Caldecott Books

Click here for a complete list of Caldecott Medalists and Honor Books, organized by year with ratings, FLAWS, and links to book reviews.

In 1921, Frederic G. Melcher suggested the introduction of a children's book award prize. Adults had their literary prizes, he argued. Why not kids? Are not children's books worthy of serious consideration and applause? he might have urged, standing before the august assembly of the American Library Association's Executive Board, right arm flung across his chest, Hendrik Willem van Loon's The Story of Mankind clutched tightly in his left hand. What about the children?

The persons associated with the aforementioned Board thought Melcher was right and the Newbery Medal was born, but 15 years later he realized he hadn't gone far enough. What about the illustrators of children's books? he thought, snoozing at his desk late one evening. The television was not yet on to keep him awake because there was not yet television. What about the illustrators? The thought plagued him, it got into his bones, and again he took his case before the magisterial Executive Board.

Yes, they agreed, the writers are duly recognized; let also the illustrators be touted and awarded for their efforts! And so it was, in A.D. 1937 that the Caldecott Award was conceived and brought forth, an award for the best children's picture book of the year, named for famed 19th-century British illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott. Books that deserved attention but failed to attain the rank of single very best picture book of the year were to be given honorable mention.

Melcher's heroic efforts were not for naught. The Caldecott Award has consistently gone to books with beautiful, engaging, and/or very fun illustrations, even in recent years. Of course, there are plenty of wonderful picture books that are on no Caldecott list, either as winners or honorably mentioned (to whom, no one is quite sure), and the award is only given to books written and published in the United States of America. But the flame of quality diversion for children continues to burn brightly, and we thank ol' Freddy for his indefatigable efforts, and for the kindness of the Board's acceptance of them.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Caldecott Medal winners and Honor books
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Caldecott Medal winners and Honor books
A complete list on our site, with links to the books
179 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5)
1 is One
by Tasha Tudor
from Little Simon
for Nursery-Preschool
1957 Caldecott Honor Book
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99
Adventures of Beekle
by Dan Santat
from Little, Brown & Company
2015 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Adventures of Beekle
by Dan Santat
from Scholastic Inc.
2015 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
All Falling Down
by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
1952 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
All the World
by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee
1st edition from Beach Lane Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
2010 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alma and How She Got Her Name
by Juana Martine-Neal
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alphabatics
by Suse MacDonald
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-1st grade
1987 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alphabet City
by Stephen T. Johnson
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
1996 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Always Room for One More
by Sorche Nic Leodhas
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
1966 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Animals of the Bible
by Dorothy P. Lathrop, text selected by Helen Dean Fish
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
1938 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Ape in a Cape
by Fritz Eichenberg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
1953 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.99
Arrow to the Sun
by Gerald McDermott
Reprint from Puffin Books
1975 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Baboushka and the Three Kings
by Ruth Robbins, Nicolas Sidjakov (Illustrator)
from Houghton Mifflin
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1961 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ball for Daisy
by Chris Raschka
from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-2nd grade
2012 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Bear Came Along
by Richard T. Morris
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Berry Song
by Michaela Goade
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
2023 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$18.99
Big Snow
by Berta & Elmer Hader
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1949 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Big Snow
by Berta & Elmer Hader
Reprint from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
1949 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Black and White
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-3rd grade
1991 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Black and White
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-3rd grade
1991 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Boy of the Three-Year Nap
by Dianne Snyder
from Sandpiper Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1989 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Bremen Town Musicians
by Ilse Plume retelling Brothers Grimm
Tra from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1981 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Child's Calendar
by John Updike
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Child's Calendar
by John Updike
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Child's Good Night Book
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Jean Charlot
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-Kindergarten
1944 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Color Zoo
by Lois Ehlert
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Color Zoo
by Lois Ehlert
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Crow Boy
by Taro Yashima
from Puffin Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1956 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Desert Is Theirs
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1976 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dick Whittington and His Cat
by Marcia Brown
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
by Mo Willems
from Hyperion Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2004 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
by Mo Willems
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
2004 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Drummer Hoff
by Barbara Emberley
from Simon and Schuster
for Nursery-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Du Iz Tak?
by Carson Ellis
from Candlewick Press
2017 Caldecott Honor Medal
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Duffy and the Devil
by Harve Zemach
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-2nd grade
1974 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Egg Tree
by Katherine Milhous
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-Kindergarten
2004 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
2016 Caldecott Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flora and the Flamingo
by Molly Idle
from Chronicle Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
