The Caldecott Challenge (Part III)
Part I | Part II | Part IV | Part V
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Well, if you looked closely at the video above, you already know what I’m about to say (unless you assume my hair got shorter because they are now providing haircuts in the library) – I was not successful in my quest to read every Caldecott-winning book in one day. Or, to put it another, more harsh way…
Yep, right after Sam, Bangs & Moonshine I was forced to call it a day.
But that doesn’t mean I called it quits! I just needed to modify the wording of my challenge. Here goes:
Read Every Caldecott-winning book in one day
So read them all I did (it just took an extra trip (actually, two)).
1967: Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt)
1968: Drummer Hoff , illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley (Prentice-Hall)
1969: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship , illustrated by Uri Shulevitz; text: retold by Arthur Ransome (Farrar)
1970: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig (Windmill Books)
1971: A Story A Story , retold and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (Atheneum)
1972: One Fine Day , retold and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian (Macmillan)
1973: The Funny Little Woman , illustrated by Blair Lent; text: retold by Arlene Mosel (Dutton)
1974: Duffy and the Devil , illustrated by Margot Zemach; retold by Harve Zemach (Farrar)
1975: Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott (Viking)
1976: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears , illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: retold by Verna Aardema (Dial)
1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions , illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: Margaret Musgrove (Dial)
1978: Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier (Doubleday)
1979: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble (Bradbury)
1980: Ox-Cart Man , illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: Donald Hall (Viking)
1981: Fables by Arnold Lobel (Harper)
Reflections: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship! Noah’s Arc! In this crop, those two were two standouts for me. Things are definitely becoming more modern. It’s cool to see how the picture book form slowly becomes less traditional over the years.
Progress: Seeing as the whole “in one day” thing is out the window, I’m feeling free to take my time a bit more, which is probably how one should do this in the first place.
Learn from my mistakes! Here are my tips for doing what I could not:
- You need to get into the library as soon as that sucker opens, to get the maximum amount of time. If you go on a day when the library stays open late, even better.
- Leave as many of your electronic devices at home as possible. While the camera wasn’t my downfall, it definitely held things up a bit.
Tune in tomorrow for Part VI.
Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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It was an ambitious undertaking, especially if you wanted to be at all evaluative of the changing styles of “distinctive.”
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I think my biggest mistake was not using every minute that the library was open. I definitely think this can be done.
When I was on Caldecott, I read MANY MANY winners (and honor books). I own quite a few, some at my house and many more in my classroom. I did not know, however, that Herrick has this collection. Nice to know! I am assuming that they have a complete Newbery collection too? However, with the exception of one honor book from the 20s and three or four honor books from the 30s, I have in my home a complete collection of Newbery books, both winners and honors. Nice job, Travis. I guess you are trying to make sure that I vote for you!
So do I have your vote?
Even before you asked.
What’s impressive is the lasting power of books that win this award (or is it that the winners stay in print longer, or both?) I remembered almost every single one of even the earliest winners from my childhood (and I’m not that old).