Caldecott Medal and Honor Books

Established 1938. A medal presented annually to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States in the preceding year. The recipient must be a citizen or resident of the United States. There is no limit on the number of Honor Books, and none need be named.

Caldecott Medal History and Criteria

1999

Mary Azarian, Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Houghton Mifflin)

Honor Books:

• Brian Pinkney, Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, written by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Hyperion)
• David Shannon, No David! (Blue Sky/Scholastic)
• Uri Shulevitz, Snow (Farrar Straus Giroux)
• Peter Sís, Tibet Through the Red Box (Frances Foster/Farrar Straus Giroux)

1998

Rapunzel, retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Dutton)

Honor Books:

• The Gardener, illustrated by David Small, text by Sarah Stewart (Farrar)
• Harlem, illustrated by Christopher Myers, poem by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic)
• There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, by Simms Taback (Viking)

1997

Golem, David Wisniewski (Clarion Books)

Honor Books:

• Hush! A Thai Lullaby, ill. by Holly Meade, text by Minfong Ho (Melanie Kroupa/Orchard Books)
• The Graphic Alphabet, David Pelletier, edited by Neal Porter (Orchard Books)
• The Paperboy, Dav Pilkey (Richard Jackson/Orchard Books)
• Starry Messenger, Peter Sis (Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux )

1996

Officer Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy Rathman

Honor Books:

• Alphabet City, by Stephen T. Johnson
• The Faithful Friend, ill. by Brian Pinkney (Text: Robert D. San Souci)
• Tops and Bottoms, by Janet Stevens
• Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, ill. by Marjorie Priceman (Text: Lloyd Moss)

1995

Smoky Night, ill. by David Diaz (Text: Eve Bunting)

Honor Books:

• John Henry, ill. by Jerry Pinkney (Text: Julius Lester)
• Swamp Angel, ill. by Paul Zelinksy (Text: Anne Isaacs)
• Time Flies, by Eric Rohmann

1994

Grandfather's Journey, by Allen Say

Honor Books:

• Peppe the Lamplighter, ill. 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
• Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka
• Owen by Kevin Henkes

1993

Mirette on the High Wire, by Emily Arnold McCully

Honor Books:

• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, ill. by Lane Smith (Text: Jon Scieszka)
• Seven Blind Mice, by Ed Young
• Working Cotton, ill. by Carol Byard (Text: Sherley Anne Williams)

1992

Tuesday, by David Wiesner

Honor Book:

• Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold

1991

Black and White, by David Macaulay

Honor Books:

• Puss in Boots, ill. by Fred Marcellino (Text: Charles Perrault, trans. by Malcolm Arthur)
• "More More More," Said the Baby: Three Love Stories, by Vera B. Williams

1990

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China, by Ed Young

Honor Books:

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

1989

Song and Dance Man, ill. by Stephen Gammell (Text: Karen Ackerman)

Honor Books:

• The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, by Allen Say (Text: Dianne Snyder)
• Free Fall, by David Wiesner
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears, by James Marshall
• Mirandy and Brother Wind, ill. by Jerry Pinkney (Text: Patricia C. McKissack)

1988

Owl Moon, ill. by John Schoenherr (Text: Jane Yolen)

Honor Book:

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

1987

Hey, Al, ill. by Richard Egielski (Text: Arthur Yorinks)

Honor Books:

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

1986

The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg

Honor Books:

• The Relatives Came, ill. by Stephen Gammell (Text: Cynthia Rylant)
• King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, ill. by Don Wood (Text: Audrey Wood)

1985

Saint George and the Dragon, ill. by Trina Schart Hyman (Text: Margaret Hodges)

Honor Books:

• Hansel and Gretel, ill. by Paul O. Zelinski (Text: Rika Lesser)
• Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri
• The Story of Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend, by John Steptoe

1984

The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Blériot, by Alice & Martin Provensen

Honor Books:

