West Bend Community Memorial Library

West Bend Community Memorial Library

Children's Booklist

Make reading a part of your child's life!

Caldecott Medal Winners and Honor Books
[2000-Present] [1990-1999] [1980-1989] [1970-1979] [1960-1969] [1950-1959] [1940-1949] [1938-1939]
[printable list]

1989 Winner:	Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman and illustrated by Stephen Gammell - Illus. in full color. "In this affectionate story, three children follow their grandfather up to the attic, where he pulls out his old bowler hat, gold-tipped cane, and his tap shoes. Grandpa once danced on the vaudeville stage, and as he glides across the floor, the children can see what it was like to be a song and dance man. Gammell captures all the story's inherent joie de vivre with color pencil renderings that leap off the pages. Bespectacled, enthusiastic Grandpa clearly exudes the message that you're only as old as you feel, but the children respond--as will readers--to the nostalgia of the moment. Utterly original."

Honor Books:	The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Diane Snyder and illustrated by Allen Say - Lazy Taro gets his comeuppance when his wise mother uses his trick to avoid work to her own advantage.

	Free Fall by David Weisner - A young boy dreams of daring adventures in the company of imaginary creatures inspired by the things surrounding his bed.

	Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall - Three bears return home from a walk to find a little girl asleep in baby bear's bed.

	Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney - Illus. in full color."Mirandy is sure she'll win the cake walk if she can catch Brother Wind for her partner, but he eludes all the tricks her friends advise. This gets a high score for plot, pace, and characterization. Mirandy sparkles with energy and determination. Multi-hued watercolors fill the pages with patterned ferment. A treat to pass on to new generations."

1988 Winner:	Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schloenherr - On a winter's night under a full moon, a father and daughter trek into the woods to see the Great Horned Owl.

Honor Books:	Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe - Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.

1987 Winner:	Hey Al by Arthur Yorinnks and illustrated by Richard Egielski - A city janitor and his treasured canine companion are transported by a large colorful bird to an island in the sky, where their comfortable paradise existence threatens to turn them into birds as well.

Honor Books:	The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann Grifalconi - A grandmother explains to her listeners why in their village on the side of a volcano the men live in square houses and the women in round ones.

	Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald - A is for ark. But did you know that if you turn an A upside down and round the point out a little, it becomes an ark? B is for balloon. But did you know that if you blow it up really big, the hole in the middle floats away like a balloon? In this wonderfully creative alphabet book, letters are pulled, twisted, reversed, and curled until they become part of what they represent. F becomes a fish, and Y becomes a yak! Young readers will be fascinated with the way the letters evolve into the final creation. They'll never look at the alphabet the same way again!

	Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky - A strange little man helps the miller's daughter spin straw into gold for the king on the condition that she will give him her first-born child.

1986 Winner:	The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg - A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa Claus.

Honor Books:	The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Stephen Gammell - The relatives come to visit from Virginia and everyone has a wonderful time.

	King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood - In this delightful story, the king refuses to leave his bathtub and rule the kingdom. “Beauty aside, this also has a panache and sly wit that will please children and their parents, who will be called on to peruse the book again and again.”

1985 Winner:	Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman - Retells the segment from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, in which George, the Red Cross Knight, slays the dreadful dragon that has been terrorizing the countryside for years and brings peace and joy to the land.

Honor Books:	Hansel and Gretel by Rika Lesser and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky - A poor woodcutter's children, lost in the forest, come upon a house made of bread, cakes, and candy, occupied by a wicked witch who likes to have children for dinner.

	Have you Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri - An anxious mother duck leads her brood around the pond as she searches for one missing duckling.

	The Story of the Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend retold and illustrated by John Steptoe - Based on a Native American legend, this is the tale of a compassionate, courageous mouse who journeys to a far-off land and becomes a magnificent soaring eagle.

1984 Winner:	The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice & Martin Provensen - A biography of the man whose fascination with flying machines produced the Bleriot XI, which in 1909 became the first heavier-than-air machine to fly the English Channel.

Honor Books:	Little Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman - She sets off through the forest to visit her grandmother in this classic edition.

	Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang - This beguiling picture book, with a palette of eye-filling colors, appears to arise from the love binding a father and his little 'big' girl who turn bedtime into playtime with a rhyming game.

1983 Winner:	Shadow by Marcia Brown - Shadow lives in the forest... It goes forth at night to prowl around the fires. It even likes to mingle with the dancers... Shadow... It waves with the grasses, curls up at the foot of trees... But in the African experience Shadow is much more. The village storytellers and shamans of an Africa that is passing into memory called forth for the poet Blaise Cendrars an eerie image, shifting between the beliefs of the present and the spirits of the past. Shadow... It does not cry out, it has no voice... It can cast a spell over you... It follows man everywhere, even to war... Marcia Brown's stunning illustrations in collage, inspired by her travels in Africa, evoke the atmosphere and drama of a life now haunted, now enchanted by Shadow.

