The Caldecott Challenge

I'm excited to participate in something new this year, it is called the Caldecott Challenge created by some great librarians. It looks like a lot of fun! And did I mention it is going to be stress free. I am going to try to read as many Caldecott award and honor book winners from the beginning, 1938 to be exact. I think this could be close to 300 books.  I will be posting my findings here as I read my way through them all, or as many as I can get my hands on. I'm going to start backwards, beginning with the winners of 2011. I can already tell you that one of my all-time favorite stories which happens to be a Caldecott Medal winner is Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. It was my favorite book as a child and still my favorite book as an adult. I continue to read this classic with my students every year.  But who knows maybe something else will capture my heart.

A little history on the Caldecott Medal. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886). Randolph Caldecott was one of a group of three influential children's illustrators working in England in the 19th century. His illustrations for children were unique to their time in both their humor, and their ability to create a sense of movement, vitality, and action that complemented the stories they accompanied.

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. This year's winner will be announced on Monday, January 23rd.

So my challenge begins, please follow me on this journey.