A Bibliography of Caldecott Awards
1938-2002
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1938
Lathrop, Dorothy. Animals of the Bible: A Picture Book New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1937.
The text of this book is selected from the King James
Bible, and the illustrator studied the plants
and animals of the Bible to do her black and white
lithographs. Various stories about animals make
up the text of the book and are illustrated by the
pictures. The animals all have personalities evident
in the drawings that help make the animals integral
parts of all the stories. The layout of the book
matches the layout of the Bible, complete with a
division between the Old and New Testament
Stories.
1939
Handforth, Thomas. Mei Li Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1953. (original copyright 1938.)
Brush and lithograph pencil pictures illustrate this story about the
Chinese New Year when a young
girl travels to the city to see the sights of the
New Year Fair. In the course of the book, we are told
that girls cannot go to the fair, and girls can’t
be actors, although the pictures show us that the young
girl is really at the fair and that she can act.
1940
Parin D’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. Abraham Lincoln. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1939.
The pictures in this biography of Abraham Lincoln
were created with lithographic pencil on stone.
The many stories about his childhood help to identify
"Honest Abe" as a real person of the people.
If you look at the picturess carefully, you can
see the layers of color and the pattern of the stone.
The pictures are soft and seem round like stones.
In 1957, the illustrators redid the pictures in
acetate sketch because stroing the stones from the
original was too cumbersome for publishers
to store.
1941
Lawson, Robert. They Were Strong and Good New York: Viking Press, 1940.
This story was written in honor of the author’s family
and how hard the "normal" people worked to
build this great country: "None of them were
great or famous, but they were strong and good."
The brush and ink drawings portray very detailed
and expressive descriptions of the story.
The pictures also show some humor in the faces of
the characters, especially the picture of
his father’s father preaching. This is a great book
to open discussion about family and heritage.
1942
McClosky, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings New York: Viking Press, 1941.
Lithographic crayon on stone was the medium used
for the beautifully detailed pictures in this book.
The ducks each have their own personality, which
is only seen in the pictures. McClosky did
careful research on mallard ducks before undertaking
the construction of this book, and his
expertise enhances the charm of this lovely book
that reinforces the joy of nature as the people
in the city help the ducklings to travel through
the town safely.
1943
Burton, Virginia Lee. The Little House Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,1942.
This book with its colorful watercolor pictures
has long been a favorite of mine. I love the story of
the little house around whom a city builds up. The
think I like most about the pictures is the
expressions on the "face" of the little house. She
is happy in the country, but tired and unhappy
amid the bustle of the city. Could there be a lesson
here?
1944
Thruber, James. Many Moons illus. Louis Slobodkin. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1943.
This charming story about a young princess
who asks for the moon when she is ill is impressively
illustrated with watercolor, pen and ink. The king’s
wise men each have a different idea about how
big and far away the moon is, and the court jester
realizes that what matters is how big and far
away the princess thinks it is. The pictures are
like sketches splashed with color, a style that allows
the characters to look like nobody or anybody.
1945
Rachel Field. Prayer for a Child illus. Elizabeth Orton Jones. New York: Macmillan Company, 1944.
Beginning with the whole prayer printed on
a page, this book continues to present each section of
the prayer on its own page, with pen-and-ink and
watercolor pictures of a cute, cherub-like girl
preparing for bed—with pictures of each blessing.
My favorite page is the very colorful picture of
the "other children, far and near," each of whom
has a different, distinct facial expression and is
wearing tradition dress from their respective cultures.
1946
Petersham, Maud and Miska. The Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles New York: Macmillan Company, 1945.
The pictures of this book were created with
lithograph pencil with color separations on acetate. I
found the 1955 edition of this book, which has gorgeous
pictures illustrating rhymes and short verses
recognizable by most children. The verses include
nursery rhymes, jumprope rhymes, and hand
games. Many of the pictures include animals which
are participating in the action. For example, in
"Mother may I go out to swim," the fish is laughing
at the girl on the shore while two squirrels are
playing with sticks in the water. Only two pictures
depict an African-American child, and he is
barefoot in both, even in the winter.
1947
MacDonald, Golden [Brown, Margaret Wise]. The Little Island illus. Leonard Weisgard. Garden City, New York: Junior Books, Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1946.
