Caldecott Books
Award Winning Picture Books

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).

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

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

Me...Jane
(adorable kid-friendly bio
of a young Jane Goodall)
Kindergarten - 3rd 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

A Sick Day for
Amos McGee
Caldecott Medal 2011
Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Grandpa Green
(a boy learns about
his grandpa's life
via his garden)
Kindergarten - 3rd 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