Join ThinkStretch in celebrating 75 years of beautiful, stunning, inspiring children’s picture books. You are never too old to enjoy the magic and mystery of a well drawn illustration. The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year.
Take a look through 75 years of the best of the best. Which books remind you of your childhood? Which books do you plan on sharing with your child this summer?
I know that The Snowy Day, The Invention of Hugo Caberet, and Joseph Had a Little Overcoat are important parts in some of my favorite memories.
Caldecott Award Winners 1938-2015
2015: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Illustrated and written by Dan Santat (Little, Brown and Company)
2014: Locomotive, written and Illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
2013: This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press)
2012: A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka (Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.)
2011: A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead (Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)
2010: The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown and Company)
2009: The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson (Houghton Mifflin Company)
2008: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic)
2007: Flotsam by David Wiesner (Clarion)
2006: The Hello, Goodbye Window Illustrated by Chris Raschka, written by Norton Juster (Michael di Capua/Hyperion)
2005: Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollinsPublishers)
2004: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring
Brook Press/Millbrook Press)
2003: My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook Press/Millbrook Press)
2002: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin
2001: So You Want to Be President? Illustrated by David Small; text by Judith St. George (Philomel Books)
2000: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (Viking)
1999: Snowflake Bentley, Illustrated by Mary Azarian ; text by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Houghton)
1998: Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky (Dutton)
1997: Golem by David Wisniewski (Clarion)
1996: Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam)
1995: Smoky Night , illustrated by David Diaz; text: Eve Bunting (Harcourt)
1994: Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say; text: edited by Walter Lorraine (Houghton)
1993: Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully (Putnam)
1992: Tuesday by David Wiesner (Clarion Books)
1991: Black and White by David Macaulay (Houghton)
1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young (Philomel)
1989: Song and Dance Man , illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Karen Ackerman (Knopf)
1988: Owl Moon , illustrated by John Schoenherr; text: Jane Yolen (Philomel)
1987: Hey, Al , illustrated by Richard Egielski; text: Arthur Yorinks (Farrar)
1986: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton)
1985: Saint George and the Dragon , illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman; text: retold by Margaret Hodges (Little, Brown)
1984: The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice & Martin Provensen (Viking)
1983: Shadow , translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown; original text in French: Blaise Cendrars (Scribner)
1982: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton)
1981: Fables by Arnold Lobel (Harper)
1980: Ox-Cart Man , illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: Donald Hall (Viking)
1979: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble (Bradbury)
1978: Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier (Doubleday)
1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions , illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: Margaret Musgrove (Dial)
1976: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears , illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: retold by Verna Aardema (Dial)
1975: Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott (Viking)
1974: Duffy and the Devil , illustrated by Margot Zemach; retold by Harve Zemach (Farrar)
1973: The Funny Little Woman , illustrated by Blair Lent; text: retold by Arlene Mosel (Dutton)
1972: One Fine Day , retold and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian (Macmillan)
1971: A Story A Story , retold and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (Atheneum)
1970: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig (Windmill Books)
1969: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship , illustrated by Uri Shulevitz; text: retold by Arthur Ransome (Farrar)
1968: Drummer Hoff , illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley (Prentice-Hall)
1967: Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt)
1966: Always Room for One More , illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian; text: Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud. [Leclair Alger] (Holt)
1965: May I Bring a Friend? illustrated by Beni Montresor; text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (Atheneum)
1964: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Harper)
1963: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking)
1962: Once a Mouse , retold and illustrated by Marcia Brown (Scribner)
1961: Baboushka and the Three Kings , illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov; text: Ruth Robbins (Parnassus)
1960: Nine Days to Christmas , illustrated by Marie Hall Ets; text: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida (Viking)
1959: Chanticleer and the Fox , illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: adapted from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cooney (Crowell)
1958: Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey (Viking)
1957: A Tree Is Nice , illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry (Harper)
1956: Frog Went A-Courtin’ , illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky; text: retold by John Langstaff) (Harcourt)
1955: Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper , illustrated by Marcia Brown; text: translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown (Scribner)
1954: Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
1953: The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward (Houghton)
1952: Finders Keepers , illustrated by Nicolas, pseud. (Nicholas Mordvinoff); text: Will, pseud. [William Lipkind] (Harcourt)
1951: The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous (Scribner)
1950: Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi (Scribner)
1949: The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader (Macmillan)
1948: White Snow, Bright Snow , illustrated by Roger Duvoisin; text: Alvin Tresselt (Lothrop)
1947: The Little Island , illustrated by Leonard Weisgard; text: Golden MacDonald, pseud. [Margaret Wise Brown] (Doubleday)
1946: The Rooster Crows by Maud & Miska Petersham (Macmillan)
1945: Prayer for a Child , illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: Rachel Field (Macmillan)
1944: Many Moons , illustrated by Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber (Harcourt)
1943: The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton (Houghton)
1942: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (Viking)
1941: They Were Strong and Good , by Robert Lawson (Viking)
1940: Abraham Lincoln by Ingri & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire (Doubleday)
1939: Mei Li by Thomas Handforth (Doubleday)
1938: Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book , illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop; text: selected by Helen Dean Fish (Lippincott)
