In 1937 René Paul Chambellan designed the Caldecott Medal. The bronze medal has the winner’s name and the date engraved on the back. When the Caldecott Medal was accepted in 1937, the Section for Library Work with Children invited the School Libraries Section to name five of its members to the awards committee each year. For this reason the Caldecott Medal inscription reads, “Awarded annually by the Children’s and School Librarians Sections of the American Library Association.” This is a combination and simplification of the actual names of the sections. The wording continues even though several ALA reorganizations resulted in 1958 in the present divisions, including the Children’s Services Division, now the Association for Library Service to Children, which now has sole responsibility for administering the award.
how the caldecott medal came about
Each year, the American Library Association awards the Newbery Medal to the most distinguished American children’s book published in the previous year. However, because many people worried that artists creating children’s picture books deserved as much honor and encouragement as children’s book authors, Frederic G. Melcher suggested in 1937 the establishment of a second annual medal. This medal will be awarded to the artist who created the most distinguished illustrated book of the year and is named in honor of the 19th-century English illustrator Randolph J. caldecott. The idea for this medal was also enthusiastically accepted by the Wing Children’s Library Section and was approved by the Wing Board of Directors.
You are reading: Illustration awards for children’s books
The Caldecott Medal “will be awarded to the most distinguished American children’s picture book artist published in the United States during the preceding year. The award will go to the artist, who must be a citizen or resident of the United States, whether or not not the author of the text. members of the newbery medal committee will act as judges. if a book of the year is nominated for both the newbery and caldecott awards, the committee will decide under which heading it will be voted on, so that the same title will not be considered on both ballots. In 1977, the Board of Directors of the Association for Children’s Library Services rescinded the final part of the 1937 action, approving that “any book published in the preceding year shall be eligible for consideration for one or both awards.” Independent committees were established in 1978 to select the Newbery and Caldecott Awards, beginning with the 1980 selection committees.
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From the beginning of the awarding of the newbery and caldecott medals, committees could, and usually did, cite other books as worthy of note. Such books were called Newbery’s or Caldecott’s “Runners.” in 1971, the term “runners-up” was changed to “honor books”. the new terminology was made retroactive so that all previous finalists are now called newbery or caldecott honor books.
the caldecott medal:
- Weighs 3.1 ounces.
- Has a diameter of 2 1/3 inches. therefore, the medal’s circumference is approximately 7 and a third inches long (using the formula c= pi x d)
- not worn, but presented in a cherry wood box for display on a desk or other flat surface.
a few words about randolph caldecott and his illustrations…
Randolph Caldecott was one of a group of three influential children’s illustrators working in England in the 19th century. the other two illustrators were kate greenaway and walter crane. his children’s illustrations were unique for their time in both their humor and their ability to create a sense of movement, vitality, and action that complemented the accompanying stories.
caldecott’s medal illustration, which is taken from caldecott’s illustrations for “the amusing story of john gilpin”, is a perfect example of the humor, vibrancy, and sense of movement found in caldecott’s work caldecott. Illustration shows John Gilpin astride a runaway horse, accompanied by quacking geese, braying dogs, and frightened onlookers.
randolph caldecott resources
university of southern mississippi-degrummond collection
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indiana college library
caldecott seal of honor
**images of the newbery and caldecott medal and book seal are the property of the american library association and may not be used in any way or reproduced without permission of the rights and permissions office wing.