Gouache paintings illustrate this story about
the seasons on a little island in the ocean. The beautiful
descriptions of life on the island culminate in
the last three lines of the book: "A part of the world and
a world of its own all surrounded by the bright
blue sea." The island is given a voice and an identity
of its own, which makes this a darling story.
1948
Tresselt, Alvin. White Snow, Bright Snow illus. Roger Duvoisin. New York: Lee and Shepard Company, Inc., 1947.
Another story about seasons, this book tells
how the townspeople prepare for the big snow storm
of the year and what they do when it comes. The
pages are full of color done in acetate separations
in black india ink, and the words are placed around
the pictures, centralizing the story in the pictures.
1949
Hader, Berta and Elmer. The Big Snow New York: Macmillan Company, 1948.
The gorgeous watercolor pictures in this book
tell a beautiful story about animals preparing for
winter. This year we moved from the city to the
country for a seasons story. The geese flying
away center the story as the winter animals watch
the birds fly away and contemplate how they
are ready for the winter. The reader is told how
the animals prepare for the winter, and how the
elderly couple in the area help them through The
Big Snow.
1950
Politi, Leo. Song of the Swallows New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1949.
The soft, carefully drawn tempura pictures
in this book illustrate a wonderful story about the joy of
buds in the garden. Within the text is the music
score and lyrics for two "songs of the swallows."
The simple joys of swallows returning every year
and the rituals surrounding that event make this
book a refreshing enjoyment.
1951
Milhous, Katherine. The Egg Tree New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950.
The soft pastel tempera pictures in this story
of an Easter Egg hunt that leads to painting eggs and
constructing a tree hung with Easter Eggs. Seeing
how the children wait for the Easter Rabbit to
bring the eggs for the hunt is interesting, too.
I loved this book because it brings memories of my
own childhood, when we had a candy tree outside
of our house that "bloomed" on Easter Sunday
and Valentine’s Day.
1952
Lipkind, William and Nicolas Mordvinoff. Finders Keepers. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1951.
This is a wonderful book in which two dogs
who are friends find a bone, but try to decide who gets
the bone once they find it. After a few adventures
with no solutions for their problem, the meet
another dog who takes the bone. This helps them
to realize that they found it together and they can
enjoy it together. The pictures are acetate color
separations for line reproduction, and the pictures
of the dogs’ haircuts are great!
1953
Ward, Lynd. The Biggest Bear Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1952.
This book, about a young boy who finds and
raises a bear cub until it is too big to keep, it truly
heartwarming. When he tries to return it to the
wild, it keeps coming home until it gets caught in
the zookeeper’s trap. The pictures are opaque watercolor
in brown and black and show great
expressions on the face of the bear—he always seems
to be smirking.
1954
Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline’s Rescue New York, Viking Press, 1953.
This story first appeared in Good Housekeeping
and is now a well loved book by children all over
the country. Madeline is a very endearing girl,
the smallest in her boarding school. This is the story
of when she fell into the river and was rescued
by a dog. Most of the pen and brush pictures are
yellow, white, and black, but the book is also sprinkled
with beautiful pages of colorful watercolor.
1955
Perrault, Charles. Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper illus. Marcia Brown. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1954.
This story is a "free translation from the
French." The pictures are created with a variety of
mediums: gouache, crayon, watercolor and ink. They
tell the familiar story of Cinderella with two
balls. The pictures are very soft and drawn around
the words in ways that insist the pictures are as
important as the words.
1956
Langstaff, John. Frog Went A-Courtin’ illus. Feodor Rojankovsky. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1955.
Most of us know the story of the frog who went a-courting.
This book opens with a "story of the
story" written simply so a child will understand.
Langstaff combines several versions of the ballad
into one story. The music at the end of the book
provides a melody in case you don’t know one, and
the last lines encourage individual adaptation by
authorizing children to create their own stories: "If
you want anymore, you must sing it yourself!" The
brush, ink, and crayon on acetate separation
make the pictures very colorful, soft, friendly
and comfortable.
1957
Udry, Janice May. A Tree is Nice illus. Marc Simont. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1956.
This is a wonderfully ecologically friendly
book. The simple story is about reasons to have a tree:
shade, fruit, etc. The pictures are all two-page
spreads that alternate between black-and-white and
color, gouache over watercolor. Toward the end,
this book shows how to plant your own tree, which
really is nice.
