Every year at it's mid-Winter Conference the American Library Association presents the Caldecott Award "to the artist of the most distinguished American picturebook for children." In addition to the Medal award, several Honor awards are presented to the runner-ups in the category. The awards were announced this past Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.
The day of the announcement the first edition Caldecott Medal and Honor books become instantly collectible, and copies are quickly bought up by both collectors and booksellers, the latter buying them for resale.
2015 Caldecott Medal Winner
The 2015 Caldecott Medal winner is The Adventures Of Beekle illustrated and written by Dan Santat (Little Brown).
From the American Library Association's website:
" In four delightful “visual chapters,” Beekle, an imaginary friend, undergoes an emotional journey looking for his human. Santat uses fine details, kaleidoscopic saturated colors, and exquisite curved and angular lines to masterfully convey the emotional essence of this special childhood relationship.
“Santat makes the unimaginable, imaginable,” said Caldecott Medal Committee Chair Junko Yokota.
Now that Santat has won a Caldecott Medal, look for his earlier first edition children’s picturebooks to have higher collector interest. I was fortunate to acquire a couple of first edition copies of The Adventures of Beekle at a neighborhood independent bookstore.
2015 Caldecott Honor Books
Six books were awarded the Caldecott Honor by the ALA’s Selection Committee. The first edition for each of these will have increased book collector interest, as will the other books for each of the award winning illustrators.
Nana In The City, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo published by Clarion Books.
“Castillo’s evocative watercolor illustrations tell the story of a young boy’s visit to his grandmother, and the reassuring way she helps him to lose his fear and experience the busy, loud city in a new way.”
From Clarion’s promotional page:
“In this magical picture book, a young boy spends an overnight visit with his nana and is frightened to find that the city where she lives is filled with noise and crowds and scary things. But then Nana makes him a special cape to help him be brave, and soon the everyday sights, sounds, and smells of the city are not scary—but wonderful. The succinct text is paired with watercolor illustrations that capture all the vitality, energy, and beauty of the city.“
The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art (Alfred A. Knopf), illustrated by Mary GrandPré and written by Barb Rosenstock.
“Abstract artist Vasily Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds and sounds as colors; he created work that was bold and groundbreaking using colors from his “noisy paint box.” His process is reflected beautifully by GrandPré, whose paint flows across the page in ethereal ribbons of color.“
Many people know Mary GrandPré’s artwork from the covers of the Harry Potter books published by Scholastic – before the movies she imagined Harry for the US reading public. It’s nice to see her honored by the ALA.
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole (Candlewick Press), illustrated by Jon Klassen and written by Mac Barnett.
“Klassen’s use of texture, shape and earth tones in this deceptively simple book invite readers into the experience of two boys, who, accompanied by their dog, set out to dig a hole. Readers will find an unexpected treasure and be challenged to ponder the meaning of “spectacular.”“
Jon Klassen won the Caldecott Medal award in 2013 for This Is Not My Hat, and he has won a Caldecott Honor award for his illustrations in Extra Yarn.
Viva Frida (Roaring Brook Press), illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales.
“Using a unique variety of media – puppetry, printmaking, painting and photography – combined with an intoxicating use of color and unfailing sense of composition, Morales celebrates the artistic process.“
This is a beautiful mixed media book, see Macmillan’s promotional page
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers) illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant.
“Sweet’s inspired mixed media illustrations illuminate the personality and work of a man passionately interested in many things. Her collages combine disparate elements to create a cohesive whole, echoing the ways in which Roget ordered the world into lists that evolved into his groundbreaking thesaurus.“
This book also won this year’s Robert F. Silbert Medal for the “most distinguished informational book for children”, from the ALA Silbert Award announcement:
“The Right Word is about Peter Mark Roget, whose boyhood passion for list-making and finding the right word for every situation led him to create his “treasure house” of a book, the thesaurus. Bryant’s engaging, accessible narrative and Sweet’s delightfully detailed mixed media illustrations meld together to create “a marvel, a wonder, a surprise,” of a book. “
“With both lovely storytelling and intricate illustrations, this picture book biography of a life that had such a far reaching impact takes the format to another level,” said Sibert Medal Committee Chair Deborah Taylor.“
Melissa Sweet’s illustrations were awarded a 2008 Caldecott Honor for A River Of Words.
This One Summer (First Second), illustrated by Jillian Tamaki and written by Mariko Tamaki.
“Intricately detailed illustrations in shades of indigo are masterfully layered with the text in this graphic novel. The pacing and strong imagery evoke myriad emotions and ground this poignant and painfully realistic coming-of-age story.“
Beautiful illustrations notwithstanding this is an odd choice by the Caldecott Selection Committee, as This One Summer is more a graphic novel than a children’s picturebook. See Macmillan’s promotional page .
