A Caldecott Celebration by Leonard S. Marcus

Marcus, Leonard S. 2008. A Caldecott Celebration: Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal. New York: Walker & Company. ISBN 0802797032

As the title implies, this book provides an insight into seven different Caldecott-winning authors (one from each decade of the award's history) and their journey in creating a Caldecott-worthy picture book. It is filled with interesting stories and facts about the award winning illustrators, and also contains quotes from their Caldecott acceptance speech. For example, William Steig (author/illustrator of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble) didn't start illustrating books for children until he was almost sixty years old. Chris Van Allsburg (author/illustrator of Jumanji) asked his wife to pose for his sketches of the wild monkeys, because he couldn't find photographs with monkeys in all the poses he needed.

Along with the back-story of each author's process, the book is also filled with photos of the illustrators, as well as early sketches they made as the stories began to take shape on the page. This book gives an informative and fascinating look at a few of the illustrators who helped shape children's literature through the years. Again, as the title suggests, it is truly a celebration of quality illustrations for children.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:
— 1999 ALA Notable Book
— starred reviews in School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist

CONNECTIONS:
--Have different groups read different books featured in this book, and then have them pair their reading with the section on their book. Have them present to the class on the process that the author went through. What was most interesting? What surprised them? How can seeing this process help them with their own writing?
--Look at the organization of this non-fiction text (along with others) to help students understand how different text structures can help (or hinder) our comprehension of the text.
--Related readings from the same author include Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy and Pass It Down: Five Picture Book Families Make Their Mark.
--Have students write a letter to their favorite Caldecott-award winning author, telling them what they like about the illustrations or asking any questions they might still have.