1958
McClosky, Robert. Time of Wonder New York: Puffin Books, 1957.
The beautiful casein pictures in this book
allow the reader to absorb himself into this peaceful story
of a summer of play. The colorful pictures relax
the reader and then sweep the reader into the calm
excitement of preparing for the hurricane as we
also watch the animals prepare. The hurricane
itself is not a disaster as seen on the news, but
a part of summer life on the island. Following the
hurricane, the children wonder about simple things
like where hummingbirds go during a hurricane.
This is McClosky’s second Caldecott winner.
1959
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Chanticleer and the Fox illus. & adapted Barbara Cooney. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1958.
This is an adaptation of Chaucer’s "Nun’s
Priest’s Tale" as translated by Robert Mayer
Lumiansky. Preseparated art (black and white on
scratchboard; colors on Dinobase) illustrated
this adaptation of Chaucer for children. These pictures
are simple and colorful, following the story
which has been adapted in simple, colorful language
children to experience.
1960
Ets, Marie Hall and Aurora Labastida. Nine Days to Christmas illus. Marie Hall Ets. New York: Viking Press, 1959.
Pencil drawings on Dinobase bring this unique
Christmas story to life. The preparation of a young
Mexican-American girl for her first posada (a special
Christmas part each night for the 9 nights
before Christmas) is a whirlwind of adventures.
She gets her first pinata, goes to market for the
first time and gets to help with the party preparations.
The detailed pictures do a wonderful job of
not filtering out everything she sees to keep the
story going.
1961
Robbins, Ruth. Baboushka and the Three Kings illus. Nicolas Sidjakov. Berkeley, CA: Parnassus Press, 1960.
This adaptation of a Russian Christmas story
is illustrated with tempera and felt tip markers in four
colors. The "baboushka," or grandmother, is a sort
of Santa Claus figure who leaves small "poor but
precious" gifts for children as she searches for
the Child. The words in the book are typeset in a
medieval font that places the time period of the
story. The tale includes many religious overtones
of various sorts, without actually making it a religious
book.
1962
Brown, Marcia. Once A Mouse… New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961.
A fable from ancient India is told in wood
cut and watercolors. The story is of a small mouse turned
into a tiger through a hermit’s magic. When the
tiger gets too arrogant, the hermit turns him back
into a mouse. The pictures are beautiful because
you can see the grain of the wood behind the
colors. The pictures also seem to come before the
active words they represent.
1963
Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day New York: Puffin Books, 1962.
The third winner about snow, this book contains
a simple story of a child’s adventures in the snow.
The boy plays by himself all day in the snow that
covers everything. The pictures are steady,
recognizable shapes that can be found everywhere,
just like the snow. They are created as collage
with papers, paints, and gum eraser stamps. The
pictures fill in descriptions of things left unsaid, like
why Peter is still too small for a snowball fight.
The historical significance of this book is that it is the
first picture book to depict and African-American
child without any reference to his race—he is just
a child.
1964
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 1963.
This classic children’s book about Max and
his trip to the land of the wild things tells a story of a
boy being punished, and the pictures tell why. The India ink line over full-color tempera pictures are
fabulously imaginative and give children a power
over adults by allowing them to be part of the
story. The full two-page spreads in the middle of
the book allow Max to be in charge while the
"grownup" monsters romp in the jungle.
1965
de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. May I Bring a Friend? Illus. Beni Montresor. New York: Atheneum, 1964.
The pictures, done as pen and ink drawings
on board in black with solid overlays and screened
overlays on acetate, in this book tell a very different
story from the words. The words say "a friend"
and picture says "an elephant." The pictures of
the king and queen also tell a unique story because
each picture shows them doing normal, fun things,
like fishing or dancing. This is an excellent picture
book, and my favorite of the Caldecott winners.
1966
NicLeodhas, Sorche [Leclaive Algen]. Always Room for One More illus. Nonny Hogrogian. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.
Hogrogian illustrated this book with three-color
separated art using pen for black line pastels and
wash for color. The people and house, etc. are created
by lines which form the shape rather than
lines within the shape. The story is a Scottish
folk song. At the end fo the book is a list of definitions
of the Scottish words used in the song, as well
as the musical notation. The line-people reinforce
the hospitality of all friends being welcome.
