Caldecott Award Winners
Medal Winners and Honor Books

(Click directly to the Caldecott Award Winners.) The Caldecott Medal is awarded each year by the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of the American Library Ass'n) to the artist of that year's "most distinguished American picture book for children."

(Where the titles appear as links, it's because we've reviewed them onsite!)

And just to make sure that we get enough great reading material, the ALSC gives the Caldecott Honor to a number of other great books by great illustrators, the ones that came thisclose to winning!

Some would say the Caldecott Awards are the highest honor in picture books, and I wouldn't disagree. While they're awarded for artistic merit, it's been my experience that the Caldecott Winners are the best of the best all-around...great illustrations and great storytelling.

The award dates from 1938, so I present to you all the Caldecott books below. (If I've ever neglected to update the list, please contact me!)

Webmaster's note: When a Caldecott Award book (both Caldecott Medal winners and Caldecott Honor books) appears as a link, that means that it's either been reviewed on this site or other relevant material appears.

See how many your family can read!

Caldecott Award Winners of the 2010's

2012 medal winner:

A Ball for Daisy, by Chris Raschka

• A wordless picture book about a dog whose favorit toy bites the dust.

Honor Books:

Blackout, by John Rocco

• Power's out in the city, but the fun is just starting.

Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith

• An old man who catalogs his memories in the form of topiary shares their meaning with his great-grandson

Me...Jane, by Patrick McDonnell

• A young girl (little Jane Goodall) discovers nature for the first time. We know where this led!

2011 medal winner:

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead

• What if you work at the zoo and you're feeling sick? In this wish-it-were-so book, the animals come to visit you.

Honor Books:

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill

• The title tells it all in this true story of a slave who didn't let his circumstance keep him from creating.

Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein

• Zaniness reigns in this story of an over-enthusiastic chick constitutionally unable to let her rooster father finish a bedtime story.

2010 medal winner:

The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney

• Perennial Caldecott Award guy Pinkney uses even less words than Aesop (zero!) to tell this tale of a mouse who returns a very big favor.

Honor Books:

All the World, by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon

• Multiculturalism, intermarriage, and unplugging all receive a hearty endorsement in this lovely snapshot of a simple day of simplicity.

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman

• Poetry and pictures celebrating the seasons.

Caldecott Award Winners of the 2000's

2009 medal winner:

• Lending a little magic to the act of falling asleep.

Honor Books:

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, by Marla Frazee

• "Let kids be kids" is the message in this sweet tale of a week with the grandparents.

How I Learned Geography, by Uri Shulevitz

• A picture book autobiography of the author-illustrator that shows how a troubled childhood can lead to a very meaningful adulthood.

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant

• Another biography (like Shulevitz's above) touching on the childhood roots of an adult driven to create.

2008 medal winner:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

• Delightfully atypical Caldecott Award book in that this picture book runs 500 pages and is aimed at older kids. Not like any book you've ever seen.

Honor Books:

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine

• Tough reading about slavery with some very real details. Very worthwhile, but parental involvement is suggested.

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

• Visual magic as the author-illustrator celebrates metamorphosis in various forms.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís

• An autobiographical account of what not being free really looks like.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems

• Two kids swap stuffed animals and chaos ensues in this wonderful sequel.

2007 medal winner:

• Magical and wordless. A child finds an old camera with undeveloped film in it.

Honor Books:

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans

• Teaching the alphabet and warning of imminent enironmental collapse. What a great combo...NOT!

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

• An Underground Railroad story.

2006 medal winner:

Honor Books:

• Rosa illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Nikki Giovanni
   
• Zen Shorts illustrated and written by Jon J. Muth
   
• Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride illustrated and written by Marjorie Priceman.
   
• Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems illustrated by Beckie Prange, written by Joyce Sidman 

2005 medal winner:

• The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
   
• Coming on Home Soon illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Jacqueline Woodson
   
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale illustrated and written by Mo Willems.

• Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
   
• What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? illustrated and written by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page.
   