Honor Books:	A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams - A child, her waitress mother, and her grandmother save dimes to buy a comfortable armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire.

	When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Diane Goode - For twenty years, Cynthia Rylant's story of childhood in the Appalachian Mountains has been an enduring favorite. Growing up in the mountains is depicted with a spare, lyrical text and beautiful, tender illustrations by Diane Goode. The book was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal. To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, When I Was Young in the Mountains is being released with a commemorative copper-colored band.

1982 Winner:	Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg - The game under the tree looked like a hundred others Peters and Judy had at home. But they were bored and restless and, looking for something interesting to do, thought they'd give Jumanji a try. Little did they know when they unfolded its ordinary-looking playing board that they were about to be plunged into the most exciting and bizarre adventure of their lives. In his second book for children, Chris Van Allsburg again explores the ever-shifting line between fantasy and reality with this story about a game that comes startlingly to life. His marvelous drawings beautifully convey a mix of the everyday and the extraordinary, as a quiet house is taken over by an exotic jungle.

Honor Books:	Where the Buffaloes Begin by Olaf Baker and illustrated by Stephen Gammell - After hearing the legend retold by the tribe's oldest member, Little Wolf hopes to someday witness the beginning of the buffaloes at the sacred lake.

	On Market Street by Arnold Lobel and illustrated by Anita Lobel - Here is a world of wonders from A to Z. Inspired by seventeenth-century French trade engravings, Anita Lobel's brilliant paintings of the shopkeepers on Market Street--each composed of his or her wares--will provide blissful hours for all who join the Lobels on an unforgettable shopping spree.

	Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak - With Papa off to sea and Mama despondent, Ida must go outside over there to rescue her baby sister from goblins who steal her to be a goblin's bride.

	A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard and illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen - Inspired by William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, this delightful collection of poetry for children brings to life Blake’s imaginary inn and its unusual guests.

1981 Winner:	Fables by Arnold Lobel - Short, original fables with fresh, unexpected morals poke subtle fun at human foibles through the antics of animals. . . . The droll illustrations, with tones blended to luminescent shading, are complete and humorous themselves.

Honor Books:	The Bremen-Town Musicians by Ilse Plume - A retelling of the Grimm tale in which an old donkey, dog, cat, and rooster, no longer wanted by their masters, set out for Bremen to become musicians.

	The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang - The Grey Lady loves strawberries. But so does the Strawberry Snatcher, and unfortunately for the Grey Lady he is not far away and getting closer all the time. Past flower shops and bakeries he stalks her, silently, steadily, biding his time. He pursues her by foot along haunting red-brick paths, and then by skateboard into the mysterious depths of a swamp both beautiful and terrifying. Closer and closer he gets, and yet the Grey Lady escapes him, in fantastic and marvelously improbable ways, until, in the heart of the forest the Strawberry Snatcher discovers instead -- blackberries!

	Mice Twice by Joseph Low - A round of uneasy hospitality results when Mouse and Dog arrive at Cat's house for dinner.

	Truck by Donald Crews - Follow the big red truck on its cross-country journey in Donald Crew's classic wordless book, perfect for sharing with the very young.

1980 Winner:	Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney - Describes the day-to-day life of an early nineteenth-century New England family throughout the changing seasons.

Honor Books:	Ben's Trumpet by Rachel Isadora - The story of Ben is fiction, but it could be the story of more than one jazz musician who grew up in the twenties. Using the art-deco style of the period, Rachel Isadora not only captures the poignancy and yearning of a youthful talent, but in page after page of striking art seems to convey the very sound of music.

	The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg - Sometimes that very thin line between illusion and reality is not as clearly defined as we would like it to be. It certainly wasn't the day that Alan Mitz stumbled into the garden of Abdul Gasazi. For in this bizarre and eerie place -- where strange topiary trees loomed -- the evil visage of Gasazi casts its shadow. And even after Alan escaped, the spell of Gasazi still seemed to penetrate into his everyday world. In this extraordinary, unusual, and unique picture book, Chris Van Allsburg explores both the real and surreal worlds with incredible deftness. In doing so, he has created exquisite and beautiful images that will continue to haunt readers long after they have left the enchanted garden of Abdul Gasazi.

	The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz - This Jewish folk tale tells of a man who goes off in search of a great treasure, only to find that he never had to leave home in the first place.