1967
Ness, Evaline. Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966.
This is a great story about learning the difference
between "real" and "imaginary." It’s great that
the imaginary kangaroo and the real gerbil are both
called "Moonshine." Sometimes the imaginary
can become real. The pictures are made with three-color
pre-separated art using Japanese pen and
wash, printer’s ink, a roller and string.
1968
Emberly, Barbara. Drummer Hoff illus. Ed Emberly. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1967.
This is an interesting story about firing
a canon and military ranking. Each character introduced is
one rank higher than the last. The pictures are
bright and colorful woodcuts and ink, containing
many designs. The pictures also comment on war in
the final picture when the anon has become
the center of a wildlife area with birds nesting
and spiders spinning on it. War didn’t destroy things
forever.
1969
Ransome, Arthur. The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship illus. Uri Shulevitz. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1968.
Simple kindness can go a long way according
to this Russian tale. The older, clever brothers are
never heard from again once they set out to seek
their fortunes, but the Fool of the World shares
the little he has and enjoys life, allowing miracles
to happen. The pen and brush with black and
colored inks pictures are rich in color, allowing
the reader to also feel carefree as the Fool,
knowing that God blesses the simple folk if they
choose to be simple rather than clever.
1970
Steig, William. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble New York: Windmill Books, 1969.
What if you wished yourself into a rock? What if you couldn’t wish yourself
back? Sylvester had
to spend a year as a rock before he was able to
wish himself back into a donkey. The watercolor,
cartoon-like pictures in this book capture an emotion
the words don’t quite get. When his parents
have a picnic on his rock, and place the magic pebble
on his back, his wish is granted. This is a
wonderful book about a family’s love.
1971
Haley, Gail E. A Story, A Story New York: Atheneum, 1970.
An African story of Ananse the Spider Man, this story
is also reminiscent of Just So Stories
because it is the story of "How stories came into
the world." The storyteller at the beginning of the
book is the spider man on the following pages. He
tells of his adventures to round up payment to
buy stories from the Sky gods. The storyteller spins
the story as the spider spins his web. The
full-color woodcuts contain many curved lines, weaving
the reader into the tale.
1972
Hogrogian, Nonny. One Fine Day New York: Macmillan, 1971.
This cute story about a fox’s adventures after
drinking an old woman’s pail of milk is illustrated
with engaging, although simple arcrylic paintings
with turpentine on gesso panels. My favorite part
is the pictures that show a bashful look on the
fox’s face—not a trait normally associated with the
fox.
1973
Mosel, Arlene. The Funny Little Woman illus. Blair Lent. New York: A. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1972.
Both pen and ink line drawings with full-color
acrylic glazes and full color paintings illustrate this
colorful book about a Japanese woman who likes to
make rice dumplings. Most of the story takes
place in a world underground where she is held captive
as she makes her dumplings. The pictures
are quite interesting because they show the connection
between the world above ground and the
world below. For instance, the top of the page shows
the house with the well beside it, and the
bottom of the page shows the rope with the bucket
right under the well.
1974
Zemach, Harve. Duffy and the Devil illus. Margot Zemach. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1973.
Pen and ink drawings with watercolor bring
this Cornish story to life. The pictures are very active,
with people walking, the devil spinning, and even
twiddling the thumbs while sitting. The final picture
illustrates an interesting consequence of Duffy’s
declaration that she will never knit anything again
as her husband sits naked in his chair.
1975
McDermott, Gerald. Arrow to the Sun New York: Puffin Books, 1974.
This retelling of a Pueblo Indian tale has
beautiful pictures done in gouache and preseparated black
nk. Every page is full of color—the pictures are
not just on the page, they are the page. Most of the
pictures are outlined in thick square pixel style,
and all of the pictures are symmetrical and based on
simple shape outlines. The few circle or arc shapes
appear to be perfectly drawn—as if with a
compass. The pictures tell exactly what the worlds
say, but with the description that only pictures
can add to the story.
1976
Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears illus. Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Dial Press, 1975.
