Will There Ever Be Another Repeat Caldecott Medalist?

Here’s the list of people who have won more than one Caldecott Medal (just talking Medals here, not Honors):

Chris Raschka: 2012, 2006
David Wiesner: 2007, 2002, 1992
Chris Van Allsburg: 1986, 1982
Marcia Brown: 1983, 1962, 1955
Barbara Cooney: 1980, 1959
Leo & Diane Dillon: 1977, 1976
Nonny Hogrogian: 1972, 1966
Robert McCloskey: 1958, 1942

The last person to win a second is Chris Raschka in 2012. Even thought that wasn’t that long ago, I was wondering today if anyone will repeat again. How about we discuss the case against and the case for.

The Case Against Another Repeat Caldecott Medal Winner

The number of books published each year continues to rise, and there are more illustrators working in the children’s book field now than ever before. This means that the pool of potential illustrators is larger than at any other time. So from a numbers standpoint, the chance for a repeat must be lower.

The Case For Another Repeat Caldecott Winner

All it takes is the right book. There are a whole bunch of illustrators in their primes right now who have won the medal, and picture book watchers (see: people who are likely to be on future Caldecott committees) are more aware than ever which illustrators to keep an eye out for.

But these are mostly my opinions. What do you think?

Filed under: Articles