Caldecott Winners

Caldecott Winners

Hader, B., & Hader, E. (1976/1948). The big snow. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.

            As the geese fly south for winter, all the other animals begin to prepare for winter. Some work on their fur coat, some gather nuts and food to store, some get ready to hibernate, and some sleep. The big snow comes and the animals are hungry. The little old woman puts out food for the animals. The groundhog sees his shadow, and they have winter for six more weeks. Finally after that, the big snow ends, and warm spring comes back. The story does a good job of representing all the animals that will be affected by the snow, and by showing how each animal is different in preparing for winter. Some illustrations are black and white while other illustrations are with color. I think this adds variety to the book, and I think it keeps the students interested in the changing color. (Caldecott Medal, 1949).

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten’s first full moon. New York, New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollinsPublishers.

Kitten sees a big bowl of milk in the sky, but it is really just the moon. She chases after the “milk,” but never can get to it. She sticks out her tongue, jumps, chases, and climbs, but still cannot reach it. Tired, exhausted, and hungry, the kitten goes back home. On arriving home, she discovers a big bowl of milk that makes her happy and satisfied. The story line is simple, but quite entertaining by showing all the different ways kitten tries to get the moon. The illustrations are in charcoal which is perfect to show the night time, and the illustrator perfectly uses white for the bright moon to look like milk. The expressions the illustrator draws on the kitten’s face seem real like when it is describing her as “poor kitten.” (Caldecott Medal, 2005).

Raschka, C. (2011). A ball for Daisy. New York, New York: Random House Children’s Books.

            Daisy has a red ball that she loves to play with by herself and with her owner. The ball breaks, and now Daisy is upset she cannot play with her ball anymore. Another dog and its owner come along, and they give Daisy a new blue ball. Daisy is happy that she now has a ball for play. The story is unique and that it is a picture book with no words. The reader’s imagination is left to fill in the pieces of what takes place in the story. The illustrations are colorful and take up the whole page. It looks like watercolor is used, and that there is emphasizes on the big red ball in the illustrations. (Caldecott Medal, 2012).

Spier, P. (1977). Noah’s ark. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc..

            The book retells the story of Noah’s Ark from the Bible. The Lord told Noah there would be a flood and to bring two of every animal onboard the ark. The Lord flooded the land for several days. Noah sends out a dove to see if it is okay to leave the protection of the ark. The dove returns with good news that they can exit the ark. The Lord promises to never flood the lands again with the rainbow promise. The books only words are at the beginning with only three syllables for each line. While the rest of the book is picture book form with no words. The artwork uses a variety of bright and beautiful colors to tell the story. Each page has several pictures fit into one page to really detail the story. (Caldecott Medal, 1978).

Stead, P. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee. New York, New York: Roaring Brook Press.

            Amos McGee wakes up every day the same way. He goes to the zoo and plays with his friends at the zoo. One day, Amos wakes up sick and cannot go to work. His friends wait for him to come. When he never comes to work, they decided to take the bus to see him. When they get to Amos’s home, they each spend time with Amos in some way like reading a book to him, having a cup of tea with him, handing him a tissue, and playing chess. In the end, Amos feels better so he goes to sleep knowing that he has a big day ahead of him visiting his friends at the zoo. The illustrator carries the yellow and white stripe background for several pages where Amos bedroom is described and drawn. The illustrator chooses to leave it black and white except coloring in the animals, clothes, or leaves on the trees with color. This makes the color pop on the page. (Caldecott Medal, 2011).

Swanson, S. (2008). The house in the night. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

            The story is a pattern that starts off with a key to the house (which is light). In that house burns a light, and it continues into a book filled with a starry night that through the dark glows the moon. Then it repeats by going back to the book on the bed, and finally ends up with the key in the house that is in the night, which home is full of light. It follows other traditional poems with cumulative patterns. This picture book has a pattern that is easy for little ones to follow. The illustrations of scratchboard and watercolor show light (yellow) in all the darkness (black and white) where the author wants to emphasize light. (Caldecott Medal, 2009).

Taback, S. (1999). Joseph had a little overcoat. New York, New York: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers.

            Joseph has a little overcoat, but it soon gets old and worn. He then makes something out of the overcoat like a jacket, vest, scarf, necktie, handkerchief, and button. However, Joseph cannot find the button, so he makes a story out of it. The story ends with the moral that “you can always make something out of nothing.” The story does a great job of explaining how you can have nothing and still have something. This is something everyone should learn. The illustrations were bright and colorful, but the best part was that there was a cut out in some of the pages to show what Joseph made from the overcoat. It continues until the end of the story which exhibits creativity from the illustrator. (Caldecott Medal, 2000).

Van Allsburg, C. (1981). Jumanji. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Judy and Peter are left alone at the house while their parents go to an opera. The kids discover a board game called, Jumanji. They begin to play the game and realize everything in the game is really happening like monkeys eating their food and a lion coming after them. When Judy finally reaches the city on the board game and shouts Jumanji, the game ends. Their parents come home, and they see their neighbors taking a board game home. It can be predicted that the neighbor kids may have the same problem with the board game that Judy and Peter encountered (which leads into the next book the author wrote- Zathura). At the end of the book, the author leaves the reader wondering if it was all a dream or did it really all happen to the kids. The illustrations are all black and white, but it does not take away from the image. The illustrations look 3D because the illustrator has mastered the artwork to look real. (Caldecott Medal, 1982).

Van Allsburg, C. (1985). The polar express. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

            A boy is picked up by the Polar Express to go to the North Pole to see Santa. They sing Christmas Carols and eat Christmas treats along the way. The boy is picked to have the first Christmas present. He asks for a silver bell off of Santa’s sleigh. He is given the bell and later goes back on the train to head home. The boy discovers a hole in his pocket and he has lost the bell. Christmas morning in the last box, he finds his silver bell that he rings. He discovers only his sister and he can hear the bell because his parents do not believe in Santa; they cannot hear it ring. The author uses similes to make descriptions and comparisons which make the reading more understandable. The artwork is fantastic with shades full of colorful art. The pictures are big and take up one to two pages full of color. (Caldecott Medal, 1986).

Yolen, J. (1987). Owl moon. New York, New York: Philomel Books.

            A little girl and her Pa go owling one night. She has to be quiet, brave, and listen. At first, when dad makes the owling noises, they do not see or hear an owl. However, some time later, they encounter an owl. They stare at each other, and then the owl flies away. They have a successful owling trip, and then they quietly leave to go home. The author does a great job with sensory imagery. You can hear and see what is going on to the character which makes the reader feel as if they are owling, too. The illustrator uses watercolor perfectly to shape the owl moon night. (Caldecott Medal, 1988).