This is a West African tale illustrated in
full color using watercolors applied in airbrush, hand-rubbed
pastels, india ink, and cutting shapes out of vellum
and frisket masks at different stages. The
mosquito annoys the iguana and sets in motion a
string of events that cause the jungle creatures to
dislike the mosquito, who then resorted to talking
to people, with its real consequences as people
also dislike the mosquito.
1977
Musgrove, Margaret. Ashanti to Zulu illus. Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Dial Press, 1976.
Leo and Diane Dillon come back for a second year
in a row with their pastels, watercolors and
acrylics for the illustrations for this alphabet
book of African Tribes. They researched and studied
the African people depicted in the pictures "in
order to show as much as possible about each
different people, in most paintings they have included
a man, a woman, a child, their living quarters,
an artifact, and a local animal," even if they are
not always seen together. The very detailed
pictures are framed in borders joined at the corners
in knots suggesting unity of life. Each picture
also includes whatever the words mention.
1978
Spier, Peter. Noah’s Ark New York: Doubleday, 1977.
The words to this story are a translation
of The Flood by Dutchman Jacobus Revius. The
translation (by Peter Spier) is written on the first
page and the rest of the book are just pictures of
the story of Noah and his ark. The cartoon-like
pictures are made with F pencil on paper, watercolor
and white pencil, and negatives scratched. What
I found most fascinating about this book is how the
pictures tell the story of what is happening inside
the ark during the flood. Noah and his sons muck
out stalls and feed animals every day, and the animal
couples become families before they leave the
ark. This book also shows a scene of the story that
many people don’t think about—what happened
to the animals that couldn’t get on the ark? We
know that they probably drowned, but we never see
it happen, until this book. Two of the most comical
pictures are where Noah is trying to get rid of the
swarm of bees and shooing away extra birds.
1979
Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses Scarsdale, New York: Bradbury Press, 1978.
The illustrations are colorful pen-and-ink
and watercolor paintings, and they are reproduced in
combined line and halftone in this story of a Native
American girl who prefers the company of the
wild horses to staying in her village. The pictures
tell how the horses were used by the villagers and
the girl’s connection with the horses: she understands
them and they trust her.
1980
Hall, Donald. Ox Cart Man illus. Barbara Cooney. New York: Viking Press, 1979.
This is a wonderful book about the time of
the pioneers—when extra goods/ supplies were sold
once a year at market. The beautiful pictures are
done in acrylics on gesso-coated board and are
full of detail that tells the story without having
to read the words.
1981
Lobel, Arnold. Fables Boston: Harper and Row, 1980.
This collection of 20 original fables contains illustrations
of gouache and pencil framed on opposite
pages. These pictures seem to show only one part
of the story, but if you look closely, your
imagination can fill in the end of the story. For
example, the picture for "The Ducks and the Fox"
shows the fox sitting on a wall and the ducks talking
to him. Because of the look on the fox’s face,
you can tell he is a normal fox contemplating duck
for dinner.
1982
Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981.
Popularized by the recent movie starring Robin
Williams, this story first comes to us in a book
illustrated with conte pencil with conte dust, a
medium that looks like charcoal drawings of
sculptures in very clear 3-D with interesting perspectives.
The book is different from the movie in
that there is no generational game, only Judy and
Peter. More things show up in the book than the
movie, like a volcano eruption. All of the action
takes place within the house, and they return the
game to the park where they found it. Two neighbor
boys who never read the directions pick up
the game at the end, continuing the cycle.
1983
Cendras, Blaise. Shadow trans. & illus. Marcia Brown. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.
This translation of "La Feticheuse" from
Petits
Contes Negres pour les Enfants des Blancs
contains a forward by the illustrator about what
place Shadow holds in African tradition. The
pictures all contain a lot of darkness in collage
of paper, woodcuts and acrylics. Most of the
pictures are double—the item and its shadow.
1984
Provensen, Alice and Martin. The Glorious Flight New York: Viking Press, 1983.
Acrylic and pen and ink help tell this story
of Louis Bleriot, the first man to fly over the English
Channel. The cover is designed as a newspaper covering
the story, and many of the pictures look
like paintings of photograph sittings for the paper.
This is a good book to use in a history class for
older elementary children.
1985
Hodges, Margaret. Saint George and the Dragon illus. Trina Schart Hyman. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1984.
