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Caldecott Medal Booklist



2013: This is Not My Hat
Author: Jon Klassen
A tiny minnow wearing a pale blue bowler hat has a thing or two up his fins in this underwater light-on-dark chase scene.


2012: A Ball for Daisy
Author: Chris Raschka
This wordless picture book examines the relationship between a dog and her ball.


2011: A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Author: Philip C. Stead
Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, always made time to visit his good friends: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros and the owl. One day, when he woke with the sniffles, he received some unexpected guests.


2010: The Lion and the Mouse
Author: Jerry Pinkney
In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.


2009: House in the Night
Author: Susan Marie Swanson
Illustrations and easy-to-read text explore the light that makes a house in the night a home filled with light.


2008: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author: Brian Selznick
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.


2007: Flotsam
Author: Wiesner, David
The story of what happens when a camera becomes a piece of flotsam.


2006: The Hello, Goodbye Window
Author: Norton Juster illustrated by Chris Raschka
A little girl finds a magic gateway in the kitchen window of her grandparents' house, and she takes a voyage of discovery.


2005: Kitten’s First Full Moon
Author: Kevin Henkes
When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it.


2004: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Author: Mordicai Gerstein
A lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.


2003: My Friend Rabbit
Author: Eric Rohmann
Something always seems to go wrong when Rabbit is around, but Mouse lets him play with his toy plane anyway because he is his good friend.


2002: The Three Pigs
Author: David Wiesner
The three pigs escape the wolf by going into another world where they meet the cat and the fiddle, the cow that jumped over the moon, and a dragon.


2001: So You Want to be President?
Author: Judith St. George illustrated by David Small
Presents an assortment of facts about the qualifications and characteristics of U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Bill Clinton.


2000: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Author: Simms Taback
A very old overcoat is recycled numerous times into a variety of garments.


1999: Snowflake Bentley
Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin illustrated by Mary Azarian
A biography of a self-taught scientist who photographed thousands of individual snowflakes in order to study their unique formations.


1998: Rapunzel
Author: Paul O. Zelinsky
A retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. Includes a note on the origins of the story.


1997: Golem
Author: David Wisniewski
A saintly rabbi miraculously brings to life a clay giant who helps him watch over the Jews of sixteenth-century Prague.


1996: Officer Buckle and Gloria
Author: Peggy Rathmann
The children at Napville Elementary School always ignore Officer Buckle's safety tips, until a police dog named Gloria accompanies him when he gives his safety speeches.


1995: Smoky Night
Author: Eve Bunting; illustrated by David Diaz
When the Los Angeles riots break out in the streets of their neighborhood, a young boy and his mother learn the values of getting along with others no matter what their background or nationality.


1994: Grandfather’s Journey
Author: Allen Say
A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.


1993: Mirette on the High Wire
Author: Emily Arnold McCully
Mirette learns tightrope walking from Monsieur Bellini, a guest in her mother's boarding house, not knowing that he is a celebrated tightrope artist who has withdrawn from performing because of fear.


1992: Tuesday
Author: David Wiesner
Frogs rise on their lily pads, float through the air, and explore the nearby houses while their inhabitants sleep.


1991: Black and White
Author: David Macaulay
Four brief "stories" about parents, trains, and cows, or is it really all one story? The author recommends careful inspection of words and pictures to both minimize and enhance confusion.


1990: Lon Po Po
Author: Ed Young
Three sisters staying home alone are endangered by a hungry wolf who is disguised as their grandmother.


1989: Song and Dance Man
Author: Karen Ackerman; illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Grandpa demonstrates for his visiting grandchildren some of the songs, dances, and jokes he performed when he was a vaudeville entertainer.


1988: Owl Moon
Author: Jane Yolen; illustrated by John Schoenherr
On a winter's night under a full moon, a father and daughter trek into the woods to see the Great Horned Owl.


1987: Hey, Al
Author: Arthur Yorinks illustrated by Richard Egielski.
A city janitor and his treasured canine companion are transported by a large colorful bird to an island in the sky, where their comfortable paradise existence threatens to turn them into birds as well.


1986: Polar Express
Author: Chris Van Allsburg
A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa Claus.


1985: Saint George and the Dragon
Author: Margaret Hodges; illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Retells the segment from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, in which George, the Red Cross Knight, slays the dreadful dragon that has been terrorizing the countryside for years and brings peace and joy to the land.


1984: The Glorious Flight Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot
Author: Alice and Marlin Provenson
A biography of the man whose fascination with flying machines produced the Bleriot XI, which crossed the English Channel in thirty-seven minutes in the early 1900's.


1983: Shadow
Author: Marcia Brown
A modern French poet interprets the African storytellers' description of shadows and their mythical essence.


1982: Jumanji
Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Left on their own for an afternoon, two bored and restless children find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical jungle adventure board game.


1981: Fables
Author: Arnold Lobel
Twenty original fables about an array of animal characters from crocodile to ostrich.


1980: Ox-cart Man
Author: Donald Hall; illustrated by Barbara Cooney
Describes the day-to-day life of an early nineteenth-century New England family throughout the changing seasons.


1979: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Author: Paul Goble
Though she is fond of her people, a girl prefers to live among the wild horses where she is truly happy and free.


1978: Noah’s Ark
Author: Peter Spier
Retells in pictures how a pair of every manner of creature climbed on board Noah's ark and thereby survived the Flood.


1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions
Author: Margaret Musgrove illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
1977: Explains some traditions and customs of 26 African tribes beginning with letters A to Z.


1976: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Author: Verna Aardema illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
This West African story reveals the meaning of the mosquito's buzz.


1975: Arrow to the Sun
Author: Gerald McDermott
An adaptation of the Pueblo Indian myth which explains how the spirit of the Lord of the Sun was brought to the world of men.


1974: Duffy and the Devil
Author: Harve Zemach; illustrated by Margot Zemach
The spinning and knitting the devil agrees to do for her win Duffy the Squire's name and a carefree life until it comes time for her to guess the devil's name.


1973: The Funny Little Woman
Author: Arlene Mosel illustrated by Blair Lent
While chasing a dumpling, a little lady is captured by wicked creatures from whom she escapes with the means of becoming the richest woman in Japan.


1972: One Fine Day
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
After the old woman cuts off his tail when he steals her milk, the fox must go through a long series of transactions before she will sew it back on again.


1971: A Story, A Story
Author: Gail Haley
Recounts how most African folk tales came to be called "Spider Stories."


1970: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Author: William Steig
In a moment of fright, Sylvester the donkey asks his magic pebble to turn him into a rock but then can not hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again.


1969: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
Author: retold by Arthur Ransome; illustrated by Uri Shulevitz.
When the Czar proclaims that he will marry his daughter to the man who brings him a flying ship, the Fool of the World sets out to try his luck and meets some unusual companions on the way.


1968: Drummer Hoff
Author: adapted by Barbara Emberley; illustrated by Ed Emberley
A cumulative folk song in which seven soldiers build a magnificent cannon, but Drummer Hoff fires it off.


1967: Sam, Bangs and Moonshine
Author: Evaline Ness
Relates the experiences of a little girl as she learns to tell the difference between makebelieve and real life.


1966: Always Room for One More
Author: Sorche Nic Leodhas illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian
In this Scottish folk song, a generous family always has room for another person and invites in everyone who passes by.


1965: May I Bring a Friend
Author: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers; illustrated by Beni Montresor
A well-mannered little boy, frequently invited to visit the king and queen, always asks to bring a friend--and the friends are always wild animals--and always well-behaved.


1964: Where the Wild Things Are
Author: Maurice Sendak
A naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.


1963: The Snowy Day
Author: Ezra Jack Keats
The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day.


1962: Once a Mouse
Author: Marcia Brown
As it changes from mouse, to cat, to dog, to tiger, a hermit's pet also becomes increasingly vain.