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

1983

Shadow, ill. by Marcia Brown (Text: Blaise Cendrar)

Honor Books:

• A Chair for My Mother, by Vera B. Williams
• When I Was Young in the Mountains, ill by Diane Goode (Text: Cynthia Rylant)

1982

Jumanji, by Chris Van Allsburg

Honor Books:

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

1981

Fables, by Arnold Lobel

Honor Books:

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

1980

Ox-Cart Man, ill. by Barbara Cooney (Text: Donald Hall)

Honor Books:

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

1979

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble

Honor Books:

• Freight Train, by Donald Crews
• The Way to Start a Day, ill. by Peter Parnall (Text: Byrd Baylor)

1978

Noah's Ark, by Peter Spier

Honor Books:

• Castle, by David Macaulay
• It Could Always Be Worse, by Margot Zemach

1977

Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, ill. by Leo & Diane Dillon (Text: Margaret Musgrove)

Honor Books:

• The Amazing Bone, by William Steig
• The Contest, by Nonny Hogrogian
• Fish for Supper, by M. B. Goffstein
• The Golem: A Jewish Legend, by Beverly Brodsky McDermott
• Hawk, I'm Your Brother, ill. by Peter Parnall (Text: Byrd Baylor)

1976

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears : A West African Tale, ill. by Leo Dillon (Text: Verna Aardema)

Honor Books:

• The Desert is Theirs, ill. by Peter Parnall (Text: Byrd Baylor)
• Strega Nona, by Tomie de Paola

1975

Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale, by Gerald McDermott

Honor Book:

• Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book, ill. by Tom Feelings (Text: Muriel Feelings)

1974

Duffy and the Devil, ill. by Margot Zemach (Text: Harve Zemach)

Honor Books:

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

1973

The Funny Little Woman, ill. by Blair Lent (Text: Arlene Mosel)

Honor Books:

• Anansi the Spider, adapted and ill. by Gerald McDermott
• Hosie's Alphabet, ill. by Leonard Baskin (Text: Hosea, Tobias & Lisa Baskin)
• Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs, ill. by Nancy Ekholm Burkert (Text: translated by Randall Jarrell)
• When Clay Sings, ill. by Tom Bahti (Text: Byrd Baylor)

1972

One Fine Day, by Nonny Hogrogian

Honor Books:

• Hildilid's Night, ill. by Arnold Lobel (Text: Cheli Durán Ryan)
• If All the Seas Were One Sea, by Janina Domanska
• Moja Means One, ill. by Tom Feelings (Text: Muriel Feelings)

1971

A Story--A Story, by Gail E. Haley

Honor Books:

• The Angry Moon, ill. by Blair Lent (Text: William Sleator)
• Frog and Toad are Friends, by Arnold Lobel
• In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak

1970

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig

Honor Books:

• Goggles, by Ezra Jack Keats
• Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, by Lio Lionni
• Pop Corn & Ma Goodness, ill. by Robert Andrew Parker (Text: Edna Mitchell Preston)
• Thy Friend, Obadiah, by Brinton Turkle
• The Judge, ill. by Margot Zemach (Text: Harve Zemach)

1969

The Fool Of The World and the Flying Ship, ill by Uri Shulevitz (Text: Arthur Ransome)

Honor Book:

• Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky, ill. by Blair Lent (Text: Elphinstone Dayrell)

1968

Drummer Hoff, ill. by Ed Emberley (Text: Barbara Emberley)

Honor Books:

• Frederick, by Leo Lionni
• Seashore Story, by Taro Yashima
• The Emperor and the Kite, ill. by Ed Young (Text: Jane Yolen)

1967

Sam, Bangs & Moonshine, by Evaline Ness

Honor Book:

• One Wide River to Cross, ill. by Ed Emberley (Text: Barbara Emberley)

1966

Always Room For One More, ill. by Nonny Hogrogian (Text: Sorche Nic Leodhas)

Honor Books:

• Hide and Seek Fog, ill. by Roger Duvoisin (Text: Alvin Tresselt)
• Just Me, by Marie Hall Ets
• Tom Tit Tot, by Evaline Ness

1965

May I Bring A Friend? ill. by Beni Montresor (Text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers)

Honor Books:

• Rain Makes Applesauce, ill. by Marvin Bilek (Text: Julian Scheer)
• The Wave, ill. by Blair Lent (Text: Margaret Hodges)
• A Pocketful of Cricket, ill. by Evaline Ness (Text: Rebecca Caudill)

1964

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

Honor Books:

• Swimmy, by Leo Lionni
• All in the Morning Early, ill. by Evaline Ness (Text: Sorche Nic Leodhas)
• Mother Goose and Nursery Rhymes, ill. by Philip Reed

1963

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats

Honor Books:

• The Sun is a Golden Earring, ill. by Bernarda Bryson (Text: Natalia M. Belting)
• Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, ill. by Maurice Sendak (Text: Charlotte Zolotow)

1962

Once A Mouse... by Marcia Brown

Honor Books:

• Fox Went out on a Chilly Night, by Peter Spier
• Little Bear's Visit, ill. by Maurice Sendak (Text: Else Holmelund Minarik)
• The Day we Saw the Sun Come Up, ill. by Adrienne Adams (Text: Alice E. Goudey)

1961

Baboushka and the Three Kings, ill. by Nicholas Sidjakov (Text: Ruth Robbins)

Honor Book:

• Inch by Inch, by Leo Lionni

1960

Nine Days to Christmas, ill. by Marie Hall Ets (Text: Marie Hall Ets & Aurora Labastida)

Honor Books:

• Houses from the Sea, ill. by Adrienne Adams (Text: Alice E. Goudey)
• The Moon Jumpers, ill. by Maurice Sendak (Text: Janice Udry)

1959

Chanticleer and the Fox, ill. by Barbara Cooney (Text: adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer)

Honor Books:

• The House that Jack Built, by Antonio Frasconi
• What Do You Say, Dear? ill. by Maurice Sendak (Text: Sesyle Joslin)
• Umbrella, by Taro Yashima

1958

Time of Wonder, by Robert McCloskey

Honor Books:

• Fly High, Fly Low, by Don Freeman
• Anatole and the Cat, ill. by Paul Galdone (Text: Eve Titus)

1957

A Tree is Nice, ill. by Marc Simont (Text: Janice Udry)

Honor Books:

• Mr. Penny's Race Horse, by Marie Hall Ets
• 1 is One, by Tasha Tudor
• Anatole, ill. by Paul Galdone (Text: Eve Titus)
• Gillespie and the Guards, ill. by James Daugherty (Text: Benjamin Elkin)
• Lion, by William Pène du Bois

1956

Frog Went A-Courtin', ill. by Feodor Rojankovsky (Text: John Langstaff)

Honor Books:

• Play With Me, by Marie Hall Ets
• Crow Boy, by Taro Yashima

1955

Cinderella, or, The Little Glass Slipper, ill. by Marcia Brown (Text: Charles Perrault)

Honor Books:

• Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes, ill. by Marguerite de Angeli
• Wheel On The Chimney, ill. by Tibor Gergely (Text: Margaret Wise Brown)
• The Thanksgiving Story, ill. by Helen Sewell (Text: Alice Dalgliesh)

1954

Madeline's Rescue, by Ludwig Bemelmans

Honor Books:

• Journey Cake, Ho!, ill. by Robert McCloskey (Text: Ruth Sawyer)
• When will the World Be Mine?, ill. by Jean Charlot (Text: Miriam Schlein)
• The Steadfast Tin Soldier, ill. by Marcia Brown (Text: Hans Christian Andersen)
• A Very Special House, ill. by Maurice Sendak (Text: Ruth Krauss)
• Green Eyes, by A. Birnbaum

1953

The Biggest Bear, by Lynd Ward

Honor Books:

