Caldecott Medal

Caldecott Medal

This annual award honors the most distinguished American picture book for children.

For more information on the Caldecott Medal, please see the ALA Caldecott Medal Home Page.

Caldecott Medal Winners

  • The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung

    The Truth About Dragons

    Julie Leung

    In a mix of Eastern and Western mythologies, a mother tells her child about two forests inhabited by different, but equally enchanting dragons that coexist within the child's heart.

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  • There Was a Party for Langston

    Jason Reynolds

    A celebration of Langston Hughes and African American authors he inspired, told through the lens of the party held at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Cultu

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  • Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter

    Aida Salazar

    "Jovita didn't want to cook and clean like her sisters, and she especially didn't want to wear the skirts her abuela gave her.

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  • In Every Life

    Marla Frazee

    A picture book celebrating both the highs and lows that everyone experiences in the course of a life.

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  • BIG

    Vashti Harrison

    Praised for acting like a big girl when she is small, as a young girl grows, "big" becomes a word of criticism, until the girl realizes that she is fine just the way she is.

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  • We Are Water Protectors

    Carole Lindstrom

    Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm

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  • Hello Lighthouse

    Sophie Blackall

    A lavish new picture book from Caldecott-winner Sophie Blackall that will transport readers to the seaside in timeless, nautical splendor!

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  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret

    Brian Selznick

    ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity.

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  • The House in the Night

    Illustrations and easy-to-read text explore the light that makes a house in the night a home filled with light, in a bedtime book for youngsters that names nighttime things, such as a bed and the m

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  • The Lion & the Mouse

    Jerry Pinkney

    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.

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