Ah, the Caldecott Books! We wait for the announcement of this award like most people wait for the Academy Awards. In case you aren't familiar with the Randoph E. Caldecott Award, each year a group of authors, publishers, booksellers, and editors chooses one Caldecott Medal and two to four Caldecott honorees. These Caldecott books represent the very best books for children published during the previous calendar year. They are all truly that year's "not to be missed" children's books. This page (and the subsequent three pages) shows the winners of this most prestigious award for children's picture books.
For each of the Caldecott books below, be sure to click the 'see inside' link to get a glimpse
of the magic within the covers, as well as a summary /review of the
book, a list of other awards, reading levels (DRA, Lexile, Guided
Reading), and lesson ideas (for some).
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Hello Lighthouse
by Sophie Blackall
Alma and How She Got Her Name
by Juana Martinez-Neal
A Big Mooncake for Little Star
by Grace Lin
The Rough Patch
by Brian Lies
Thank You, Omu!
by Oge Mora
Wolf in the Snow
by Matthew Cordell
Big Cat, Little Cat
by Elisha Cooper
Crown: An Ode
to the Fresh Cut
by Derrick Barnes
A Different Pond
by Bao Phi
Grand Canyon
by Jason Chin
They All Saw a Cat
by Vera Brosgol (shows
how perspective
shapes what we see)
preschool - Kindergarten
Leave Me Alone!
(by Vera Brosgol)
preschool-Grade 2
Radiant Child
(Story of Young Artist
Jean-Michel Basquiat
by Javaka Steptoe)
Grade 1 - Grade 5
Finding Winnie
(The True Story of
the World's Most
Famous Bear)
Kindergarten - Grade 3
Freedom in
Congo Square
(illustrated by
Gregory Christie)
Grade 1 - Grade 3
Du Iz Tak?
(by Carson Ellis)
preschool-Grade 3
Trombone Shorty
(biography of a
musician & the culture
of New Orleans)
Grade 1 - Grade 4
Waiting
(a child's toys wait on a
windowsill for marvelous
things to happen)
Preschool - Kindergarten
Voice of Freedom
Fannie Lou Hamer:
The Spirit of the Civil
Rights Movement
Grade 6 & Up
Last Stop on
Market Street
(a boy's heartwarming
Sunday morning
routine with his nana)
Preschool - Kindergarten
Viva Frida
(a fabulously illustrated
bio of artist Frida Kahlo)
1st Grade & Up
The Adventures of
Beekle
The Unimaginary Friend
Caldecott Medal 2015
Preschool - 2nd grade
The Noisy Paint Box
The Colors and Sounds of
Kandinsky's Abstract Art
1st grade - 4th grade
Nana in the City
(a boy's overnight
visit to his grandma
in the big city)
Preschool - 3rd grade
Sam & Dave
Dig a Hole
(two friends dig a hole hoping to find something)
Preschool - 1st grade
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The Right Word
a kid friendly biography
of Roget and his thesaurus)
2nd grade - 5th grade
This One Summer
(a teen graphic novel;
heartbreaking
but hopeful)
8th Grade & Up
Locomotive
(beautifully illustrated
account of America’s
early railroads)
Caldecott Medal 2014
3rd grade - 5th grade
Journey
(a gorgeously illustrated
wordless picture book that
tells the story of a girl's
'flight of fancy' adventure)
1st grade - 4th grade
Flora and the Flamingo
(a wordless lift-the-flap
picture book about the
joys of friendship)
Preschool - 2nd grade
Creepy Carrots!
(a carrot-loving bunny
is suddenly taunted
by carrots!)
Preschool - 3rd grade
Mr. Wuffles!
(Mr. Wuffles the cat
plays with a spaceship
of actual aliens!)
Preschool - 3rd grade
Extra Yarn
(a girl and her magical
yarn transform a
community)
Preschool - 3rd grade
This Is Not My Hat
(simple but so funny!)
Caldecott Medal 2013
Preschool - 3rd grade
One Cool Friend
(a boy visits an aquarium, and takes home a pet penguin!)
Preschool - 3rd grade
Sleep Like a Tiger
(a not-so-sleepy little girl
"explores" animals & sleep)
Preschool - 1st grade
A Ball for Daisy
(a spunky puppy
is
crushed when her
toy is damaged)
Caldecott Medal 2012
Preschool - 2nd grade
Blackout
(a
family reconnects
with each other
and neighbors
due to a
blackout)
Kindergarten - 2nd grade
The Lion & the Mouse
(beautifully illustrated
version of the classic tale)
Caldecott Medal 2010
Preschool - 3rd grade
Green
(a homage to green,
with Seeger's trade-
mark die-cut pages
and vibrant colors)
Preschool - 1st grade
Dave the Potter:
Artist, Poet, Slave
(an
inspiring story of
a slave who was
skilled at pottery)
1st grade - 4th grade
Interrupting Chicken
(little chicken keeps
interrupting story time
to warn characters
of impending danger
--so dang cute!)
Preschool - 3rd grade
There are tons more Caldecott books. We just couldn't fit them all on one page. To see more Caldecott books, click the arrow.
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