• Puss in Boots, ill. by Marcia Brown (Text: Charles Perrault)
• One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
• Ape in a Cape, by Fritz Eichenberg
• The Storm Book, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham (Text: Charlotte Zolotow)
• Five Little Monkeys by Juliet Kepes

1952

Finders Keepers, ill. by Nicolas Mordvinoff (Text: Will Lipkind)

Honor Books:

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

1951

The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous

Honor Books:

• Dick Whittington and his Cat, by Marcia Brown
• The Two Reds, ill. by Nicolas Mordvinoff (Text: Will Lipkind)
• If I Ran the Zoo, by Dr. Seuss
• The Most Wonderful Doll in the World, ill. by Helen Stone (Text: Phyllis McGinley)
• T-Bone, the Baby Sitter, by Clare Newberry

1950

Song of the Swallows, by Leo Politi

Honor Books:

• America's Ethan Allen, ill. by Lynd Ward (Text: Stewart Holbrook)
• The Wild Birthday Cake, ill. by Hildegard Woodward (Text: Lavinia Davis)
• The Happy Day, ill. by Marc Simont (Text: Ruth Krauss)
• Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss
• Henry Fisherman, by Marcia Brown

1949

The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader

Honor Books:

• Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey
• All Around the Town, ill. by Helen Stone (Text: Phyllis McGinley)
• Juanita, by Leo Politi
• Fish in the Air, by Kurt Wiese

1948

White Snow, Bright Snow, ill. by Roger Duvoisin (Text: Alvin Tresselt)

Honor Books:

• Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown
• McElligot's Pool, by Dr. Seuss
• Bambino the Clown, by George Schreiber
• Roger and the Fox, ill. by Hildegard Woodward (Text: Lavinia Davis)
• Song of Robin Hood, ill. by Virginia Lee Burton (Text: edited by Anne Malcolmson)

1947

The Little Island, ill. by Leonard Weisgard (Text: Golden MacDonald [Margaret Wise Brown])

Honor Books:

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

1946

The Rooster Crows, ill. by Maud & Miska Petersham

Honor Books:

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

1945

Prayer for a Child, ill. by Elizabeth Orton Jones (Text: Rachel Field)

Honor Books:

• Mother Goose, ill. by Tasha Tudor
• In the Forest, by Marie Hall Ets
• Yonie Wondernose, by Marguerite de Angeli
• The Christmas Anna Angel, ill. by Kate Seredy (Text: Ruth Sawyer)

1944

Many Moons, ill. by Louis Slobodkin (Text: James Thurber)

Honor Books:

• Small Rain: Verses From The Bible, ill. by Elizabeth Orton Jones (Text: selected by Jessie Orton Jones)
• Pierre Pigeon, ill. by Arnold E. Bare (Text: Lee Kingman)
• The Mighty Hunter, by Berta & Elmer Hader
• A Child's Good Night Book, ill. by Jean Charlot (Text: Margaret Wise Brown)
• Good Luck Horse, ill. by Plao Chan (Text: Chin-Yi Chan)

1943

The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton

Honor Books:

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

1942

Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey

Honor Books:

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

1941

They Were Strong and Good, by Robert Lawson

Honor Book:

• April's Kittens, by Clare Newberry

1940

Abraham Lincoln, by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

Honor Books:

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

1939

Mei Li, by Thomas Handforth

Honor Books:

• Andy and the Lion, by James Daugherty
• Barkis, by Clare Newberry
• The Forest Pool, by Laura Adams Armer
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, by Wanda Gág
• Wee Gillis, ill. by Robert Lawson (Text: Munro Leaf)

1938

Animals of the Bible, ill. by Dorothy P. Lathrop (Text: Helen Dean Fish)

Honor Books:

• Four and Twenty Blackbirds, ill. by Robert Lawson (Text: Helen Dean Fish)
• Seven Simeons, by Boris Artzybasheff