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

Honor Books:

• The Spider and the Fly illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, written by Mary Howitt
   
• Hondo & Fabian by Peter McCarty
   
• Noah's Ark by Jerry Pinkney

2002 Medal Winner:

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Honor Books:

• The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins illustrated by Brian Selznick, written by Barbara Kerley
   
• Martin's Big Words: the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Doreen Rappaport
   
• The Stray Dog by Marc Simont

2001 medal winner:

Honor Books:

• Casey at the Bat illustrated by Christopher Bing, written by Ernest Thayer
   
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type illustrated by Betsy Lewin, written by Doreen Cronin
   
• Olivia by Ian Falconer

2000 medal winner:

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Honor Books:

• A Child's Calendar illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
  Text: John Updike
   
• Sector 7 by David Wiesner
   
• When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang
   
• The Ugly Duckling illustrated by Jerry Pinkney Text: Hans Christian Andersen, adapted by Jerry Pinkney

Caldecott Award Winners of the 1990's

1999 Medal Winner:

Snowflake Bentley, Illustrated by Mary Azarian, text by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Honor Books:

• Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra illustrated by Brian Pinkney
  Text: Andrea Davis Pinkney
   
• No, David! by David Shannon
   
• Snow by Uri Shulevitz
   
• Tibet Through the Red Box by Peter Sís

1998 Medal Winner:

Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky

Honor Books:

• The Gardener illustrated by David Small
  Text: Sarah Stewart
   
• Harlem illustrated by Christopher Myers
  Text: Walter Dean Myers
   
• There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

1997 Medal Winner:

Golem by David Wisniewski

Honor Books:

• Hush! A Thai Lullaby illustrated by Holly Meade; text: Minfong Ho
   
• The Graphic Alphabet by David Pelletier
   
• The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
   
• Starry Messenger by Peter Sís

1996 medal winner:

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann

Honor Books:

• Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson
   
• Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman; text: Lloyd Moss
   
• The Faithful Friend, illustrated by Brian Pinkney; text: Robert D. San Souci
   
• Tops & Bottoms, adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens

1995 Medal Winner:

Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz; text: Eve Bunting

Honor Books:

• John Henry, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney; text: Julius Lester
   
• Swamp Angel, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky; text: Anne Issacs
   
• Time Flies by Eric Rohmann

1994 medal winner:

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Honor Books:

• Peppe the Lamplighter, illustrated by Ted Lewin; text: Elisa Bartone

• In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming
• Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott
• Owen by Kevin Henkes
• Yo! Yes? illustrated by Chris Raschka; text: edited by Richard Jackson

1993 medal winner:
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

Honor Books:

• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, illustrated by Lane Smith; text: Jon Scieszka
• Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
• Working Cotton, illustrated by Carole Byard; text: Sherley Anne Williams

• Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold (Crown Publishers, Inc., a Random House Co.)

Honor Books:

• Puss in Boots, illustrated by Fred Marcellino; text: Charles Perrault, trans. by Malcolm Arthur
• "More More More," Said the Baby: Three Love Stories by Vera B. Williams

Honor Books:

• Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet
• Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
• The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney; text: Robert D. San Souci
• Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman; text: Eric Kimmel

Caldecott Award Winners of the 1980's

Honor Books:

• The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, illustrated by Allen Say; text: Diane Snyder
• Free Fall by David Wiesner
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall
• Mirandy and Brother Wind, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney; text: Patricia C. McKissack

• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe

Honor Books:

• The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann Grifalconi
• Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald
• Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky

Honor Books:

• The Relatives Came, illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Cynthia Rylant
• King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, illustrated by Don Wood; text: Audrey Wood

Honor Books:

• Hansel and Gretel, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky; text: retold by Rika Lesser
   
• Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri
• The Story of Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend, retold and illustrated by John Steptoe

1984 medal winner:
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice & Martin Provensen

Honor Books:

• Little Red Riding Hood, retold and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
• Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang

Honor Books:

• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
   
• When I Was Young in the Mountains, illustrated by Diane Goode; text: Cynthia Rylant

Honor Books:

• Where the Buffaloes Begin, illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Olaf Baker
   
• On Market Street, illustrated by Anita Lobel; text: Arnold Lobel
• Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak
• A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen; text: Nancy Willard

Honor Books:

• The Bremen-Town Musicians, retold and illustrated by Ilse Plume
• The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang
• Mice Twice by Joseph Low
• Truck by Donald Crews

Honor Books:

• Ben's Trumpet by Rachel Isadora 
• The Garden Of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg
 
• The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz 

Honor Books:

• The Desert is Theirs, illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Byrd Baylor
• Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola 

Honor Books:

• Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book, illustrated by Tom Feelings; text: Muriel Feelings

Honor Books:

• Three Jovial Huntsmen by Susan Jeffers
 
• Cathedral by David Macaulay 

Honor Books:

• Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti, adapted and illustrated by Gerald McDermott
• Hosie's Alphabet, illustrated by Leonard Baskin; text: Hosea, Tobias & Lisa Baskin
 
• Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs, illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert; text: translated by Randall Jarrell, retold from the Brothers Grimm
 
• When Clay Sings, illustrated by Tom Bahti; text: Byrd Baylor

Honor Books:

• Hildilid's Night, illustrated by Arnold Lobel; text: Cheli Durán Ryan
• If All the Seas Were One Sea by Janina Domanska
• Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book, illustrated by Tom Feelings; text: Muriel Feelings

Honor Books:

• The Angry Moon, illustrated by Blair Lent; text: retold by William Sleator
• Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
• In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

Honor Books:

• Goggles! by Ezra Jack Keats


• Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
• Pop Corn & Ma Goodness, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker; text: Edna Mitchell Preston
 
• Thy Friend, Obadiah by Brinton Turkle
   
• The Judge: An Untrue Tale, illustrated by Margot Zemach; text: Harve Zemach

Caldecott Award Winners of the 1960's

1969 medal winner:
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, illustrated by Uri Shulevitz; text: retold by Arthur Ransome

Honor Books:

• Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky, illustrated by Blair Lent; text: Elphinstone Dayrell 

• Frederick by Leo Lionni 
• Seashore Story by Taro Yashima 
• The Emperor and the Kite, illustrated by Ed Young; text: Jane Yolen (World)

• One Wide River to Cross, illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley

Honor Books:

• Hide and Seek Fog, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin; text: Alvin Tresselt
• Just Me by Marie Hall Ets 
• Tom Tit Tot, retold and illustrated by Evaline Ness

Honor Books:

• Rain Makes Applesauce, illustrated by Marvin Bileck; text: Julian Scheer
• The Wave, illustrated by Blair Lent; text: Margaret Hodges
 
• A Pocketful of Cricket, illustrated by Evaline Ness; text: Rebecca Caudill

Honor Books:

• Swimmy by Leo Lionni 
• All in the Morning Early, illustrated by Evaline Ness; text: Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud. [Leclaire Alger] 
• Mother Goose and Nursery Rhymes, illustrated by Philip Reed

Honor Books:

• The Sun is a Golden Earring, illustrated by Bernarda Bryson; text: Natalia M. Belting
• Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, illustrated by Maurice Sendak; text: Charlotte Zolotow

Honor Books:

• Fox Went out on a Chilly Night: An Old Song by Peter Spier
• Little Bear's Visit, illustrated by Maurice Sendak; text: Else H. Minarik
• The Day We Saw the Sun Come Up, illustrated by Adrienne Adams; text: Alice E. Goudey

• Inch by Inch, by Leo Lionni

Honor Books:

• Houses from the Sea, illustrated by Adrienne Adams; text: Alice E. Goudey
• The Moon Jumpers, illustrated by Maurice Sendak; text: Janice May Udry

Caldecott Award Winners of the 1950's

1959 medal winner:
Chanticleer and the Fox, illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: adapted from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cooney (Crowell)

Honor Books:

• The House that Jack Built: La Maison Que Jacques A Batie by Antonio Frasconi
• What Do You Say, Dear? illustrated by Maurice Sendak; text: Sesyle Joslin
• Umbrella by Taro Yashima 

Honor Books:

• Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes, illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli
• Wheel On The Chimney, illustrated by Tibor Gergely; text: Margaret Wise Brown
• The Thanksgiving Story, illustrated by Helen Sewell; text: Alice Dalgliesh

Honor Books:

• Journey Cake, Ho! illustrated by Robert McCloskey; text: Ruth Sawyer
 
• When Will the World Be Mine? illustrated by Jean Charlot; text: Miriam Schlein
• The Steadfast Tin Soldier, illustrated by Marcia Brown; text: Hans Christian Andersen, translated by M. R. James
• A Very Special House, illustrated by Maurice Sendak; text: Ruth Krauss
• Green Eyes by A. Birnbaum

Honor Books:

• Puss in Boots, illustrated by Marcia Brown; text: translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown 
• One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
 
