Reading the Art in Caldecott Award Books is a practical and easy-to-use reference handbook explaining what makes the art in Caldecott Medal and Honor books distinguished. It is a useful manual for librarians, teachers, and others who want to better understand picture book illustration. This book includes many useful components: ·Short entries about fifty-six books ·Information on styles and media ·Artistic analysis of the illustrations ·Appendixes on selected sources for further reading, Randolph Caldecott Medal terms and criteria, bibliography of entries, and a list of Caldecott winners ·Glossary of art terms · Indexes of author-illustrator-title, media, and style This book, used as a handbook in conjunction with Caldecott Award books, provides readers with ready-to-use information they can share with children and others, while helping to build confidence in one’s ability to talk about art in all picture books.

"[T]he insider’s perspective on committee work will be of particular value to those professionals interested in serving on a committee as well as to readers who wonder exactly how the decision making process unfolds. . . . .the authors make an effort to look at how style, composition, medium, palette, and other elements work together to successfully fulfill the Caldecott requirement of 'delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood, or information through pictures.'. . . .The 'For Further Consideration' section elaborates on some point brought up in the analysis and sometimes offers an interesting look at the author’s creative process...or the publishing process.This will be especially useful to readers who have never thought about picture book art beyond “cute” or “colorful,” and it provides a strong foundational vocabulary for analyzing picture book illustrations." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This is a must-have reference for librarians and children's literature enthusiasts. It is also a valuable resource for classroom teachers who wish to integrate award-winning books." - School Library Connection