2014 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flora and the Peacocks
by Molly Idle
from Chronicle Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
2014 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flotsam
by David Wiesner
from Clarion Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
2007 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
by Peter Spier
from Dragonfly Books
for Nursery-1st grade
1962 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Freight Train
by Donald Crews
from Mulberry Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
1979 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Freight Train
by Donald Crews
from Greenwillow Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
1979 Caldecott Honor Book
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Funny Little Woman
by Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent
Reissue from Puffin Books
1973 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.99
Garden of Abdul Gasazi
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1980 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Goggles!
by Ezra Jack Keats
First Printing from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
1970 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gone Wild
by David McLimans
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for Nursery-Preschool
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Happy Day
by Ruth Krauss
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$7.99
Have You Seen My Duckling?
by Nancy Tafuri
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1985 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton Juster
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool- 2nd Grade
2006 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton Juster
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 2nd Grade
2006 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hey, Al
by Arthur Yorinks
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1987 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Hide and Seek Fog
by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Mulberry Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1966 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Hildilid's Night
by Cheli Duran Ryan, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
from Aladdin Paperbacks
1972 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hondo & Fabian
by Peter McCarty
from Square Fish Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
2003 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Hosie's Alphabet
by Hosea, Tobias and Lisa Baskin, illustrated by Leonard Baskin
from Viking Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
1973 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hot Air
by Marjorie Priceman
from Atheneum
for Preschool-3rd grade
2006 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Hot Dog
by Doug Salati
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
2023 Caldecott Medal Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
House in the Night
by Susan Marie Swanson
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st
2009 Caldecott Medal winner
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Hush!
by Minfong Ho & Holly Meade
Reprint from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
1997 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
In the Forest
by Marie Hall Ets
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1945 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
In the Small, Small Pond
by Denise Fleming
from Henry Holt and Company
Word Books for Nursery-Kindergarten
1994 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Inch by Inch
by Leo Lionni
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1961 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Inch by Inch
by Leo Lionni
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
1961 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
It Could Always Be Worse
by Margot Zemach
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-2nd grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
It Could Always Be Worse
by Margot Zemach
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Jambo Means Hello
by Muriel Feelings, Tom Feelings (Illustrator)
from Puffin Books
Alphabet Books for Preschool-1st grade
1975 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.99
John Henry
by Julius Lester & Jerry Pinkney
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
1995 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
John Henry
by Julius Lester & Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
1995 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
by Simms Taback
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Journey
Journey Trilogy #1
by Aaron Becker
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-4th grade
2014 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Journey Cake, Ho!
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1954 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Just Me
by Marie Hall Ets
Later Printing from Puffin Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1966 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
by Audrey Wood & Don Wood
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for Nursery-1st grade
1986 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
by Audrey Wood & Don Wood
Reprint from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
1986 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Knight Owl
by Christopher Denise
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
2023 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt De La Pena
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
Realistic Fiction for Preschool-3rd grade
2016 Newbery Medal, 2016 Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor 2016
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Leave Me Alone!
by Vera Brosgol
from Roaring Brook Press
2017 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Lion and the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney
from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-1st
2010 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Little Bear's Visit
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
1962 Caldecott Honor Book
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.95
Little House
by Virginia Lee Burton
from Sandpiper Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-3rd grade
1943 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Little Island
by Margaret Wise Brown, Leonard Weisgard
from Dragonfly Books
Picture Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1947 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Locomotive
by Brian Floca
1st edition from Atheneum
for Preschool-5th
2014 Caldecott Medal winner, 2014 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Marguerite de Angeli's Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Doubleday & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1955 Caldecott Honor Book
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.00 (5 in stock)
Marshmallow
by Clare Turlay Newberry
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
1943 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Marshmallow
by Clare Turlay Newberry
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
1943 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
May I Bring a Friend?
by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-1st grade
1965 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
May I Bring a Friend?
by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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