The Newbery and Caldecott Medals and Honor Book seals are property of the American Library Association and cannot be used in any form or reproduced without permission of the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions.
Members of the 2015 Caldecott Medal Selection Committee are: Chair Junko Yokota, Center for Teaching through Children’s Books, Skokie, Ill.; Lucia Acosta, Princeton (N.J.) Public Library; Tali Balas Kaplan, Success Academy Charter School, Bronx, N.Y.; Bradley Debrick, Johnson County Library, Overland Park, Kan.; Alison Ernst, University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.; Adrienne Furness, Henrietta Public Library, Rochester, N.Y.; Jonathan Hunt, San Diego (Calif.) County Office of Education; Rebecca Jackman, New Providence Middle School, Clarksville, Tenn.; Roger Kelly, Santa Monica (Calif.) Public Library; Barbara Klipper, Stamford, Conn.; Susan Kusel, Temple Rodef Shalom Library, Falls Church, Va.; Amy Lilien-Harper, Ferguson Library Harry Bennett Branch, Stamford, Conn.; Sharon McKellar, Oakland (Calif.) Public Library; Shilo Pearson, Chicago Public Library; and Angela Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Searching For The Second Twenty Caldecott Medal Books
A couple of months ago we performed an internet search for the first editions of the first twenty Caldecott Medal booksto determine the number of books currently being offered for sale, and similar to past searches, calculate the average selling price. This past week we performed a search for first edition Caldecott Medal books for the period 1960-to-1979, the second twenty. The searches were performed across multiple book sites, ABE, ABAA, and Bookfinder, and were filtered for first edition books with dust jackets, in VG- condition or better. We excluded ex-library editions, first editions without dust jackets, and dust jackets in poor condition. For the results of this survey please see the table below.
For the years 1960-to-1979 we found fifty-one first edition books currently for sale, with ten copies of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are being offered, which greatly skewed the average asking price. With WTWTA included, the 51 books have an average asking price of $4,523. With WTWTA excluded the 41 books had a more modest average asking price of $353. In our survey the asking price was not adjusted to the condition of the book being offered, so use the average price judiciously, since the book and jacket’s condition has a major impact on valuation.
Five Books In Absentia
First editions for five of the twenty Caldecott Medal winners are not currently being offered for sale on the internet. Understandably it would be a seller’s market for pricing any of these in first edition issue with dust jacket. As was expected due to their scarcity Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day (1963) is not available nor Gail E. Haley’s A Story, A Story (1971). First editions in dust jacket for either book do not surface for sale very often.
In addition to the two above, three other books surprisingly are not currently offered; Nonny Hogrogian’s Always Room For One More (1966) Ed Emberley’s Drummer Hoff (1968), and Gerald McDermott’s Arrow To The Sun (1975). I don’t think the three books are scarce in first edition issue – time will tell – however I did elevate their Scarcity index to ’8′ in the following table. Obviously, should a single copy surface, the offering price will represent a seller’s market with no competing comparables.
Caldecott Medal Winners 1960-1979
| Award Year |
Collect ibility |
Scar city |
Title |
Illustrator |
Web |
Avg. $ |
| 1960 |
7 |
7 |
Nine Days To Christmas |
Marie Hall Ets |
4 |
$301 |
| 1961 |
7 |
7 |
Baboushka And The Three Kings |
Nicolas Sidjakov |
1 |
$880 |
| 1962 |
8 |
7 |
Once A Mouse |
Marcia Brown |
3 |
$953 |
| 1963 |
7 |
10 |
The Snowy
A first edition The Little House is a scarce bird, rarely sighted in public. First edition copies of Virginia Lee Burton’s 1943 Caldecott Medal winning book are one of the scarcest contemporary children’s picturebook to find. One is currently being offered for sale on ABEBooks. It can be yours for $12,500.
[Caveat emptor: I have no affiliation to the bookseller, nor to sale of this particular book. The bookseller, Raptis Rare Books is a reputable member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America.]
Here is the link to the item, The Little House, with the following description, courtesy Raptis Rare Books:
First edition of one of the rarest and most sought after children’s classics. Oblong quarto, original blue cloth. Light rubbing to the spine tips, a near fine copy in an excellent unrestored dust jacket that shows a small chip to the crown of the spine and some light wear. Small ink inscription opposite the title page. This book and dust jacket are usually seen with restoration, this copy is exceptionally clean and bright. “Once upon a time there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built.” So begins Virginia Lee Burton’s The Little House, winner of the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1943. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
There is only one, perhaps two, first edition Caldecott books which are harder to find. This is one of the few first edition Caldecott Medal books not in my collection. Sigh. If only.
In 2007 a copy of The Little House sold at PBA Galleries auction for nearly $10,000.
