Give a Special Picture Book as a Holiday Gift

I've been thinking about artist Jerry Pinkney lately for two reasons: His birthday is this month and it's listed on my December Calendar of Children's Books and, more importantly, his picture book The Lion and the Mouse, a superb wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's fables, is a book I find myself recommending frequently as a special holiday gift for a family. In 2010, Jerry Pinkney received the Randolph Caldecott Medal for picture book illustration for the book. The illustrations are not only beautiful, they are full of interesting details. Since the book is wordless, the story can be told and retold in many different ways by children of all ages and adults. For information about other recent award-winning picture books you might want to give as gifts, see my article The 2012 Caldecott Medal Winner and Honor Books.

(Cover Art Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company)