Book Review: A Caldecott Celebration by Leonard S. Marcus

Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION. New York, NY: Walker and Company. ISBN 10: 0-8027-9703-2.

Summary and Analysis:

This nonfiction book profiles seven Caldecott Medal recipients and provides an insight into their training, motivation, inspiration, process, and philosophy as it relates to the illustration of picture books for children. The seven artists profiled are:

Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Ducklings, 1942)
Marcia Brown (Cinderella, 1955)
Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are, 1964)
William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, 1970)
Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, 1982)
David Wiesner (Tuesday, 1992)
Mordicai Gerstein (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, 2004)

Each artist is profiled, including their upbringing and education as well as their path to the Caldecott Medal. The authors’ media are also included, from McCloskey’s crayon on zinc plates to Van Allsburg’s Conte pencil with Conte dust as well as the more traditional approaches of Brown and Steig (watercolor and ink). One can follow the evolution of the finished product from the numerous rough draft sketches and pictures of models provided. Photographs of the authors are helpful in that one almost feels that they know them after reading the profiles.

The creation of a picture book is not a simple one and while some can be completed in less than a year, others are the product of years of thought, revision, and experimentation. It was interesting to find out that Robert McCloskey lived with sixteen ducks to observe the way they moved and to capture features not typically visible when watching ducks in the wild (the underside of their bills for example). Marcia Brown visited numerous museums and art galleries to make her illustrations of eighteenth-century Europe as accurate as possible. In contrast, Maurice Sendak had no real-life models to observe; other than using a friend’s child as the model for Max, Sendak’s illustrations for Where the Wild Things Are came from his own imagination.

The quotes are also helpful in getting to know the illustrators as are excerpts from children’s’ letters. One child wrote to Chris Van Allsburg, “Dear Mr. Allsburg…I am so glad your books are so weird because I am weird. I think you are weird but great.” The power of the picture book in children’s lives cannot be minimized. For many, the picture book validates who they are, even if they often feel different from those around them.

Awards and Reviews:
An ALA Notable Book
Children’s Book of the Year, Bank Street College
One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection, New York Public Library

Publishers Weekly: “Readers will find cause for celebration.”
Booklist: “A beautifully made book.”
School Library Journal: “This title has just about everything readers might want.”

Connections:

This book is useful both for older children who appreciate picture books and want to learn more about the creative process (perhaps being inspired to become authors/illustrators themselves) and librarians, who will be better prepared to present the picture book to young audiences and may find ways to incorporate the artistic process into their sharing of picture books.

Librarians can use this book, as well as other nonfiction books on this topic (see below) to create bulletin boards and displays of picture books including author profiles. These displays and profiles might spark children’s interest in this format, encourage them to seek out other titles, and perhaps inspire them to create their own picture books based on real and/or imaginary experiences in their own lives.

Illustrating Children’s Books: Creating Pictures for Publication by Martin Salisbury
A Picture Book Primer: Understanding and Using Picture Books by Denise I. Matulka
Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration by Dilys Evans
Literature Pockets: Caldecott Winners, Grades 4-6+ by Jo Ellen Moore, Jill Norris, Debby Reum