A Caldecott Celebration by Leonard Marcus

Bibliography

Marcus, Leonard S. A Caldecott Celebration: Seven Artists and Their Path to the Caldecott Medal.  New York: Walker & Company, 2008. ISBN 9780802797032

Plot Summary

A Caldecott Celebration explores the inspirations and events that lead seven illustrators to win the Caldecott Medal.  Each chapter tells the tale of how one artist, not only illustrated, but wrote a children’s picture book.  The reader gets to find out the year each award-winning book was written and illustrated and how the events of that time period helped to shape the story.  For example, Robert McClusky’s Make Way for Ducklings was published in 1942, during World War II.  This gave children an escape from the war as they could read about Mrs. Mallard and her quest to help find her ducklings a safe home.  Mordicai Gerstein wrote The Man Who Walked Between the Towers after September 11th, but was inspired by a brave tightrope act that happened thirty years before that.  Leonard Marcus gives great incite into each artists’ mind and thought process and the struggles they each faced while putting the story and illustrations together.  It is not simply a matter of making a few sketches and adding words.  The artists study numerous objects and subjects as well as put a great deal of time into research in order to develop the characters and the background of each illustration.  Marcus takes the reader on the amazing adventure each artist faced when creating his or her Caldecott Medal winning picture book.

Critical Analysis

The chapters are placed in chronological order and cover each decade, starting with 1942 and ending with 2004.  Each chapter begins with a picture of the artist, , the cover of the award-winning book, publishing date, his or her birth date, the medium used for illustrations and a quote from each artist.  The reader is privy to sketches and sample illustrations that led to the final product.  The text is large and balanced well with illustrations.

While the amount of text may overwhelm young readers, future artists will find it fascinating.  Marcus even puts a glossary in the back of the book to help explain certain words young readers may not understand, which allows their vocabulary to expand. He reveals thoughtful details and interesting inside stories from and about each author.  Marcus discusses the events that surrounded the artists as they grew up and how that led them down the path of winning the Caldecott Medal in a manner that captivates and inspires readers. 



Awards Won and Review Excerpts

A Bank Street College Children’s Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Book
A New York Public Library’s One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “His insights–derived from interviewing each of the artists–allow readers to become sideline participants in the creative processes that resulted in the characters and stories that we have come to love.”

Starred Review in PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “Encouraging readers to see each picture book through the artist's eyes.”

Connections

*Start a discussion on what it takes to illustrate and write a children’s picture book to begin a project allowing the students to write and illustrate their own picture book. 
*Have a copy of each of Caldecott winners that are featured in the book so the students can look over them in more detail. 
*Have other Caldecott Medal winners available for the students to examine.