A FEW OF MY FAVORITE CALDECOTT WINNERS

Can you imagine what 1500 picture books would look like? My bookcase is 48" wide. I can fit around 150 picture books on one shelf. 1500 picture books would be ten shelves - or two complete bookcases full since my bookcase has five shelves. Next, imagine that you are on the panel to select the Caldecott Award.  1500 is the number of picture books you would need to read and examine in order to select the “most distinguished American” picture book of the year.  Wow! I read a lot of books last year, but nowhere near 1500. Here are a few of my favorite Caldecott winners, though there are many others that I also enjoy. We are only one week away from the Youth Media Awards and the 2022 Caldecott!

          

2018 winner - Wolf in the Snow written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell

Our hero - a young girl in a bright red coat! We see her leave school to head home, only to be caught in a blizzard. She loses her way and hears the wolves howling. And stumbles upon a small wolf cub, also lost in the blizzard. She helps the cub find its way home by following the howls, even though you can clearly see her ambivalence - is this a wise thing to do? Enter our second hero - the wolves! They show the little girl how to get home! Her parents and dog have been looking for her and are elated by her return! All of this - with the only words being wolf howls and dog barks. It's a heart-warming tale and the illustrations are lovely. The bright red coat stands out brilliantly against the white snow - as does the black wolf. The girl is slightly cartoonish but the wolves are drawn more realistically.
Some folks have compared the story to a spin on Little Red Riding Hood. That was not the first thought that entered my mind when I read it - but I can see where you could compare the two tales.

2011 winner - A Sick Day for Amos McGee written by Philip C. Stead; illustrated by Erin E. Stead 

There are some folks that you just know you can always depend on - and Amos is one of those people. He is a worker at the zoo. He gets up every morning, dons his uniform and catches the #5 bus to his job at the zoo. He knows his animal friends well and takes very good care of them. But one day, Amos wakes up with a cold and cannot go to work! When he does not appear at the zoo, his friends are worried. And so the elephant, the penguin, the rhino, the tortoise and the owl all board the #5 bus and head to the home of their friend to take care of him.
Philip wrote a soothing, quiet story about friendship, overcoming fears, and putting others first.
But Erin's amazing illustrations brought it to life. Erin sketches a picture in pencil a few times. Then, she cuts the picture into wood blocks because a different block has to be used if there are two colors next to each other in the final illustration. She makes her colors using oil ink and then paints the wood block. Then the paper goes on top of the wood blocks to make the print and then it takes it a day to dry... THEN she adds the details with pencil. (It's hard to explain so - Check out this interview for more details on her process http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1723- it's pretty amazing.) I reiterate - the illustrations are amazing. So many pops of color! The red balloon. (keep an eye on that balloon!) Penguins red socks. Rhino's red scarf. Amos' blue house. So many details.
Can you tell that Amos is my most favoritest of all the Caldecott winners?

2000 winner - Joseph Had A Little Overcoat adapted and illustrated by Simms Taback

Poor Joseph! His lovely overcoat has become tattered and worn. What can he do? Rather than throw it out, he cuts off the bottom and makes a jacket. And so the story progresses as each item created from the original garment grows smaller and smaller until - there is nothing left! But can you make something out of nothing?
This humorous fable is based on a Yiddish folk song called, "I Had a Little Overcoat". Not only is the story delightful, the die-cut illustrations are also! Taback used water color and collage to created the illustrations and then used the die-cuts to show the different items that Joseph makes from his original overcoat.
And yes - you can make something out of nothing. And win a Caldecott medal for it! I love the book - it is great to read it out loud and see if kids can guess what Joseph makes next. And you can even learn the song at the end!

1997 winner - Golem Story and Pictures by David Wisniewski

The Jewish people have encountered prejudice for centuries. Always in the minority, they were relegated to jobs others did not want to do. They were forced to live separately - in walled ghettos - and often had to wear a symbol that designated their ethnicity. While most people associate this prejudice with World War 2 and the Holocaust, the fact is the practice existed for centuries before Hitler executed his horrific plans. This book highlights one such time in history that occurred in Czechoslovakia in the late 1500s. While it is based in truth - the Jews were indeed persecuted in Prague - the legend of the Golem is one that has existed for over 2000 years.
Wisniewski's (pronounced wizz-NESS-key) retelling of the Jewish legend is a dark and tumultuous tale - Wisniewski himself described it as "a Sturm-und-Drang kind of story" - and one that is aimed towards an older audience. The color palette of the book is appropriately dark with hints of sunlight here and there. This was one of the first Caldecott winners that I read many years ago and I was fascinated by the fact that Wisniewski used cut-paper illustrations for this book. Just look at the intricate images and try to imagine how long it took for him to create them. Here is a description of his work (see reference below) "In creating his cut-paper illustrations, for example, he would first draw the scene in black and white, then painstakingly transform those sketches into color by using special paper and an X-Acto knife. For each book, he estimated he wore out 800 to 1,000 X-Acto blades. He then would create a 3-D effect by using foam board to separate layers of his cut-paper illustrations. Finally, the art was photographed, using the best light to emphasize the shadows and dimensions in each piece."
Wisniewski was a fascinating author/illustrator who used his background of circus life and hand-cut shadow puppets to help create his books. Sadly, he passed away in 2002 from a neurological disorder.

Macpherson, Karen (2002-09-24). "Author Remembered for Detailed Work". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania).