Awards Books: Caldecott and Caldecott Honors

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. 

Olivia
Falconer, I. (2000). Olivia. Simon & Schuster.

Olivia is the story of a young pig named Olivia. who wears her trademark red dress. It shares the high energy and the humor Olivia holds which can be a challenge for her mother to deal with. This would be a good mentor text for some creative writing about an animal who is loveable but has some troubles.

Ian Falconer is an American author, illustrator, and a designer of theater sets and costumes. If you enjoy Olivia check out the rest of the Olivia series.

Flora and the Flamingo
Idle, M. S. (2013). Flora and the flamingo. San Francisco, Calif: Chronicle Books.

This beautifully illustrated book has no words, and the story is told by the illustrations. A young girl Flora tries to be as majestic as the flamingo. While the flamingo will be and stretch in the most graceful ways, poor Flora goes tumbling and falling. In the end the flamingo befriends Flora and they do some wonderful movements together. It is fun to watch Flora and the flamingo figure out their friendship.

Molly Idle is an American author, illustrator, and animator. Tea Rex and Pearl are other titles by Molly Idle.

Bear Came Along
Morris, R. T. (2019). Bear came along. New York: Little, Brown.

Bear Came Along is a story with big, bold, and colorful pictures. It is a simple story where Bear goes in the river and is off on an adventure. He picks up friends along the way like; frog, turtles, and other woodland creatures. Bear and his friends end up riding a log until they reach a waterfall. They are all together because of the river, and their friendship brings them happiness.

Richard T. Morris has written other titles like Sheep 101 and Fear the Bunny.

Harlem
Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (1997). Harlem: a poem. New York: Scholastic Press.

Harlem by Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers takes poems and adds them together to make a story. The book is full of interesting illustrations, but personally I am not a fan of the illustrations. This could be used as a mentor text for a lesson on adjectives.

Walter Dean Myers was a popular children's author. He grew up with a tough childhood in Harlem and was encouraged by his teachers to write.

Officer Buckle and Gloria
Rathmann, P. (1995). Officer Buckle and Gloria. New York: Putnam's.

Officer Buckle and Gloria is a humorous exaggerated tale of a police officer and a dog who go out into schools to give children safety tips. While the story finds a sad Officer Buckle feeling like he was made fun of, he realizes that Gloria is a great addition to his presentations. This a great mentor text for letter writing, safety tips, and onomatopoeia.

Margaret Cosby "Peggy" Rathmann is an American author and illustrator of children's books. She has also written Good Night, Gorilla and 10 Minutes Till Bedtime. 

Creepy Carrots
Reynolds, A., Brown, P. (2012). Creepy carrots! Simon & Schuster.

The illustrations in this book are very dark with black, white, and lots of grey. The only color that shows is orange. The main character Jasper Rabbit is always pulling carrots and eating them. He thinks the creepy carrots are following him and he becomes so worried he decides to build a huge fence around the carrots so they could not get out. The carrots' plan worked and they were now safe from Jasper the Rabbit.

Aaron Reynolds has written many books for kids including Creepy Pair of Underwear and Caveboy Dave. This text would be good for teaching synonyms when words like "pulled, yanked, and ripped" are used.

The Faithful Friend

San Souci, R. D. (1995). The faithful friend. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

There is a glossary at the beginning of this book to help with some of the vocabulary in the story. There are beautifully colored illustrations found throughout the book. Young Clement is off to find the beautiful Paulina he wishes to marry. He is accompanied by his best friend Hippolyte and they encounter some trouble when Paulina's uncle forces them away and end up sending zombies to end the lives of the young lovers. In a twist of fate, Hippolyte turns to stone sharing the secrets he uncovered about the zombies. His life is saved by Clement who offers his in return. Everything is saved in the end when an old man whom they buried on their journey broke the curse.

This is a great mentor text for discussions about secrets and friendships. Robert D. San Souci has also written The Talking Eggs and Cendrillion.

Interrupting Chicken
Stein, D. E. (2010). Interrupting chicken. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Interuppting Chicken is the story of little red chicken who is read a bedtime story by Papa. Papa reminds little red chicken to not interrupt, but little red chicken continues to make the stories very short and conflict free. After interrupting many times, little red chicken reads a story to Papa and Papa falls fast asleep.

David Ezra Stein is the author and illustrator of many children's books like Pouch! and Leaves. 

Mr. Wuffles!
Wiesner, D. (2014). Mr. Wuffles! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers.

Mr. Wuffles! is written in a graphic novel style. Mr. Wuffles the cat finds a toy he plays with, which turns out to be an alien ship with aliens inside. They make a plan to leave their ship when Mr. Wuffles naps, but he awakens and finds them. They finally escape from him and find hierogylphics on the inside of the wall, as well as insects who are all too familiar with Mr. Wuffles. The bugs help the aliens get past Mr. Wuffles and back to their ship and leave.

David Wiesner is an American author and illustrator. His other works include Flotsam and Tuesday.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Willems, M. (2004). Don't let the pigeon drive the bus. Hyperion Books for Children.

The story starts with a bus driver asking the reader to watch the bus. The pigeon then comes along and begs the reader to drive the bus. The pigeon tries everything and does not tolerate the answer no very well. The driver comes back and thanks the reader for watching the bus.This would be a great mentor text for dialogue or speech bubbles in writing. The text is simple and so are the illustrations.

Mo Willems is an American writer, animator, and voice actor. His other works include Knufflebunny and I Really Like Slop!