The prices of first edition Caldecott Medal books have escalated in the past five years. Impressive in the face of the nation’s economy, this Great Recession. The escalated prices have not resulted in additional first editions hitting the market. If anything, the opposite is true – there is less supply of first edition Caldecott Medal books on the market today than five years ago. In general, I think this applies to collectible first edition picturebooks.
Ironically it is not just the scarce books which are scarce. Even some of the more common first edition Caldecott Medal books are not available in numbers, making it a seller’s market.
2012 Caldecott Medal Winner
The 2012 Caldecott Medal winner is A Ball For Daisy illustrated
by Chris Raschka (Schwartz and Wade). A Ball For Daisy is Raschka's
second Caldecott Medal, having won the 2006 award for The Hello, Goodbye Window.
A Ball For Daisy is a wordless picturebook.
From the American Library Association's website:
"In
a wordless book with huge children’s appeal, Chris Raschka gives us the story of
an irrepressible little dog whose most prized possession is accidently destroyed.
With brilliant economy of line and color, Raschka captures Daisy’s total (yet temporary)
devastation. A buoyant tale of loss, recovery and friendship.
“Chris Raschka’s deceptively simple paintings
of watercolor, gouache and ink explore universal themes of love and loss that permit
thousands of possible variants,” said Caldecott Medal Committee Chair Steven L.
Herb. ‘A Ball for Daisy’ holds as many unique stories as there will be young readers
and re-readers.
In addition to the two Caldecott Medals, Raschka won a Caldecott Honor award in
1994 for Yo!Yes? With three awards garnered, Raschka's other first
edition books will increase in collectibility.
A Ball For Daisy was published in May, 2011, some nine months ago,
so most of the first editions have already been absorbed by the general population.
Currently the first edition book is difficult to find in a retail book store. The
books are back ordered at Barnes & Noble, and as of a couple of days after the
announcement, were without a firm delivery date. One would assume a new print run,
therefore later printings.
I queried eBay's Completed Auction results, and found six first edition copies
sold for over $50 within a week of the award announcement. One autographed copy
sold for $150, and two other copies sold for $100. I'm unsure whether these
are indicative of the market, or just panic buying by passionate collectors. We
will know more about the supply-demand balance for first edition copies later in
the year once the market has stabilized. First editions are certain to surface,
but at what cost?
2012 Caldecott Honor Books
A first edition Make Way For Ducklings, Robert McCloskey's 1942 Caldecott Medal winning book, has recently surfaced for sale. We haven't seen a copy for years, so it will be interesting to see how long this book stays on the market. From the item description:
MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS
Robert McCloskey
Book Price: US$ 9000.00
Description: Good+ in Very good dust jacket. Looks like this copy was possibly used for review in a magazine or newspaper, as one page towards the center has been exacto knifed out, and at the top there is typewriter print "Sunday Book Page 2 cols ducks". The page was then taped back in with 3 small pieces of clear (now browned) tape on one side, and one long piece of clear (now browned) tape on the other side. Restoration work could probably fix it, but I have not confirmed that. Else the book would be very good. The pages are clean and complete, binding is strong. Light shelfwear, previous owner name neatly inside front cover. The dust jacket has light shelfwear, a little fading at very edge, a couple tiny edgetears and light edgechips. A solid very good. Original price of 2.00 is intact on flap. No medal, of course. First printing with "First Published August 1941" and no other printings listed. Rear flap is a write up of Lentil, and about the author. Potentially the scarcest of the Caldecott winners. 9X12. Illustrated by Robert McCloskey. Bookseller Inventory # 6838 The book is being offered via ABE, click here.
For all of you Hugo Cabret fans, I browsing around on Amazon and found a letter from Brian Selznick as well as a deleted scene from the book. This post at Wizard's Wireless convinced me that I had to get the book, and I scarfed up the last copy at the bookstore this afternoon. Thanks Susan...I can't wait to read it.
Oh, and after reading all of MotherReader's posts about Mo Willems, I bought Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too. I really had to practice self control and not buy all of his books. They ARE delightful!
