Caldecott Award Winners--
the very best children's books!

Below is a continuation of our big list of Caldecott Award winners. The books listed on this page of our list are surely some of the most stunning and extraordinary picture books for kids that have ever been published. Each one merits the honor. Caldecott Committee: We agree!  Every year we fall in love with the handful of Caldecott Award winners, but we think the 2000s are particularly fabulous. We meet Mo Willem's pigeon and Trixie for the first time, both of whom go on to star in equally wonderful sequels. Other favorites like Kevin Henkes and Steve Jenkins also made it onto this list.

If we had to pick our favorite of these Caldecott Award Winners, it might be The Hello, Goodbye Window, with its exuberant illustration and childlike text that both perfectly capture the emotions and imagination of a child of that age. Brilliant! But then again, you can't go wrong with books illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Peter Sis, Kadir Nelson, Brian Selznick, etc. These are without a question some of the best illustrators around. On behalf of all fans of children's books, we have one request for these talented Caldecott Award winners: don't stop!  Keep the magic comin'. We'll be waiting.

Below is a continuation of our list. More recent Caldecott Award winners are here.

Red Sings from
Treetops
(exploration of seasons
and how they can
be captured in
colors and sounds) 
1st grade - 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

All the World
(a sweet look at one family
as they experience one
glorious summer day)
Preschool - 3rd grade

The House in
the Night
(stunning, luminescent
illustrations are paired
with a bedtime story)
Preschool - 1st grade

How I Learned
Geography
(a poverty stricken boy
is transported to exotic
locales thanks to some
great maps!)
1st grade - 5th grade

A River of Words
The Story of William
Carlos Williams, a
prize winning poet (full
of brilliant illustrations!)
3rd grade - 6th grade

A Couple of
Boys Have the
Best Week Ever
(two friends have a blast
together during summer)
Kindergarten - 3rd grade

The Wall
Growing Up Behind the
Iron Curtain (a highly
illustrated autobiography
of life in Czechoslovakia)
3rd grade & Up

The Invention of
Hugo Cabret
(a 'novel in pictures'
about a Paris orphan
with a mystery)
4th grade - 7th grade

First the Egg
(book about trans-
formation in nature;
full of die-cuts)
by Laura V.Seeger
Preschool - 1st grade

Gone Wild
An Endangered
Animal Alphabet 
(for older kids)
3rd grade & Up

Knuffle Bunny
A Cautionary Tale
(mayhem ensues
when a stuffed
bunny is left behind)
Preschool - 1st grade

Knuffle Bunny Too
(in this sequel, two
friends mix up
their cherished
stuffed bunnies)
Preschool - 1st grade

Henry's
Freedom Box
(true story of a slave
who literally mailed him-
self north to freedom)
2nd grade - 5th grade

What Do You
Do With a Tail
Like This?
(a look at how animals
use various body parts)
Kindergarten - 5th grade

Moses: When
Harriet Tubman
Led Her People
to Freedom
(beautifully illustrated bio)
2nd grade - 5th grade

Flotsam
(discovery of an
old camera yields
unusual images)
Caldecott Medal 2007
Kindergarten - 4th grade

Hello, Goodbye Window
(adorable story about a child's visit with her grandparents)
2006 Caldecott Medal
Preschool - 2nd grade

Hot Air
The Mostly True Story
of the First Hot
Air Balloon Ride
Kindergarten - 3rd grade

Rosa
(beautifully illustrated
biography of Rosa Parks
and her legacy)
3rd grade - 5th grade

Zen Shorts
(three Zen tales for
living a thoughtful,
compassionate life)
Kindergarten - 3rd grade

Coming On
Home Soon
(story about a child-
hood on the homefront
during World War II)
Kindergarten - 3rd grade

The Red Book
(wordless story about
a magical power of
books & imagination)
fun for all ages

Song of the
Water Boatman
& Other Pond Poems
(life in a pond habitat)
3rd grade - 6th grade

Noah's Ark
(beautifully illustrated
retelling of the Noah story)
by Jerry Pinkney
Caldecott Honor 2003

Kitten's First
Full Moon
(a kitten mistakes
the moon for a
saucer of milk)
Caldecott Medal 2005
Preschool-Kindergarten

Ella Sarah Gets
Dressed
(story of a little girl
who wants to pick
out her own outfit)
Preschool - Kindergarten

Don't Let the Pigeon
Drive the Bus!
(hilarious! a pigeon tries
to convince the reader to
let him drive a bus)
Preschool - 2nd grade

The Man Who
Walked Between
the Towers
(true story of a Twin
Towers feat)
Kindergarten - 5th grade

Hondo and Fabian
(sweet, quiet book about
how a dog and a cat
spend their day)
Preschool - 1st grade

My Friend Rabbit
(friends have a crazy idea
to get a toy out of a tree)
Caldecott Medal book!
Preschool - 1st grade

The Stray Dog
(a family discover
a lost dog during a
picnic at the park)
Preschool - 3rd grade

The Spider and the Fly
(famous poem paired
with luminescent,
silvery illustrations)
1st grade - 6th grade

Martin's Big Words
The Life of Dr. Martin
Luther King (stunningly
illustrated biography)
1st grade - 6th grade

Enjoy the books!

Betsy, Cindy, and Virginia (the teachers/sisters behind this website)

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