A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION: SIX ARTISTS AND THEIR PATHS TO THE CALDECOTT MEDAL

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION: SIX ARTISTS AND THEIR PATHS TO THE CALDECOTT MEDAL. New York, NY: Walker and Company. ISBN 9780802786562

PLOT SUMMARY
A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION examines the lives of six award winning illustrators. Each artist won the coveted Caldecott medal, awarded to the best illustrated children's book in the United States. To showcase differences in artistry, six decades are represented in this book.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The primary theme of the book is to inform the reader there is no conventional method to becoming an award winning illustrator. The style between 1942's Robert McCloskey and 1992's David Weisner is vast. McCloskey studied live ducks in his New York apartment and drew realistic detailed depictions. Weisner used clay to study his main character, the frog, depicted in his book TUESDAY. Marcia Brown filled sketchbooks researching the style she wanted in the 1955 version of Cinderella. Sendak's visualization of the complete picture before he begins his drawing is unique. Steig wanted to humanize his donkey in SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE to make him likeable.

With a new fifteen member selection committee each year the style awarded will never be constant. Illustration is a personal form of interpretation. The Caldecott medal is awarded to the artists who marries their art work with the text to make a memorable story.

Biographies give the reader an inside view into the personal lives of famous people. This book shares insights with their path to becoming an award winning illustrator. It's never overnight success, but rather a progression that enables the artist to use what he has learned to create something new. Being able to interpret a story with artwork is not an easy task. Doing it well enough to win this coveted award is an amazing accomplishment and one that is not usually repeated (although a few have won more than one Caldecott medal).

PERSONAL OPINION
I have always been fascinated with biographies. This book was was a behind the scenes look at how the art work was created for these six award winning books. For a student that enjoys art, this book would be a good choice for them to read.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Filled with witty anecdotes and pithy observations, Marcus's (Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom) approach to examining the works of six Caldecott Medalists will be of as much interest to adults as to picture book readers. He has chosen one book from each decade, "so that viewed together, the six offer an informal cross section through time of the American picture book": Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings, Marcia Brown's Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Chris Van Allsburg's Jumanji and David Wiesner's Tuesday."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Each chapter opens with a photo of the illustrator, some information about the Caldecott-winning book, and a quote from his or her acceptance speech. While the focus is on the creation of the award-winning book, a great deal of background about the artists' lives and the way in which they work is given."

CONNECTIONS

For older students, divide them into 4 - 6 groups. Have them choose a Caldecott award winner not mentioned in this book and research their life. Present the information found to the class orally and compare/contrast their similarities and differences.

Books like this one:

Carle, Eric. ARTIST TO ARTIST; 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART. ISBN 9780399246005

Bang, Molly. PICTURE THIS; HOW PICTURES WORK. ISBN 9781587170302

Marcus, Leonard. SIDE BY SIDE: FIVE FAVORITE PICTURE BOOK TEAMS GO TO WORK. ISBN 9780802796165