2008 Medal Winner  The 2008 Caldecott Medal winner is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic) From an opening shot of the full moon setting over an awakening Paris in 1931, this tale casts a new light on the picture book form. Hugo is a young orphan secretly living in the walls of a train station where he labors to complete a mysterious invention left by his father. In a work of more than 500 pages, the suspenseful text and wordless double-page spreads narrate the tale in turns. Neither words nor pictures alone tell this story, which is filled with cinematic intrigue. Black & white pencil illustrations evoke the flickering images of the silent films to which the book pays homage. Hugo Cabret winning the Caldecott is very surprising - we thought it might win the Newbery, never even considered a 500 page book winning, in light of the Caldecott's key qualifying criteria: "The Medal shall be awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in English in the United States during the preceding year. There are no limitations as to the character of the picture book except that the illustrations be original work." It takes the loosest interpretation of 'picture book' for Hugo Cabret to qualify. From Brian Selznick: "My new book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don't just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I've used the lessons I learned from Remy Charlip and other masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things." Selznick even calls it a "novel in words and pictures". From Publisher's Weekly: Booksellers React to Top Children’s Prizes
By Diane Roback -- Publishers Weekly, 1/14/2008 4:30:00 PM
"Several booksellers praised the Caldecott committee for “pushing the envelope” by awarding the medal for the year’s most distinguished picture book to The Invention of Hugo Cabret, an 533-page illustrated novel—it’s the first time that the Caldecott has ever been given to a novel. Elizabeth Bluemle, co-owner of Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vt., predicted “There will be a lot of discussion as to whether it’s a true Caldecott winner. It’s not a picture book in the way that we like to think of a picture book, but the argument can be made that it works as a picture book, in that the words and art work together. It does break new ground in how a book is made, and I think it’s great that it was recognized.” “We all love Hugo Cabret,” said Laura Moline, manager of Adventures for Kids in Ventura, Calif. “We’ve sold lots of copies for all different ages. I was wondering if a book could win the Caldecott and the Newbery in the same year—that’s what we thought might happen. It’s so much an illustrated book and it’s also so much a novel. It’s something different; it’s something new.” Several librarians phoned Valerie Koehler, owner of Houston’s Blue Willow Bookshop, on Monday, asking her, “Can you believe they picked a novel for the Caldecott? Can you do that?” Her response? “As long as it fits their parameters, as an illustrated book, that’s fine. It’s thrilling when [the winner] is something we can get behind." 2008 Honor Books  Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railrod by illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine (Scholastic) Inspired by an antique lithograph, Kadir Nelson has created dramatically luminous illustrations that portray Henry “Box” Brown's ingenious design to ship himself in a box from slavery to freedom.  First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter) Laura Vaccaro Seeger's innovative concept book on transformations, First the Egg uses strategically placed die-cuts to provide an astonishing visual explication of the word “then.” Her richly textured brushstrokes creatively reveal the process of metamorphosis for young readers.  The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, written and illustrated by Peter Sís (Farrar/Frances Foster) The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, a graphic memoir of Sís's youth in Prague, brilliantly weds artistic and design choices to content: tight little panels with officious lines and red punctuation; full-bleed line-and-watercolor spreads of nightmares and dreams; color and absence of color.  Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, written and illustrated Mo Willems (Hyperion) Willems sets the stage for one of the most dramatic double-paged spreads in picture-book history in Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Masterful photo collages take Trixie and her daddy through their now-familiar Brooklyn neighborhood to the Pre-K class where Trixie discovers that her beloved Knuffle Bunny is not “so one-of-a-kind anymore.” The Newbery and Caldecott Medals and Honor Book seals are property of the American Library Association and cannot be used in any form or reproduced without permission of the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions.
So many books. So little time. I'm sure you all know the feeling.
But I've been reading up a storm the last week or so. Here's my little list:
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. Comment: Wow! What a voice. I hope someday I can write a book with such an authentic male protagonist.
Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Comment: I hope this wins the Prinz. I couldn't put it down. I'm trying to get my son to read it so we can discuss it. Brilliant idea, cleverly executed and incredibly thought-provoking.
The Sunflower: On the possibilities and limits of forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal. ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) the_webmeister's aunt Pauline was reading this for her book club when we were in Canada, and I was so intrigued I had to order it the minute I got home. Another thought-provoking read. saramerica used it in a recent column which you can read
here.
Those who save us by Jenna Blum. My friend Malaine recommend this and as I was reading it I realized I'd already read it a while back, but it is so engrossing I didn't mind reading it again, especially given my recent visit to Germany and after reading The Sunflower and Life as we knew it. How would we react in a given life -threatening situation?
Would we be able to hold on to our deepest moral values? Or would the will to stay alive trump all?
Currently reading:
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. I'm amazed at how much she is able to convey about the characters in verse in a short time (although I guess having read Sonya Sones' books, I shouldn't be) and how much I have come to care about these kids in a short period of time. I've got a sinking feeling that one of them isn't going to make it, and but I'm not sure which one - keep changing my mind about who is going to be the one whose demons get the better of them.
I was hoping to finish it last night but fell asleep. Note to self: go to bed to read earlier tonight!
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This one's been sitting on my nightstand since my new editor extraordinaire, David Levithan, handed me a copy when I visited Scholastic HQ. I kept putting off reading it because there was so much hype and I wasn't sure what to make of it. But I picked it up this morning and Bam! I'm already engrossed. I was afraid the number of pictures would detract from my ability to get into the story, but not true. I'm already on part two and dying to know the mystery.
OK, back to the books. What are *YOU* reading these days?
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Thanks Julie! Great interview.
gail
My pleasure!