cool Friend
2013Sleep Like a Tiger
2014Locomotive
2014Journey
2014Flora and the Flamingo
2014Mr. Wuffles!
2015
2015Nana in the City
2015'
2015Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
2015Viva Frida
2015
2015This One Summer
2016Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
2016Trombone Shorty
2016Waiting
2016Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
2016Last Stop on Market Street
2017Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
2017Leave Me Alone!
2017Freedom in Congo Square
2017Du Iz Tak?
2017They All Saw a Cat
2018Wolf in the Snow
2018Big Cat, little cat
2018Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
2018'
2018Grand Canyon
2019Hello Lighthouse
2019Alma and How She Got Her Name
2019'
2019'
2019Thank You, Omu!
2020'
2020Bear Came Along
2020Double Bass Blues
2020Going Down Home with Daddy
2021We Are Water Protectors
2021'
2021'
2021Me & Mama
2021Outside In
2022Watercress
2022'
2022'
2022Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
2022Wonder Walkers
2023Hot Dog
2023'
2023'
2023Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmitt Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
2023Knight Owl
2024Big
2024In Every Life
2024Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter
2024There Was a Party for Langston
2024The Truth About Dragons
2025Chooch Helped
2025My Daddy is a Cowboy
2025Noodles on a Bicycle
2025Home in a Lunchbox
2025Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains
2026Fireworks
2026Every Monday Mabel
2026Our Lake
2026Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave
2026Sundust''