Caldecott Award and Honor Winning Books

Allsburg, Chris Van. (1985). The Polar Express. New York: Houghton Mifflin
            Company.

            A wonderful Christmas tale that is read time and time again every Christmas and was even made into a movie. It is a tale about a child and his strong will to always believe in Santa. After getting the chance to ride the Polar Express he knows he much obtain something to prove to himself and others that St.Nick does indeed exist. It is a tale that can be enjoyed by both young and old and teaches everyone that we must not lose our Christmas spirit.

Idle, Molly. (2013). Flora and the Flamingo. California: Chronicle Books,
            LLC.

A tall and elegant flamingo meets a stumpy but sweet little girl named Flora. Flora imitates the flamingo’s movements which can be charmingly seen throughout the wordless story’s lift-the-flap illustrations. The flamingo notices her imitating moves and squawks at her angrily to leave, which Flora does. The flamingo feels guilty and invites her back and a magical and graceful dance ensues. Idle also has another similar book named “Flora and the Penguin”.         

Klassen, Jon. (2012). This is not my hat. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

            “This Is Not My Hat” is the follow-up to another Klassen bestseller, “I Want My Hat Back”.  A small and cocky little fish steals a hat from a much bigger sleeping fish and thinks he will not get caught. The reader will have fun looking at the words and seeing the picture that is displaying quite the opposite. The illustrations portray the underwater habitat of these fish quite beautifully.

McCloskey, Robert. (1948). Blueberries for Sal. New York: Puffin Books.

            One of McClosky’s many classics is “Blueberries for Sal”. As Sal and her mother are busy picking blueberries to make into preserves for the winter, Sal starts snacking on one too many. Her mother tells her to go to the other side to pick some more on her own. Little do both know that a baby bear and mother bear are doing the same thing as them; preparing for winter. Sal wanders off and so does the baby bear and they end up with the wrong mothers. They of course end up back with their own respective mothers and their blueberries in such an endearing way.

McCloskey, Robert. (1941). Make Way for Ducklings. New York: Puffin Books.

            A very sweet story of parenting and family, “Make Way for Ducklings” stands the test of time. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard try to find a safe home for their offspring but they just cannot find one that meets all their requirements. That is until they reach Boston and find a pond that meets all their requirements and more. What makes the story even better is that the places in Boston that are mentioned in the story are places that do exist in real life.

Reynolds, Aaron. (2012). Creepy Carrots. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for
            Young Readers.

            Creepy Carrots is indeed quite a creepy yet humorously entertaining story of Jasper Rabbit. He has grown a bit of an obsession with the carrots that grew in Crackenhopper Field. He ate them all day and every day, almost without stopping. After some time he starts getting the strange feeling that he is being followed by carrots from that field. He starts seeing them everywhere but no one believes him. His paranoia drives him to develop a plan to get the creepy carrots from following him anymore. The ending is quite happy for both Jasper Rabbit and the carrots.

Rylant, Cynthia. (1985). The Relatives Came. New York: Aladdin Books.

            In the story a family from Virginia sets off to visit their relatives. The narrator of the story talks about all the fun things they did when their relatives came over to visit. Although it broke their normal daily routine, they very much liked having a full house of fun and loving relatives. After their relatives go back to their home in Virginia, both families reflect on all the fun they had during those weeks and can’t wait for next summer to see each other again.

Rylant, Cynthia. (1982). When I Was Young in the Mountains. New York: Dutton’s
            Children’s Books.

            A girl reminisces and describes how much she enjoyed spending her childhood living in the mountains. She describes all the things she did with her grandparents and her brother. Such things are pumping water into pails, her cousin getting baptized at the watering hole and walking through cow pasture to get to certain places.

Say, Allen. (1993). Grandfather’s Journey. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

            Say's book describes the story of a Japanese man who came to explore America. It is a tale of immigration and acculturation, sensitively and beautifully told. After he moves to the United States, time passes and he builds his family there but his heart still yearns for his homeland. At some point his desire to return gets the best of him and he goes back to the small village where he was born. Some more time passes and as he begins to grow old he starts to miss his life in America. He starts to plan the trip back when disaster strikes and the war begins and he is no longer able to return.

Williams, Vera B. (1982). A Chair for my Mother. New York: Greenwillow Books.

  

         
This very life-like story describes the hard-work and effort to save up enough spare change to be able to buy an armchair. An armchair may seem like a luxury but it is something they both really want and need after all their furniture was destroyed in a fire. The story demonstrates a strong family bond and working together to achieve something they so desperately wan