Hodges retells the story from Spenser’s Faerie
Queen in which George slays the dragon that has
been terrorizing the area for years. The pictures
are india ink and acrylic and surrounded by
borders. On the picture pages, it is like looking
through a window—the border is drawn in, but the
main picture extends into the borders. On the text
pages, the text is within the center of the borders,
which are full of flowery images. In the small border
pictures on the text pages are stories of travels
across a sea of dangers, the story of George.
1986
Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985.
Four years after winning the Caldecott for
Jumanji,
Van Allsburg is back with full-color oil pastel
on pastel paper for his paintings in this lovely
Christmas story that reaffirms the magic of believing
in Christmas. The story takes place in the middle
of the night, but the darkness of the pictures is
soft and inviting, not at all frightening. All of
the detail of the pictures is in the foreground, and the
background of the pictures is blurry, but in a way
which allows the imagination to take over. The
perspectives are somewhat tilted in many of the
pictures, but this just reinforces the magical qualities
of the Christmas Train.
1987
Yorinks, Arthur. Hey, Al illus. Richard Egielski. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1986.
These very detailed, carefully drawn watercolor
pictures tell a story of a janitor longing for
something more. The color in the pictures is designed
to capture the feeling of the story. The
apartment Al lives in is always a dull brown color;
he wears dull clothes. The bird from paradise
is colorful, as is all of the island in the sky.
When Al returns with his dog Eddie to the West Side,
he wears a bright Hawaiian shirt, and is painting
his brown apartment yellow—adding a little color
to an otherwise dull life.
1988
Yolen, Jane. Owl Moon illus. John Schoenherr. New York: Philomel Books, 1987.
This is a great story of a child spending
time with his or her father as they go out at night to find an
owl. The pictures of pencil and watercolor capture
both the words’ action and the feeling of a
moonlit winter night in the country near the woods.
I like how the child narrator is only identified
by the personal pronouns—even the pictures don’t
tell whether the child is a boy or a girl, so it
becomes the reader. Although it takes place outdoors
in the winter, the story and pictures are
curiously warm and comfortable.
1989
Ackerman, Karen. Song and Dance Man illus. Stephen Gammell. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
The colored pencil drawings in the book are
very colorful—even the background on the floors
and walls is colorful. The many colors in the pictures
are great for the colorful story of a vaudeville
song and dance man, especially whenthe colors seem
to flow from Grandpa. The story is also
uplifting, a story about a relationship between
children and their grandfather that I can identify with.
1990
Young, Ed. Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story From China. New York: Philomel Books, 1989.
The pictures in this book are beautifully
soft—it looks like chalk or charcoal. They are also very
impressionistic. I think the pictures tell the feeling
of the story more than the actions. In this story,
the mother goes to visit the grandmother and leaves
the children at home. A wolf comes to visit,
impersonating the grandmother, and the children
outwit and kill the wolf.
1991
Macaulay, David. Black and White Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1990.
This unique book is difficult to understand
because you have to pay close attention to all four
stories at the same time. The art medium used in
each of the four stories is also different. The
author challenges the reader with a warning on the
title page: "This book appears to contain a number
of stories that do not necessarily occur at the same time. Then again,
it may contain only one story.
In any event, careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended."
My impression is that all of the stories seem to
tie in with "Problem Parents," but each reader
should try to discover this for themselves.
1992
Wiesner, David. Tuesday New York: Clarion Books, 1991.
I like the colorful pictures in this picture
book. Because the only words are dates and times, the
pictures tell the story of the flying frogs. I think
it is neat that the frogs look as if this happens all the
time, but the other people and creatures are confused
by this strange occurrance. The frogs seem
upset when they can no longer fly on their lillypads
and must head home. Ending the book with pigs
flying in the next week is great, the cycle continues.
The watercolor pictures on Arches paper
provide many allusions to modern culture in references
to movies (such as the Back to the Future
clock shot on the dust cover) and to changing times
(such as the cable-ready television in the old TV
case in the old woman’s living room.
1993
McCully, Emily Arnold. Mirette on the High Wire New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992.
This wonderful story about a young girl learning
to walk a tightrope is accented by beautiful
impressionistic watercolor pictures. The beautiful
use of colors and soft shapes really speaks to
the reader in this book about confronting fear.
1994
Say, Allen. Grandfather’s Journey Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993.
