Caldecott Challenge 2003

2003 Caldecott Medal Winner:
My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann

This is Eric Rohmann's second Caldecott. He won a Caldecott honor with his 1995 book, Time Flies. My friend rabbit is a sweet story about a little rabbit who seems to get into trouble even though he means well. He has just lost mouse's airplane up in a tree. He has several different plans to get the airplane down, each one leading to more trouble. The illustrations are wonderful expressively hand colored prints. The story has simple text with illustrations in bold colors. Grades Pre-K-2. ***


2003 Caldecott Honor Winners:
The Spider and the Fly illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi and written by Mary Howitt
Personally I find the illustrations in this book to be quite amazing. The illustrations are rendered in black-and-white gouache and pencil, then reproduced in silver-and-black duotone, the paintings have a spooky quality perfectly suited to retelling this melancholy tale. In fact in my opinion this book should be the Caldecott Medal Winner and not an honor book. The story is based on Mary Howitt's poem written in 1829. The illustrations are so sophisticated it will appeal to both children and adults. While this is a different type of book, maybe for an older crowd the illustrations will just take your breath away. Grades 2-5. ***

Hondo and Fabian by Peter McCarty
A dog named Hondo and his friend Fred are going to the beach for a day of excitement. Fabian the cat is left behind at home to play with the baby. Who will cause more trouble? And who will have more fun?  Soft artwork in light hues, pencil illustrations. **

Noah's Ark by Jerry Pinkney
Illustrations are done in pencil and watercolors. For me this book is really all about the illustrations and the visual images. "Living things ran on the earth and flew in the skies, and swam in the seas. And God saw that it was good. A beautiful interpretation of an old biblical tale of the great flood and how Noah and his family faithfully responded to God's call to save life on earth. Grades K-4 ***