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To celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Caldecott Medal and another decade of award-winning picture books, noted children’s book historian Leonard S. Marcus has updated this absorbing and informative picture of the world’s most prestigious illustration award and seven of its acclaimed winners: Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris Van Allsburg, David Wiesner, and now Mordicai Gerstein.

Meet Little Guy, Little Pumpkin, and Little Bird, stars of three vignettes that celebrate the joy babies generate among those who love them.

"It's a pillar," says one. "It's a fan," says another. One by one, the seven blind mice investigate the strange Something by the pond. And one by one, they come back with a different theory. It's only when the seventh mouse goes out-and explores the whole Something-that the mice see the whole truth. Based on a classic Indian tale, Ed Young's beautifully rendered version is a treasure to enjoy again and again.

Raven, the trickster, wants to give people the gift of light. But can he find out where Sky Chief keeps it? And if he does, will he be able to escape without being discovered? His dream seems impossible, but if anyone can find a way to bring light to the world, wise and clever Raven can!

This child’s view of the long day’s work in the cotton fields, simply expressed in a poet’s resonant language, is a fresh and stirring look at migrant family life. “With its restrained poetic text and impressionist paintings, this is a picture book for older readers, too.”--Booklist

David Wiesner received the 1991 Caldecott Medal for Tuesday. In the years that followed, he went on to receive two more Caldecotts, and Tuesday went on to sell half a million copies in the United States and to be published in a dozen foreign countries. Now, with remarkable advances in the technology of color reproduction, the original artwork for Tuesday is being reproduced anew, for an edition even more faithful to the palette and texture of David Wiesner’s watercolor paintings.

Take advantage of the appeal and power of Caldecott award literature to extend and promote learning across the curriculum. In these three volumes the author demonstrates how to use award-winning books as springboards to science, social studies learning, and language arts in the library and classroom-and to expand student awareness and appreciation of illustration techniques. For each Caldecott title there is background information on the illustrations, curriculum connections, lesson plans, and support materials for teaching.

The Caldecott Honor-winning classic by bestselling picture-book creator David Shannon!

When David Shannon was five years old, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On every page were these words: NO, DAVID! . . . and a picture of David doing things he was not supposed to do.
Now David is all grown up. But some things never change. . . .

With mournful moan and silken tone,
itself alone comes ONE TROMBONE...
Then a trumpet joins in to become a duet; add a French horn and voila! you have a trio -- and on it goes until an entire orchestra is assembled on stage. Lloyd Moss's iresistible rhymes and Marjorie Pricemans's energetic illustrations make beautiful music together -- a masterpiece that is the perfect introduction to musical instruments and musical groups, and a counting book that redefines the genre.

The urban landscape will never look the same again. As Stephen T. Johnson demonstrates in a series of strikingly realistic pastels and watercolors, a simple sawhorse can contain the letter "A"--while lampposts alongside a highway can form a row of elegant, soaring Ys. A 1996 Caldecott Honor book, this sophisticated, wordless alphabet book is sure to appeal to young and old alike.

The author of When Cats Dream, The Moonglow Roll-O-Rama and 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving returns in a tale inspired by his paperboy. When the whole neighborhood is still asleep, the paperboy is in the garage, rolling papers and filling his red bag to the top. With his faithful dog at his side, the paperboy sets off in a mood of contentedness and confidence.

In an endearing lullaby, a mother asks a lizard, a monkey, and a water buffalo to be quiet and not disturb her sleeping baby.

From the time he was a small boy in Vermont, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful.

Expanding on traditional alphabet forms for children, the author uses graphic illustrations that retain the natural shape of the letter as well as represent the meaning of the word.

Twelve poems follow a family and their friends through the seasons. A Caldecott Honor Book.