The Caldecott Medal was established in 1938. The medal is presented to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Frederic G. Melcher thought why shouldn’t illustrators get medals, too! The medal was named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott.
In 1937 René Paul Chambellan designed the Caldecott Medal. The medal is bronze and has the winner’s name and date on the back. The Caldecott Medal was finally accepted in 1937. On the medal it reads, "Awarded and by the Children's and School Librarians Sections of the American Library Association."
Here is a list of the Caldecott Medal Winners up to the year 2000!
2000: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, Simms Taback
1999: Snowflake Bentley, Jacqueline B. Martin
1998: Rapunzel, Paul O. Zelinsky
1997: Golem, David Wisniewski
1996: Officer Buckle and Gloria , Peggy Rathmann
1995: Smoky Night, illustration, David Diaz; text, Eve Bunting
1994: Grandfather's Journey,Allen Say
1993: Mirette on the High Wire, Emily Arnold McCully
1992: Tuesday, David Wiesner
1991: Black and White , David Macaulay
1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China , Ed Young
1989: Song and Dance Man, illustrations,Stephen Gammell; text,Karen Ackerman
1988: Owl Moon, illustrations , John Schoenherr; text, Jane Yolen
1987: Hey, Al, illustrations , Richard Egielski; text, Arthur Yorinks
1986: The Polar Express , Chris Van Allsburg
1985: Saint George and the Dragon, illustrations , Trina Schart Hyman; text:,Margaret Hodges
1984: The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot , Alice & Martin Provensen
1983: Shadow, illustrations , Marcia Brown
1982: Jumanji , Chris Van Allsburg
1981: Fables , Arnold Lobel
1980: Ox-Cart Man, illustrations , Barbara Cooney; text, Donald Hall
1979: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses , Paul Goble
1978: Noah's Ark , Peter Spier
1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, illustrations, Leo & Diane Dillon; text: Margaret Musgrove
1976: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, illustrations ,Leo & Diane Dillon; text, Verna Aardema
1975: Arrow to the Sun , Gerald McDermott
1974: Duffy and the Devil, illustrations , Margot Zemach; text, Harve Zemach
1973: The Funny Little Woman, illustrations, Blair Lent; text, Arlene Mosel
1972: One Fine Day, Nonny Hogrogian
1971: A Story A Story, Gail E. Haley
1970: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble , William Steig
1969: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, illustrations by Uri Shulevitz; text: Arthur Ransome
1968: Drummer Hoff, illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley
1967: Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness
1966: Always Room for One More, illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian; text: Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud
1965: May I Bring a Friend? illustrations, Beni Montresor; text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
1964: Where the Wild Things Are , Maurice Sendak
1963: The Snowy Day , Ezra Jack Keats
1962: Once a Mouse, Marcia Brown
1961: Baboushka and the Three Kings, illustrations, Nicolas Sidjakov; text: Ruth Robbins
1960: Nine Days to Christmas, illustrations,Marie Hall Ets; text: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida
1959: Chanticleer and the Fox, illustrations, Barbara Cooney; text, Barbara Cooney
1958: Time of Wonder, Robert McCloskey
1957: A Tree Is Nice, illustrations, Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry
1956: Frog Went A-Courtin', illustrations, Feodor Rojankovsky; text, John Langstaff
1955: Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper,Marcia Brown
1954: Madeline's Rescue, Ludwig Bemelmans
1953: The Biggest Bear, Lynd Ward
1952: Finders Keepers, illustrated by Nicolas, text: Will
1951: The Egg Tree, Katherine Milhous
1950: Song of the Swallows, Leo Politi
1949: The Big Snow, Berta & Elmer Hader
1948: White Snow, Bright Snow, illustrations, Roger Duvoisin; text: Alvin Tresselt
1947: The Little Island, illustrations, Leonard Weisgard; text: Golden MacDonald
1946: The Rooster Crows, Maude & Miska Petersham
1945: Prayer for a Child, illustrations,Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: Rachel Field
1944: Many Moons, illustrations, Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber
1943: The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton
1942: Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey
1941: They Were Strong and Good, Robert Lawson
1940: Abraham Lincoln , Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
1939: Mei Li , Thomas Handforth
1938: Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book, illustrations, Dorothy P. Lathrop; text: Helen Dean Fish
