Today is the anniversary of the birth of Randolph Caldecott. Why is the name so familiar to us? Randolph Caldecott was a nineteenth century English illustrator who was known for his picture book illustrations, but today he is most known for the children’s book award named after him, the Randolph Caldecott Medal. In the United States, the Randolph Caldecott Medal is the highest honor an artist (U.S. citizen or resident) can achieve for children's book illustration. The 2008 Caldecott Medal was awarded to Brian Selznick for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a most unusual picture book.

(cover art courtesy of Scholastic Press, An Imprint of Scholastic)