1961: Baboushka and the Three Kings
Author: Ruth Robbins illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov
An old woman who was too busy to travel with the Wise Men to find the Child now searches endlessly for Him each Christmas season.


1960: Nine Days to Christmas
Author: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida
Ceci anxiously awaits her first posada, the special Mexican Christmas party, and the opportunity to select a pinata for it.


1959: Chanticleer and the Fox
Author: adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; and illustrated by Barbar
A sly fox tries to outwit a proud rooster through the use of flattery.


1958: Time of Wonder
Author: Robert McCloskey
Follows the activities of two children spending their summer vacation on an island off the coast of Maine.


1957: A Tree is Nice
Author: Janice May Udry illustrated by Marc Simont
Briefly describes the value of a tree.


1956: Frog Went A-Courtin
Author: retold by John Langstaff; illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
Illustrates the well-known American folk song about the courtship and marriage of the frog and the mouse.


1955: Cinderella
Author: a free translation from the French of Charles Perrault
In her haste to leave the palace before the fairy godmother's magic loses effect, Cinderella leaves behind a glass slipper.


1954: Madeline’s Rescue
Author: Ludwig Bemelmans
A hound rescues a schoolgirl from the Seine, becomes a beloved school pet, is chased away by the trustees, and returns with a surprise.


1953: The Biggest Bear
Author: Lynd Ward
Johnny goes hunting for a bearskin to hang on his family's barn and returns with a small bundle of trouble.


1952: Finders Keepers
Author: Will
Two dogs each claim a bone they have found and ask passersby for help in deciding ownership.


1951: The Egg Tree
Author: Katherine Milhous
Katy's Easter morning discovery renews the tradition of the Easter egg tree.


1950: Song of the Swallows
Author: Leo Politi
Sad when the swallows leave for the winter, young Juan prepares to welcome them back to the old California Mission at Capistrano on St. Joseph's Day the next spring.


1949: The Big Snow
Author: Berta and Elmer Hader
Winter comes to the woodland as the busy animals make their preparations.


1948: White Snow, Bright Snow
Author: Alvin Tresselt illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
When it begins to look, feel, and smell like snow, everyone prepares for a winter blizzard.


1947: The Little Island
Author: Golden MacDonald; illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
Depicts the changes that occur on a small island as the seasons come and go, as day changes to night, and as a storm approaches.


1946: The Rooster Crows
Author: Maud and Miska Petersham
A collection of traditional American nursery rhymes, finger games, skipping rhymes, jingles, and counting-out rhymes.


1945: Prayer for a Child
Author: Rachel Field illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones
A prayer full of the intimate gentleness for familiar things, the love of friends and family, and the kindly protection of God. Though it was written for one little girl, the prayer is for all boys and girls.


1944: Many Moons
Author: James Thurber; illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
Though many try, only the court jester is able to fulfill Princess Lenore's wish for the moon.


1943: The Little House
Author: Virginia Lee Burton
A country house is unhappy when the city, with all its buildings and traffic, grows up around her.


1942: Make Way for Ducklings
Author: Robert McCloskey
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard proudly return to their home in the Boston Public Garden with their eight offspring.


1941: They Were Strong and Good
Author: Robert Lawson
Relates the story of the author's grandparents and parents, who, though not famous, helped build the United States.


1940: Abraham Lincoln
Author: Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire
Text and illustrations present the life of the boy born on the Kentucky frontier who became the sixteenth president of the United States.


1939: Mei Li
Author: Thomas Handforth
After spending an eventful day at the fair held on New Year's Eve, Mei Li arrives home just in time to greet the Kitchen God.


1938: Animals of the Bible
Author: Dorothy Lathrop
An introduction for children to some of the most beautiful and appealing Bible stories, this picture book of thirty superb black-and-white drawings by Dorothy Lathrop presents the most memorable animals of the Old and New Testaments.