from ALSC: The Randolph Caldecott Medal
2010 Medal Winner
Book Description
In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.
About the Author
Jerry Pinkney is one of children's literature's most time-honored artists. He has been illustrating children's books for over 40 years and has more than 75 books to his credit. He has the rare distinction of being the recipient of five Caldecott Honor books. He has also won the Coretta Scott King Award five times, the Coretta Scott King Honor three times, and was nominated for the prestigious international Hans Christian Anderson Award.
Other books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
2010 Honor Books
All the WorldOther books illustrated by Marla Frazee
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors
Other books illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
2009 Medal Winner
Book Description
A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.
About the Author
Inspired by the pattern of a traditional poem handed down over decades ("This is the key to the kingdom"), Susan Marie Swanson wrote this poem about the comfort of night and home. she is an award-winning poet and the author of several children's books. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she often works in the schools as a poet-in-residence. Beth Krommes is the illustrator of several award-winning books. She draws and reads and dreams in a tall house among the pines and maples of Peterborough, New Hampshire, where she lives with her family.
Other books illustrated by Beth Krommes
2009 Honor Books
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week EverOther books illustrated by Marla Frazee
How I Learned Geography
Other books illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
Other books illustrated by Melissa Sweet
2008 Medal Winner
Book Description
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.
Other books illustrated by Brian Selznick
2008 Honor Books
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground RailrodOther books illustrated by Kadir Nelson
First the Egg
Other books illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
Other books illustrated by Peter Sis
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Other books illustrated by Mo Willems
2007 Medal Winner
Flotsam
Book Description
A bright, science minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam--anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share... and to keep.
About the Author
David Wiesner's interest in visual storytelling dates back to high school days when he made silent movies and drew wordless comic books. Born and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey, he graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. While a student, he created a painting nine feet long, which he now recognizes as the genesis of Free Fall, his first book of his own authorship, for which he was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal in 1989. Tuesday was the 1992 Caldecott Medal Winner, and in 2002 David won his second Caldecott Medal for The Three Pigs. Mr. Wiesner and his wife, Kim Kahang, and their two children live in Philadelphia, where he devotes full time to illustration and she pursues her career as a surgeon.
2007 Honor Books
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet
Book Description
Feast your eyes on these amazing creatures before they disappear. This stampede of wild animals, from Chinese Alligator to Grevy's Zebra, are so rare, they're all endangered. David McLiman's bold and playful illustrations transform each letter into a work of art, graphically rendered with animal characteristics. Scales, horns, even insect wings transform the alphabet into animated life.
Once you take this eye-opening safari, you'll never look at letters or animals with the same way again. A striking work of art and a zoological adventure, Gone Wild is sure to be loved by children and adults alike.
About the Author
David McLimans has won numerous awards for his editorial illustration, including an Award of Excellence from the Society of Newspaper Designers and a Certificate of Excellence from Print magazine. His work has appeared the Washington Post, AIGA, Time, the New York Times, the Progressive, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper's. This is his first children's book. He lives and works in Madison, Wisconsin.
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
From Booklist
Weatherford's handsome picture book about Harriet Tubman focuses mostly on Tubman's religious inspiration, with echoes of spirituals ringing throughout the spare poetry about her struggle ("Lord, don't let nobody turn me 'round").
God cradles Tubman and talks with her; his words (printed in block capitals) both inspire her and tell her what to do ("SHED YOUR SHOES; WADE IN THE WATER TO TRICK THE DOGS"). Nelson's stirring, beautiful artwork makes clear the terror and exhaustion Tubman felt during her own escape and also during her brave rescue of others.
There's no romanticism: the pictures are dark, dramatic, and deeply colored--whether showing the desperate young fugitive "crouched for days in a potato hole" or the tough middle-aged leader frowning at the band of runaways she's trying to help.
The full-page portrait of a contemplative Tubman turning to God to help her guide her people is especially striking. Hazel Rochman
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