• Ape in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals by Fritz Eichenberg
• The Storm Book, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham; text: Charlotte Zolotow
• Five Little Monkeys by Juliet Kepes 

Honor Books:

• Mr. T. W. Anthony Woo by Marie Hall Ets
 
• Skipper John's Cook by Marcia Brown 
• All Falling Down, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham; text: Gene Zion
• Bear Party by William Pène du Bois 
• Feather Mountain by Elizabeth Olds 

Honor Books:

• Dick Whittington and his Cat by Marcia Brown
• The Two Reds, ill. by Nicolas, pseud. (Nicholas Mordvinoff); text: Will, pseud. [William Lipkind] 
• If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss, pseud. [Theodor Seuss Geisel]
• The Most Wonderful Doll in the World, illustrated by Helen Stone; text: Phyllis McGinley
• T-Bone, the Baby Sitter by Clare Turlay Newberry

Honor Books:

• America's Ethan Allen, illustrated by Lynd Ward; text: Stewart Holbrook
 
• The Wild Birthday Cake, illustrated by Hildegard Woodward; text: Lavinia R. Davis
• The Happy Day, illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Ruth Krauss)
• Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss, pseud. [Theodor Seuss Geisel]
• Henry Fisherman by Marcia Brown

Caldecott Award Winners of the 1940's

1949 medal winner:
The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader

Honor Books:

• Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
 
• All Around the Town, illustrated by Helen Stone; text: Phyllis McGinley
• Juanita by Leo Politi 
• Fish in the Air by Kurt Wiese 

Honor Books:

• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown 
• McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss, pseud. [Theodor Seuss Geisel]
• Bambino the Clown by Georges Schreiber
 
• Roger and the Fox, illustrated by Hildegard Woodward; text: Lavinia R. Davis
• Song of Robin Hood, illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton; text: edited by Anne Malcolmson

Honor Books:

• Rain Drop Splash, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard; text: Alvin Tresselt
• Boats on the River, illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum; text: Marjorie Flack
 
• Timothy Turtle, illustrated by Tony Palazzo; text: Al Graham (Welch)
• Pedro, the Angel of Olvera Street by Leo Politi
• Sing in Praise: A Collection of the Best Loved Hymns, illustrated by Marjorie Torrey; text: selected by Opal Wheeler 

Honor Books:

• Little Lost Lamb, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard; text: Golden MacDonald, pseud. [Margaret Wise Brown]
• Sing Mother Goose, illustrated by Marjorie Torrey; music: Opal Wheeler
• My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, illustrated by Ruth Gannett; text: Becky Reyher
• You Can Write Chinese by Kurt Wiese 

Honor Books:

• Mother Goose, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
• In the Forest by Marie Hall Ets 
• Yonie Wondernose by Marguerite de Angeli
• The Christmas Anna Angel, illustrated by Kate Seredy; text: Ruth Sawyer

Honor Books:

• Small Rain: Verses From The Bible, illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: selected by Jessie Orton Jones 
• Pierre Pidgeon, illustrated by Arnold E. Bare; text: Lee Kingman
 
• The Mighty Hunter by Berta & Elmer Hader
• A Child's Good Night Book, illustrated by Jean Charlot; text: Margaret Wise Brown
• Good-Luck Horse, illustrated by Plato Chan; text: Chih-Yi Chan

Honor Books:

• Dash and Dart by Mary & Conrad Buff 
• Marshmallow by Clare Turlay Newberry 

Honor Books:

• An American ABC by Maud & Miska Petersham
• In My Mother's House, illustrating by Velino Herrera; text: Ann Nolan Clark
 
• Paddle-To-The-Sea by Holling C. Holling
 
• Nothing At All, by Wanda Gág

• April's Kittens by Clare Turlay Newberry

Honor Books:

• Cock-a-Doodle Doo by Berta & Elmer Hader
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans 
• The Ageless Story by Lauren Ford

• Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty 
• Barkis by Clare Turlay Newberry 
• The Forest Pool by Laura Adams Armer
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Wanda Gág
• Wee Gillis, illustrated by Robert Lawson; text: Munro Leaf

Honor Books:

• Four and Twenty Blackbirds, illustrated by Robert Lawson; text: compiled by Helen Dean Fish
• Seven Simeons: A Russian Tale, retold and illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff

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