Winners of the Caldecott Medal: 1953-1957 Media Reviews Families.com

Come admire the glorious books that were brilliant enough to win the prestigious Caldecott Medal! I do not know a lot about art, so I am giving a brief synopsis of each book along with a comment about the artwork here and there. I am also including lists of the Honor winners for each year. I hope you enjoy my series. Feel free to leave comments!

1953

“The Biggest Bear” by Lynd Ward

“Better a bear in the orchard than an Orchard in the bear,” Johnny Orchard’s grandfather always said. Johnny was always embarrassed because other people in the valley always had bearskins drying on their barns and the Orchards never did. But when Johnny vows to bring back a bearskin to put the rest of the valley to shame, he ends up getting more than he bargained for.

Honor Books

“Puss in Boots” illustrated by Marcia Brown; text translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown
“One Morning in Maine” by Robert McCloskey
“Ape in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals” by Fritz Eichenberg
“The Storm Book” illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham; text: Charlotte Zolotow
“Five Little Monkeys” by Juliet Kepes

1954

“Madeleine’s Rescue” by Ludwig Bemelmans

Everyone knows the stories of the adorable Madeleine. In this book, she falls into the river and is rescued by a dog. The dog comes to live at the school with Madeleine and the other girls. The artwork in this book is simply caricature-like. The drawing of the Eiffel Tower behind the school is entirely out of proportion and there are French flags on top of every building that look like they were stuck there on toothpicks. However, that just makes the book more charming.

Honor Books

“Journey Cake, Ho!” illustrated by Robert McCloskey; text: Ruth Sawyer
“When Will the World Be Mine?” illustrated by Jean Charlot; text: Miriam Schlein
“The Steadfast Tin Soldier” illustrated by Marcia Brown; text: Hans Christian Andersen, translated by M.R. James
“A Very Special House” illustrated by Maurice Sendak; text: Ruth Krauss
“Green Eyes” by A. Birnbaum

1955

“Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper” illustrated by Marcia Brown; text translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown

This is the classic story of Cinderella who earned her name because she swept the ashes of the chimney. Translated from the French by Charles Perrault, in this version of the story, Cinderella’s father is still alive but is too smitten with his wife to debate the way she treats his daughter. Cinderella does end up marrying the prince and forgives her stepsisters for the way they treated her.

Honor Books

“Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes” illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli
“Wheel on the Chimney” illustrated by Tibor Gergely; text: Margaret Wise Brown
“The Thanksgiving Story” illustrated by Helen Sewell; text: Alice Dalgliesh

1956

“Frog Went A-Courtin'” illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky; text retold by John Langstaff

You and your child may know this as a children’s song. This book is a fantastic telling of that song with probably more verses than you know. The pictures are as charming as the lyrics to the song. They bring to life all of the animals described with bright colors and careful detail. There is even a printing of a couple of bars of music at the end of the book to help you with the tune.

Honor Books

“Play with Me” by Marie Hall Ets
“Crow Boy” by Taro Yashima

1957

“A Tree is Nice” illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry

This book tells all of the reasons that trees are nice to have, from giving leaves to play in to providing a place where cats can escape from a dogs. Most of the pictures look like they were painted in watercolor, though some look done in pencil or chalk. Some are color while others are black and white. In any case, each drawing perfectly complements the story.

Honor Books