The pictures in this book about a Japanese-American
man’s voyage to America and back to his
home country are created in "snapshot" style. Each
of the pictures looks like a photograph that has
been touched up with paint for sharper colors. The
watercolors capture the imagination and lead
the reader to imagine the scenes described in the
story. The affirmation between cultures is evident
when the grandfather longs for one country when
in the other.
1995
Bunting, Eve. Smoky Night illus. David Diaz. San Diego: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1994.
This book about riots in Los Angeles is a
wonderfully textured book about getting along with all
types of people. Although many people also think
this story is inappropriate for children, it is about
how a child would experience the rioting. The backgrounds
of each page are ordinary household
items placed together and photographed. For example,
one page is clothing, hangers, and dry
cleaning bags. The texture of the paper behind the
text changes with each page as well. The
backgrounds are fascinating and hold the attention
as the reader tries to place each background
with its part of the story.
1996
Rothman, Peggy. Officer Buckle and Gloria New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995.
Perhaps in reaction to the controversy surrounding
Smoky
Night, this wonderful story about an
officer and his dog-partner, Gloria, takes its place
in the line-up of the best picture books. The
colorful cartoon pictures tell the story of what
Gloria does during Officer Buckle’s talks about
safety. The words tell Officer Buckle’s story. The
safety tips are great—common things that
everyone should remember. Gloria’s antics during
Officer Buckle’s presentations teach the
children more about safety, just as the pictures
in books teach the reader more about the story.
1997
Wisniewski, David. Golem New York: Clarion Books, 1996.
In another controversial book, Wisniewski
retells a Jewish folktale with pictures in Color-Aid, Coralt
and Bark cut paper. The pictures are really neat
because they are layers of cut paper, creating an
interesting, textured effect that captivates the
reader. Although many consider this story about the
Jewish giant brought to life to protect Jews from
the Blood Lie to be unsuitable for children, a
historical note at the end helps to explain the
tale, although it doesn’t lessen the darkness of the
story or the pictures.
1998
Zelinsky, Paul. Rapunzel New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1997.
Zelinsky retells and illustrates the popular
tale of Rapunzel. Beautiful, bright colored oil paintings
show a beautiful castle-tower in which Rapunzel
wants nothing but company other than the witch
and freedom to leave. The realistic Renaissance-style
paintings show a happy child and a fair lady
kept by an over-fond "grandmother" sorceress. I
especially liked the addition of Rapunzel’s Siamese
cat, a kitten when she is a child, grown when she
is grown. The cat is in most of the pictures with
Rapunzel.
1999
Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. Snowflake Bentley illus. Mary Azarian. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998.
This book tells the story of William Bentley, a self-made
scientist who learned to photograph
snowflakes and study their designs. The beautiful
pictures are woodcuts with hand-tinted
watercolors which create a unique historical aura
for the story. Biographical facts can be found
in the snowflake-covered margins framing the story.
The final page contains authentic Bentley
photographs.
2000
Taback, Simms. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat New York: Viking, 1999.
Simms
Taback's Joseph is a model citizen for recycling. When he had too many
holes in his overcoat,
he turns it into a jacket. When the jacket has too many holes...
well, I won't give it away!
Don't forget to look at everything on each page--there is a lot more
than first meets the eye.
The pictures are bright and colorful works of watercolor, gouache,
pencil, ink and collage,
accented with die cut holes, which provide a great texture to the book.
2001
St. George, Judith. So You Want to Be President? illus. David Small. New York: Philomel Books, 2000.
The ink, watercolor and pastel chalk caricature-like drawings of this
book are great fun! Full of
engaging trivia, this book tells the reader what type of peope have
become president--fat, thin, short,
tall, good, bad, college educated, uneducated, etc. At the end
of the narrative is a list of illustrations
(to identify which president is on which page), and a list containing
brief biographies of each
president. The last page contains a bibliography of
sources.
2002
Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs New York: Clarion Books, 2001.
The classic story of the three little pigs...or is it? Ten years
after winning the Caldecott Award
for Tuesday, David Wiesner is back to challenge us again.
The pictures are created in
watercolor, gouache, colored inks, pencil, and colored pencil on Fabriano
hot press paper.
It is fascinating to see how Wiesner's characters interact with their
story--including the pages!